Implementation

Identification, description and results of implemented / ongoing activities

• Women's PhDs outnumber men's and there are many women in non-traditional fields (e.g. STEMS). The two fields with the highest percentages of women are Education and Health and Welfare, in contrast to Communication and Information Technology and Engineering, Manufacturing and Construction. Portuguese data are above the EU-28 averages (Source: She Figures, 2019);

• Portugal has the smallest gender gap in publication output relative to comparators (Elsevier, 2021) and is one of the countries with a higher proportion of women in research (51.2%, Source: She Figures, 2019), but working in precarious conditions (11.4%, Source: She Figures, 2019);

• In Europe, there is an increasing reliance on short-term project-based funding, which has contributed to imbalances between the number of PhD holders and the number of tenure-track positions in public science systems (European Commission, 2020). Portugal is one of the countries with the lowest per capita expenditure on research. Nevertheless, female human resources have increased in all areas of R&D (Eurostat, 2019);

• In Portugal, women represent less than 30% of the boards of institutions in the higher education sector (Eurostat, 2019). In the EU, the proportion of women in the A position tends to be lower compared to men. Portugal has the academic hierarchy with the lowest percentage of women and men in the highest position of professional advancement;

• In the last 20 years (DGEEC, 2020/2021), the employment of women in the teaching staff has increased, especially in public universities. The number of teaching staff in the private sector has decreased mainly among men. Asymmetric patterns are observed as: Women represent 1/4 of the highest position in the teaching career, however, they are underrepresented in decision-making positions in academia. Moreover, polytechnics have higher percentages of women in the faculty and the higher ranks of the academic career;

• Women remain disadvantaged and under-represented in Programme Coordination Teams (both as Chairs and as a whole) (A3Es, 2019);

• In 2019 (IPCTN) women represent half of the workforce allocated to R&D. The number of female human resources has increased in all R&D areas. Women are not the majority of R&D human resources in the Higher Education sector only in two scientific areas (Natural Sciences and Engineering and Technology);

• In 2018 (FCT), women tend to be under-represented in the coordination of research units. Research units coordinated by women tend to have higher proportions of female researchers.

•  Construction of a typology of leadership positions in the promotion of Gender Equality (28 interviews):

1. This typology allows us to capture and discuss different perceptions and readiness to promote and implement equality measures and plans;

2. Positions of resistance, support or ambivalence towards the promotion of gender equality in higher education were identified and differences in terms of the disciplinary areas of training of the leaders as well as the "gender cultures" of their organisations were taken into consideration.

•  Analysis of successful Academic Women's journeys (11 interviews):

1. In line with previous research and the literature review, the careers of successful women in the academic context were marked by numerous obstacles in achieving leadership positions and success. In this analysis the different scientific areas to which these women belong and the structure of opportunities created by the profound transformation of the Portuguese and European university landscape that has taken place over the last few decades were considered.

We found that the perception of the existence of a gender bias favourable to men increased throughout their careers and specifically when they began to occupy positions of power previously dominated by men. In contrast to male academic leaders, women showed a greater need to justify their career choices by considering work-life balance. 

Four HEIs were selected to carry out the Case Study, and a Focal Point was appointed in each institution to plan the activities and request specific data. The databases provided by the four HEIs were analysed, and Information Sessions were prepared and held to start the studies. The data collection phase took place remotely in all selected HEIs, with a total of 34 individual interviews with top and middle management and 12 focus groups with teaching, student and non-teaching staff. The Case Study at HEI 1 took place at a Public University, School of Management and Economics, and was concluded in April 2022. 

The Case Study at HEI 2 took place at a Public Polytechnic, School of Engineering and Technology, and was concluded in May 2022. The Case Study at HEI 3 took place at a Public Univ., School of Engineering and was concluded in October 2022. The Case Study at HEI 4, took place at a Public Univ., School of Social Sciences, Education and Humanities, and is scheduled for completion in February 2023.

In the first three HEIs return workshops were held, to discuss the main trends found and the data collected on gender equality in the respective institution and the readiness for the development of measures. Following those three reflection moments, all institutions expressed their willingness to continue the work done through future collaborations with the CIEG research team. The preparation of the workshop for the fourth and last case study is currently underway, as well as the comparative analysis between the four studies and the triangulation of all information collected through other sources. 

The results found will be presented through scientific outputs and at the International Conference of the project.