COUNCIL RESOLUTION

of 20 May 1999

on women and science

(1999/C 201/01)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Whereas:

(1) The promotion of equality between men and women is enshrined in Articles 2 and 3 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, as one of the Community's objectives;

(2) The Council has reaffirmed this principle in the context of various Community policies, and in particular in its Recommendation of 2 December 1996 on the balanced participation of women and men in the decision-making process(1);

(3) The European Parliament in its Resolution of 9 March 1999 on the integration of equal opportunities in the Community policies has reiterated the importance it attaches to this matter;

(4) The Community equal opportunities policy is taken into account in the Fifth RTD Framework Programme (1998 to 2002) adopted by Decision No 182/1999/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(2);

(5) The Commission presented, on 19 February 1999, a Communication on the subject "Women and science: mobilising women to enrich European research" in which it proposes a series of measures to be taken so as to stimulate discussion and the sharing of experience in this field among Member States and to develop a coherent approach towards promoting women in research financed by the Community;

(6) An equal opportunities policy is also pursued by the Commission for its personnel through the third action plan for equal opportunities in the Commission (1997 to 2000) which applies to the scientific personnel of the Joint Research Centre (JRC);

(7) The Scientific and Technical Research Committee (CREST) was consulted and issued an opinion on this matter;

WELCOMES the Commission's communication and the initiatives set out therein for promoting the involvement of women in RTD,

RECOGNISES that:

(a) the question of under-representation of women in the field of scientific and technical research is a common concern for Member States and the Community and needs to be addressed, whilst noting that the problem of under-representation is not confined to the research sector alone;

(b) this issue can best be addressed through effective and sustained action at all levels: regional, national and Community level. In this context, account also needs to be taken of social and economic factors as well as of the critical role of education and training in fostering the effective participation of women;

(c) the gender mainstreaming of research policy is not limited to promotion of women as research workers but should also ensure that research meets the needs of all citizens and contributes to the understanding of gender-relevant issues;

(d) the two objectives announced in the Commission's communication, i.e. to stimulate discussion and the sharing of experience in this field among Member States and to promote the involvement of women in Community research, on the basis of a coherent approach to be pursued in the implementation of the Fifth Framework Programme are most appropriate for action at Community level;

(e) the establishement of a specific target as regards participation of women in panels, consultative Committees and fellowships is a valid objective; takes note that the Commission has set itself a target of 40 % as regards such participation in the Fifth Framework Programme, while meeting the general cirteria of the Fifth Framework Programme, including scientific and technological excellence;

(f) more comprehensive indicators and statistical data on the participation of women in scientific research, which could be included, inter alia, in the European report on S& T indicators, will facilitate the development of appropriate policies at national and Community levels;

INVITES MEMBER STATES to:

(a) make available existing information on the gender balance of R& D personnel; and establish methods and procedures to collect and produce appropriate data and indicators in the medium-term (in particular data showing the vertical and horizontal distribution of women within the scientific research system at the levels of government, higher education and, as far as possible, the private sector) to measure the participation of women in the development of science and technology in Europe;

(b) actively engage in the dialogue proposed by the Commission in its communication by exchanging views on policies pursued at the national level so as to be able to analyse the situation and make a joint assessment of on-going policies, taking into account benchmarking and best practice in Member States. Research institutes, higher education organisations and private enterprises should be involved in this process;

(c) pursue the objective of gender equality in science by appropriate means, including through other national policies (e.g. through national employment action plans, where relevant);

INVITES THE COMMISSION to:

(a) produce, building on Member States' contributions, comparable data and European indicators, as a basis for a Community-wide assessment of the situation of women in RTD;

(b) pursue its efforts to encourage the increased participation of women throughout the Fifth Framework Programme, in accordance with all the principles and implementation criteria;

(c) propse, in the light of the abovementioned dialogue with the Member States, guidelines for further initiatives to promote women in RTD;

(d) deliver a special report to the European Parliament and the Council on progress in implementing the measures proposed in its Communication, after two years at the latest, with a view, inter alia, to contributing to the preparation of future Community research policies and programmes.

(1) OJ L 319, 10.12.1996, p. 11.

(2) OJ L 26, 1.2.1999, p. 1.