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Despite of over ten years of interventions geared at promoting equality among women and men in scientific research, in the European Union, as well as all around the world the gender gap remains wide. This entails an important waste of talents and a general risk for Member states and individual research organisations to lose competitiveness. Studies, measures and actions in this regard have been the object of intense debate which has gradually revealed the need for a new paradigm for policies to promote women in science. According to the European Commission, indeed, these policies should more and more aim at strengthening the research and innovation capacity of research institutions, through a structural change focused on the valorisation of all the different skills and competencies available. This is the strategic and political framework of the Supporting Action “Women’s careers hitting the target: gender management in scientific and technological research” (WHIST).

Gender equality in science is a major challenge for higher education systems, which are facing many constraints. This book presents some of the latest research findings from Germany, South Africa and Austria on women’s careers in science and research. The volume provides insights into the research system from a female career perspective, and highlights the lessons women can learn from the findings in order to promote their own careers.

Purpose: To assess whether the proportion of women faculty, especially at the full professor rank, increased from 2004 to 2010 at Stanford University School of Medicine after a multifaceted intervention.

Method: The authors surveyed gender composition and faculty satisfaction five to seven years after initiating a multifaceted intervention to expand recruitment and development of women faculty. The authors assessed pre/post relative change and rates of increase in women faculty at each rank, and faculty satisfaction; and differences in pre/post change and estimated rate of increase between Stanford and comparator cohorts (nationally and at peer institutions).

Results: Post intervention, women faculty increased by 74% (234 to 408), with assistant, associate, and full professors increasing by 66% (108 to 179), 87% (74 to 138), and 75% (52 to 91), respectively. Nationally and at peer institutions, women faculty increased by about 30% (30,230 to 39,200 and 4,370 to 5,754, respectively), with lower percentages at each rank compared with Stanford. Estimated difference (95% CI) in annual rate of increase was larger for Stanford versus the national cohort: combined ranks 0.36 (0.17 to 0.56), P = .001; full professor 0.40 (0.18 to 0.62), P = .001; and versus the peer cohort: combined ranks 0.29 (0.07 to 0.51), P = .02; full professor 0.37 (0.14 to 0.60), P = .003. Stanford women faculty satisfaction increased from 48% (2003) to 71% (2008).

Conclusions: Increased satisfaction and proportion of women faculty, especially full professors, suggest that the intervention may ameliorate the gender gap in academic medicine.

Spanish Law on Science, Technology and Innovation which includes the gender perspective as a transversal issue.

Under the impulse of the Women in Science Unit, the Science, technology and Innovation Law has incorporated specific measures:

1. The composition of bodies, advisory boards and committees regulated by this law as well as evaluation and selection committees of the Spanish System of Science and Technology – will be adjusted to an equal presence between men and women established by the Organic Law 3/2007 of the 22nd March for the effective equality of men and women.
2. The Spanish Strategy of Science and Technology and the State Plan of Scientific and Technical Research promote mainstreaming the gender perspective in research and technology, so that its relevance is considered in all aspects of the process, from defining the priorities of scientific/ technical research, research problems, theoretical and explanative frameworks, methods, data collection and analysis, conclusions, applications and technological developments and proposals for future studies. It will equally promote gender and women’s studies as well as concrete measures to stimulate and recognise the presence of women in research groups.
3. The system of information about Science, Technology and Innovation will collect, treat, and diffuse – all data disaggregated by sex and will include indicators of presence and productivity.
4. The selection and evaluation procedures for research personnel employed by the Public Universities and Public Research Bodies of the general administration of the State and the procedures of conceding  financial grants   by research funders –will establish mechanisms in order to eliminate gender bias, to include – where possible – confidential mechanisms of evaluation – that impede evaluators to know personal characteristics of the evaluated person – in particular their gender or race.
5. The State Strategy of Innovation will promote the incorporation of the gender perspective as a mainstreaming category in all aspects of their development.
6. Public Research Bodies will adopt equality plans in a maximum period of two years after the publication of the law – which will be subject to annual monitoring. The said plans should include incentive measures for those centres to improve their gender indicators corresponding to annual monitoring.

http://www.idi.mineco.gob.es/stfls/MICINN/Ministerio/FICHEROS/UMYC/LibroBlanco-Interactivo.pdf

1. In addition the principles established in the Law on Science, Technology and Innovation as of 2013 were being developed through an additional thirteenth provision on incorporating the gender dimension. Consequently, some public research organizations have drawn up plans for gender equality including the gender dimension in research content, some of them already approved (see below).

http://www.idi.mineco.gob.es/stfls/MICINN/Ministerio/FICHEROS/UMYC/Cientificas_cifras_2013.pdf