> * Networking: Millennia2025 actions in network around the world *

Gender Summit 4 Europe 2014

From Ideas to Markets: Excellence in mainstreaming gender into research, innovation, and policy

30 June - 1 July 2014, Brussels, European Commission (Charlemagne Building)

Welcome from Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, Commissioner with responsibility for research, innovation and science, European Commission

 

"The 4th Gender Summit is focused on Horizon 2020. There's a lot of money at stake in Horizon 2020 and the new rules ensure that women are at the centre of the decisions on how it should be spent and at the heart of the research and innovation that is funded. Horizon 2020 provides a clear incentive to applicants to ensure a better gender balance in their research teams. If two proposals receive exactly the same scores on all other evaluation criteria, the gender balance will be one of the factors in deciding which proposal is ranked higher. 

 

Horizon 2020 also promotes the gender dimension in research and innovation content to ensure that it takes into account the needs, behaviours and attitudes of both women and men. This is the way to excellence, jobs and growth. In Horizon 2020, the gender dimension is explicitly integrated from the outset in many of the specific programmes – in more than 100 topics so far out of 610 in total, spread across 13 different programmes. This gives us a promising idea of the number of projects that will develop a gender dimension and of the new knowledge that they will produce. 

 

I hope that those attending the Gender Summit and the science community will respond to these opportunities to create better research and more sustainable technological innovations."

Designing with Gender in Mind: Health, Technology and Innovation

Mon 30 Jun - 15:15-15:40 - Poster Session B

 

Marie-Anne Delahaut, President and CEO, Millennia2025 Women and Innovation Foundation (PUF); Director of research, The Destree Institute, Namur, Wallonia, Belgium

 

Keywords:

Technologies, education, empowerment, knowledge, stereotypes

 

1. Relevance:

Sciences and new technologies play a key role in a globalized world. They are constantly evolving and they contribute to openness and evolution of societies. However, women are still underrepresented in ICTs and sciences either it is about education or career. By contributing to production of scientific and technological knowledge, women have a great impact on their design, production, use and implementation. 

 

2. Aims & Objectives:

The objective of the Millennia2025 study is to identify the key elements that influence women role in research, science and technology. The study based on foresight methodology analysed the past, the present and the future relations between women and research, sciences and technology. The study also includes hypothesis of evolution for the coming years.

 

3. Methods:

The study has been conducted under Millennia2015 foresight methodology in the context of the information society. Millennia2015 foresight research process is built in three major steps: 

 

 

 

 

Step 1: Information transfer 

(2008 – 2011): 

Collection of data from Millennia2015 international conference in 2008: Identification of 321 variables resources gathered in 37 variables that are the major issues for women's empowerment and realisation of an international foresight exercise with the patronage of the UNESCO.

 

Step 2: Knowledge process

(2011 - 2013)

Data analysis to produce the vision of Millennia2015: analysis of the responses to the foresight exercise, formulation of seven macro-issues for women's empowerment ("How to... ?" questions), six ultimate aims and the six strategic axes, resultingg in a global action plan for women's empowerment by 2025, based on the information society in solidarity and built with the patronage of the UNESCO.

 

Step 3: Intelligence Platform

(2014 and beyond):

Implementation of Millennia2025 action plans and evaluation of the foresight process by the international Millennia2025 Voluntary Researchers' Network.

 

4. Results:  

The main results of the research underlined: the underrepresentation of women in sciences and technologies; the influence and cultural and social representation on women's role in science and technology; the strength of women's networks for mobilization; the increasing use of technologies in all fields including in developing countries.

 

 5. Conclusions:  

Millennia2015 recommends to encourage women to producing new technologies (governmental measures, patronage systems, companie's initiatives); reinforce the efforts to eliminate gender stereotypes; develop a culture of networking (mobilization) and of digital solidarity (sharing). The Gender Summit must consider technologies as a transverse issue for women's empowerment and as a strategic tool to reach that goal.

 

References:

- Millennia2025 website (FR + EN): https://www.millennia2025-foundation.org/

- Millennia2025 foresight methodology: https://www.millennia2025-foundation.org/foresight-method.html

- Millennia2025 Solidarity-Women: https://www.millennia2025-foundation.org/2015_millennia2025_solidari-femmes_unamur_actes_en.html

Photos (c) Millennia2025 Women and Innovation Foundation

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