The 2022 Gender Equality Survey shows an increase in the proportion of women scientists between 2019 and 2021 from 27% to 29% in non-university science and technology research. Despite this progress, there are still significant differences between women and men in this research sector.
Participation of female scientists increased between 2019 and 2021
The current Gender Equality Survey 2022 was conducted by JOANNEUM RESEARCH/ POLICIES on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology. The results show for the first time how the participation of women and men in non-university scientific and technical research has changed between 2019 and 2021, a period marked by the COVID-19 pandemic. The participation of women scientists has increased over this period: around 29% of scientists in 2021 are women - up from 27% in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic has therefore not had a negative impact on women's participation in non-university research.
Still significant differences between male and female scientists
However, there are still clear differences between women scientists and men scientists: women scientists are much more likely to work part-time, are much younger, are less likely to take on leadership positions and project management, and are also overrepresented in the lower income groups. There are also comparatively few women on the boards of non-university scientific and technical research institutions.
At the same time, it is evident that about one third of the research institutions have not yet developed and implemented a gender equality plan in 2022. But even of those institutions that already have a gender equality plan, a large proportion have not developed such a plan until 2021 or 2022.
