‘Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovate for Change’ is the UN Women theme for International Women’s Day 2019. This year, the focus is on research and innovation – for women and girls to achieve equality. The future of the European Union depends on research and innovation and Europe needs one million more researchers by 2020 to stay competitive in the world. Research could also create 3.7 million jobs and increase annual EU GDP by €795 billion by 2025 if the target of investing three per cent in R&D by 2020 is achieved. However, data available at European level show a striking imbalance between women and men in the European research sector
The National Council of Women strongly affirms that gender balance is crucial for a well-functioning research system. Research and innovation (R&I) are key drivers for economic growth. To achieve its policy objectives in global technology, Malta must use all the human capital at its disposal. Tapping into the full potential of women’s skills, knowledge and qualifications will contribute to boosting growth, jobs and competitiveness, which are key drivers of a prosperous economy.
NCW has stressed, for several years, the importance of more girls being attracted to the ever-advancing digital world. NCW is deeply concerned that the number of girls opting for science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects (STEM) has remained significantly low. There is the need to develop and implement awareness programmes aimed at attracting more girls to STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and more women into research together with special programmes for career guidance and assistance.
Malta should aim to improve legal and policy frameworks for gender equality in research, based on the recommendations set out in the ERA communication and the Horizon 2020 programme. The evaluation, accreditation and funding of research institutions and organisations should be linked to their performance on gender equality. NCW calls for dialogue with publishers and editors of scientific publications in order to remove gender bias and increase female scientists' contributions to scientific publications, editorials, reviews and survey articles
There is the need to strengthen dialogue between research institutions, businesses and related social partners and university to ensure gender balance in their decision-making and selection process. Gender equality efforts must be incorporated into the planning processes and for the business sector to lead by example by moving forward and appointing more women as directors and to decision-making positions
For high-quality research to be relevant to society, a number of different solutions should be considered. This is best ensured when research communities are diverse – men and women, and when they have the ability to cooperate across and within disciplines. Research and education are integral to policy formulation and public administration, and contribute to a more critical, diverse and open public debate
Recruiting more women to the research sector can boost knowledge resources, enhance the quality of knowledge production and make the sector more robust and competitive. Studies suggest that heterogeneous research groups are more robust and innovative than homogeneous groups and that diversity of knowledge and social capital in teams is important for producing new ideas. In addition, gendered innovations in science, medicine, engineering and the environment use sex and gender analysis as a resource to stimulate new ideas, new services and new technologies.
A comparison of Member States' gender indexes suggests that the countries with higher scores in the Gender Equality Index (GEI) tend to spend a greater percentage of their GDP on research and development, as well as achieve better results in innovation.
In an ever-developing digital world, women will risk losing out on well-paid jobs and inclusiveness in the labour market if the number of women in technology remains alarmingly low. Just as the rising number of female biologists has increased studies on women’s health and wellbeing, women in leadership positions in technology careers will identify the exigencies that will allow women, through innovation to address issues that concern their daily lives. Without this change, women will simply fall out of the ever-advancing digitalised world.
Accelerating the process of equality and a change of mentality will result in a better quality of life for all. Women today are struggling with far too many duties and responsibilities, juggling between work and family life, many a time sacrificing even the little time left that should be dedicated as ‘me time’ with the possibility of grave consequences on their physical and mental health. NCW calls on the government to launch a programme directed at girls to choose STEM subjects Science, Technology Engineering and Mathematics, which not only lead to the jobs of the future, but are vital in reducing the gender pay gap,
NCW calls on the government to provide an environment that will encourage women to choose work according to the qualifications they have achieved without feeling stressed when coping with family duties on their own. They should not be forced into low-paid jobs which are far below their qualifications.
To make change possible, we also need to encourage more women to present their candidature for elections to the European Parliament, Local Councils and General Elections, ensuring that all measures will give women an equal opportunity to succeed. It would be very encouraging if next year when commemorating International Women’s Day, we can say that there has been a notable change!
Mary Gaerty is the president of the National Council of Women