The latest Global gender gap report, released by the World Economic Forum in 2022, attests that, in the absence of corrective measures, it will take more than 130 years to close the global gender gap. Italy ranks 63rd out of 156 states.
The European Research Commission, since the late 1990s, has made the issue of the underrepresentation of women in science and technology a decisive point in its policies, promoting specific research projects, guidelines, and gender impact measures in Commission-funded projects to encourage research institutions and universities to address gender inequality.
With the launch of the Horizon Europe framework program, gender policies were further consolidated with the introduction of mandatory requirements for participation in competitive calls.
However, European research still shows a marked underrepresentation of women in STEM disciplines, particularly in the field of Physics and in access to leadership positions.
Vertical inequality, which makes it difficult to access higher career levels (glass ceiling effect), also persists at the horizontal level, as seen, for example, in the low presence of theoretical physicists in professional entry levels.
For women working in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM), the workplace is a different, sometimes more hostile environment than that experienced by their male colleagues. Discrimination and sexual harassment are considered frequent, and gender is often perceived as an impediment to career advancement.
These considerations are part of a broad public debate about gender in research and the need to identify policies that promote inclusion.
INFN does not deviate from international and European statistics, as evidenced by the reports of the Single Guarantee Committee (UGC) and the annual reports of the International Evaluation Committee (IC).
In response to this loss of talent and in an effort to break down some of the barriers that hinder women on their path in research, the INFN Gender Mentoring program (GMP) was born in 2018. The GMP, the first program developed within an Italian research institution, has been recognized by the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) as a “best relevant practice.” To strengthen the transformative capacity of mentoring, the second edition also included men (mentees/mentors). Analysis of the results of the past editions shows that the program has provided decisive support for the re-design and strategic planning of the working careers of many young female researchers (mentees), who have tried – successfully – to undertake new experiences.
A partial process of revising behavioral patterns and questioning the status quo has also been noted for senior female researchers (mentees).
The GMP promotes individual, cultural and institutional change to achieve equity by raising awareness of the gender dimension in research, promoting new role models and leadership, and removing systematic barriers that create inequality.
The program was designed in collaboration with the Gender Observatory on University and Research of the University Federico II of Naples (UNINA)
The latest Global gender gap report, released by the World Economic Forum in 2022, attests that, in the absence of corrective measures, it will take more than 130 years to close the global gender gap. Italy ranks 63rd out of 156 states. The European Research Commission, since the late 1990s, has made the issue of the underrepresentation of women in science and technology a decisive point in its policies, promoting specific research projects, guidelines, and gender impact measures in Commission-funded projects to encourage research institutions and universities to address gender inequality.