Debate: Promoting gender equality in science, technology, engineering and mathematics  education and careers
Date: WEDNESDAY, 9 JUNE 2021
Speaker: Helena Dalli
Language: EN

The report welcomes the digital education action plan, which sets out a strategic approach to digital transformation in education and training, including the fight against the under—representation of girls and women in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). In the digital sector, men still represent more than 80% of the workforce, and only one in three science, engineering and mathematics graduates are women. Given the need to stimulate diversity, one of the actions of the new digital education action plan responds to the need to increase the participation of women in STEM fields. The teaching of scientific and technical subjects is also a priority for cooperation projects in higher education under the Erasmus+ 2021 work programme.  Ongoing work within the framework of the EU Coalition in the field of science, technology, engineering and mathematics will be exploited in conjunction with the results of already—funded Erasmus+ projects. The aim is to support the sharing of the best practices available in the framework of European university alliances and the establishment of national platforms in the field of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.  This action will contribute to the development of new higher education programmes for engineering, information and communication technologies based on the science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics (STEAM) approach. STEAM constitutes a multidisciplinary set of educational approaches, breaking down traditional divisions between subjects and disciplines in order to link the teaching of STEM and information and communication technologies to that of the arts, human sciences and social sciences.  The COVID—19 crisis has strengthened the stereotypical roles of women and men, and thus we need to foster the full talent pool and promote women’s role and participation in all fields and all levels, such as in management. The digital education action plan also addresses the ethical implications of artificial intelligence, including gender bias, by developing ethical guidelines on AI and data in education and training.  The Commission’s expert group responsible for developing the guidelines was recruited recently, and will launch guidelines in September 2022 as part of the back to school campaign, accompanied by awareness—raising activities.  Education plays an important role in combating the under—representation of women in the field of development of new technologies and research. The PISA survey shows no difference in the skills of boys and girls in science, but gender differences widen when young people enter university and choose specific subjects and careers.  To help Member States promote equality in education and training, a planned working group on equality and values in education and training will provide guidance for the use of gender—disaggregated data for the purposes of assessing policy reforms by the end of 2022.  Gender equality is in fact one of the priorities of the new European Research Area, and the Horizon Europe programme makes it one of its transversal principles. Your report recognises the efforts made by the Commission to encourage the participation of women in STEM, in particular within the framework of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, while regretting the persistence of inequalities between women and men in terms of equal access to positions and funding within the European Union.  Current efforts, with the support of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, and its knowledge and innovation communities, have helped to organise training activities for girls in primary, secondary and higher education in order to stimulate digital skills. The action is expected to reach 40 000 young female students.  By introducing several new provisions in Horizon Europe, such as a new eligibility criteria, we want to bring change. From 2022, higher education and research institutions must put an action plan for gender equality in place to participate in the programme.  Among other initiatives, the Women TechEU programme, within the European Innovation Council, aims to foster the creation of tech startups by women and support women’s entrepreneurship. Within the framework of the new European Research Area, we will develop, together with the Member States, a talent platform which will go beyond the current EURAXESS platform and will pay particular attention to equality between women and men. The Commission is also pleased with the Marie Skłodowska—Curie Actions, a programme for doctoral education and post—doctoral training, which encourages women to apply. Women researchers represent more than 41% of the number of researchers in the programme. This percentage is even higher among doctoral candidates, at nearly 45%, and postdoctoral researchers, at nearly 42%, who are funded by the programme. So the gender dimension is an important selection criterion in the evaluation process. The programme also supports equal opportunities through the principle of equal pay for all beneficiaries, providing family allowances, maternity and parental leave and the possibility of part—time work for family or personal reasons for everyone.  In addition, the Commission has introduced new measures through the new Framework Programme in order to make this financial support fairer, more gender—friendly and more inclusive than it currently is. The Commission remains committed to continue working with Parliament in recognising equality between women and men as a strategic priority in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.