Publikation Gender in Research - Gender Impact Assessment of the specific programmes of the Fifth Framework Programme

Veröffentlichung

Schultz, I./D. Hummel/D. Hayn/C. Empacher (2001): Gender in Research - Gender Impact Assessment of the specific programmes of the Fifth Framework Programme: EVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT SUB-PROGRAMME, Final Report, Brussels

In the middle of the 90ies, the European Commission started a process with the objective to take the gender dimension better into account within research and research policy. In this context, the European Commission launched a gender impact assessment (GIA) exercise during the period June 2000 - April 2001 with the view to assessing the way in which gender issues are being addressed within the Fifth Framework Programme (FP5). Seven studies were carried out by different research teams representing European Universities, research institutes and companies specialised in gender research, in order to introduce a critical dimension in the way gender issues are treated throughout the 5th Framework Programme. These GIA studies evaluated the following thematic programmes of the FP5: Quality of Life and Management of Living Resources, User-friendly Information Society, Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development as well as the three horizontal programmes: Confirming the International Role of Community Research, Promotion of Innovation and Encouragement of Participation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and Improving the Human Research Potential and the Socio-economic Knowledge Base. Each study assessed whether and how gender issues have been considered in the respective area and provided recommendations for a better integration of the gender dimension in future European Community research in that area . The results of the studies have been presented at the international conference on 'Gender and Research', held in Brussels in November 2001.

The Institute for social-ecological research (ISOE) evaluated the gender impacts of the Environment and Sustainable Development Sub-Programme (ESD) of the Fifth Framework Programme. The key findings of this study are given in the Final Report.

The Final Report consists of three parts:

Firstly, the evaluation concept of the Gender Impact Assessment is briefly described.
Secondly, the participation of women in the elaboration, management and implementation of the ESD Sub-Programme is analysed.
Thirdly, the results of the content analysis are presented, i.e. the qualitative assessment of the ESD Sub-Programme with respect to gender aspects.

At the end, recommendations are given against the background of the evaluation.

The ESD-Programme as a whole has been evaluated with respect to two levels:

An analysis of the organisational level. That means the gender composition and participation of women in the ESD Sub-Programme, including an analysis of the institutions and bodies involved in the elaboration and implementation of the ESD Sub-Programme, as well as an analysis of the projects submitted and funded by the programme.
An analysis of the level of content assessing the integration of the gender dimension, including the contents introduced by the objectives of the work programme, as well as the contents of the submitted and funded projects (proposals).

Furthermore an analysis of the thematic fields concerning the level of content is given. The ESD Sub-Programme consists of seven thematic fields (Key Actions and Generic Activities):

Sustainable management and quality of water;
Global change, climate and biodiversity;
Sustainable marine ecosystems;
City of tomorrow and cultural heritage;
The fight against major natural and technological hazards;
Development of generic Earth observation technologies;
Socio-economic aspects of environmental change in the perspective of sustainable development.

All these thematic fields are analysed with respect to gender impacts.

The evaluation of the gender relevance of the ESD Sub-Programme is based on two main documents: on the Work Programme (version of 1999) and the priorities formulated in the thematic fields of the ESD-Sub-Programme on one hand and on the 2125 project proposals of the first and second call of the Sub-Programme on the other hand. This analysis is based on the summarised descriptions ('abstract' and 'objectives') of the proposals.

Leading Question of the Gender Impact Assessment:

Gender Research in environmental research is confronted with a strong orientation towards natural scientific and technical research as well as lack of data and analysis of the situation of women and their share in research. Thus, the general question of our Gender Impact study of the ESD Sub-Programme is:

"Do environmental and sustainability research offer better conditions for the participation of women and the inclusion of gender issues?"

An answer to this question is given in the Final Report.

The report itself is out of print. The executive summary is yet available. Please use the order form oder unseren Literatur-Shop (deutsch)