Empowering Women Engineers Careers in Industrial and Academic Research

The aim of PROMETEA is to develop a better understanding of gender issues in engineering and technology research settings, in order to propose effective measures and recommendations to empower women engineers careers in academic and industrial research in Europe. A technological and economical sustainable development depends on the ability to promote a diverse and creative research sector, which is a key issue both in the European and in national research policies. This project will combine existing knowledge with new in-depth pilot studies on women engineers career progression linked to qualitative research work on the experiences of both women and men working in engineering and technology research, using cross-comparison as a research strategy and a longitudinal perspective. It will bring new perspectives on engineering and technology research in itself, with a focus on:
- Gender dynamics of male and female careers, comparisons between different fields of engineering and their interrelations, recruitment, full-time and part-time, survival curves and tenure, vertical segregation, pay gap, school to work transitions, worklife balance, double careers patterns.
- Differential effect of organisational cultures on male and female careers.
- Recognition of excellence in engineering and technology research, impact on female and male careers: the gate-keepers and gate-keeping in research funding committees, women’s and men’s success rates in research funding, analysis of scientific publishing and publicity, patents, experiences of “excellent women” at the top of technological research, prizes and awards in technology and engineering.
- Identification and evaluation of good practice.