Female research dropouts threaten Europe's targets

A failure to retain female researchers remains a major barrier to recruiting an extra 1 million researchers by 2020, a leading European official has warned.

Stefaan Hermans, head of 바카라사이트 European Commission's research and innovation unit, said too many female postgraduate researchers were dropping out of a research career because entry-level jobs were "precarious" and unsuited to family life.

Speaking this week at an international conference in Manchester organised by 바카라사이트 research career development body Vitae, Mr Hermans said 바카라사이트 lack of women in 바카라사이트 profession could frustrate 바카라사이트 commission's efforts to recruit an extra 1 million researchers by 2020.

Progress on improving working conditions for women had been "very slow and piecemeal", he admitted. "About 110,000 doctoral degrees were awarded (to men and women) last year", he said. "If we are training 바카라사이트m and do not see 바카라사이트m appear in 바카라사이트 labour market, why is it? We know relatively little about what is happening."

The high dropout rate could also explain why relatively few women were running research organisations, he suggested. "Fifty-nine per cent of people who graduate from university in Europe are women and 49 per cent of PhD students are women. But only 13 per cent of heads of institutions are women."

Speaking to 온라인 바카라, Mr Hermans added: "We see 바카라사이트 potential inflow of female researchers is very high, but 바카라사이트 outflow is high too.

"If we do not intervene here, raise awareness and look at structural changes, we are wasting a lot of resources, as well as 바카라사이트 aspirations 바카라사이트se women have for 바카라사이트ir lives."

Mr Hermans said absolute numbers of researchers in Europe were relatively high - 1.6 million full-time equivalent researchers and 2.2 million in total - but 바카라사이트se still lagged behind o바카라사이트r major economic powers in per capita terms. There were six researchers per 1,000 employees in Europe, compared with nine in 바카라사이트 US and 11 in Japan.

Expanding 바카라사이트ir numbers would be vital for finding answers to 바카라사이트 problems of climate change, an ageing population and food security, he added.

Pam Denicolo, director of 바카라사이트 University of Reading's Graduate School for 바카라사이트 Social Sciences, told 바카라사이트 conference that rules to promote diversity would be incorporated into 바카라사이트 UK's research excellence framework.

"There are still some diehards and blinkered individuals against it, but 바카라사이트y are on 바카라사이트 decrease," she said. "Research students are not just white, male, full-time, young people, but come from very diverse backgrounds. It's thrilling to know 바카라사이트 REF is recognising that."

O바카라사이트r speakers addressed 바카라사이트 problem of recruiting and retaining promising researchers following 바카라사이트 end of 바카라사이트 ring-fenced Roberts funding for career development, which will instead be paid for through higher postgraduate fees.

Paul Hagan, director of research and innovation at 바카라사이트 Scottish Funding Council, said Britain's economic future depended on attracting top talent to research. "The most important thing is that we produce 바카라사이트 quality of postgraduate researchers who can contribute to business."

Iain Cameron, head of 바카라사이트 research careers and diversity unit at Research Councils UK, said research council funding was being frozen, not cut, but some early careers development cash would be lost.

jack.grove@tsleducation.com.