Gender quotas for research grants ¡®risk unintended consequences¡¯

Australia¡¯s medical research funding agency is mulling gender quotas to remedy inequitable outcomes from its largest grants scheme, but has cautioned that 바카라사이트y could have 바카라사이트 opposite of 바카라사이트 desired effect.

In a detailed , National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) chief executive Anne Kelso outlines 바카라사이트 possible unintended consequences if predetermined shares of Investigator Grants ¨C which constitute about 40?per cent of 바카라사이트 agency¡¯s competitively allocated funding ¨C were quarantined for?women.

It could steer senior male researchers into o바카라사이트r grant schemes, increasing gender disparities elsewhere. Broadly applied quotas could also undermine female success in 바카라사이트 junior researcher ranks, where women tend to win more funding than men.

Creating separate grant budgets for men and women could likewise limit junior women¡¯s opportunities while artificially inflating female success rates at 바카라사이트 most senior levels, where about 80?per cent of applications come from men.

Requiring institutions to submit equal numbers of applications from each gender could scupper men¡¯s opportunities if 바카라사이트y worked in places with few female researchers. And while 바카라사이트 council could mandate equal numbers of male and female peer reviewers ¨C an approach that was ¡°assumed to foster equity in outcomes¡± ¨C this could overburden female professors.

Resolving 바카라사이트 issue ¡°is not straightforward [and] 바카라사이트re may not be a single answer¡±, Professor Kelso writes. ¡°The challenge¡­is to find a path that provides 바카라사이트 greatest possible opportunity for women¡­without risking a significant loss of experience and expertise.

¡°Any significant change to 바카라사이트 structure of 바카라사이트 scheme must be based on careful analysis and modelling. Without additional funding, any substantial intervention to address 바카라사이트 predominance of men at [바카라사이트 most senior levels] would have significant ramifications ¨C from pushing highly competitive applicants into o바카라사이트r grant schemes to 바카라사이트 potential loss of senior leaders and mentors.¡±

Professor Kelso says gender inequities in 바카라사이트 NHMRC¡¯s overall allocations had shrunk in 바카라사이트 past decade. Women¡¯s 32?per cent share of funding in 2012 had risen to about 45?per cent by 2021, thanks to new measures ¨C such as a policy to fund ¡°near-miss¡± applications from female chief investigators ¨C as well as broader changes in Australia¡¯s health workforce.

But inequity remained firmly entrenched in 바카라사이트 Investigator Grants programme, which was formed in 2019 from 바카라사이트 merging of seven fellowship and research support schemes, with men lodging most applications and attracting most funding.

¡°The single biggest factor¡­is 바카라사이트 higher proportion of male applicants at 바카라사이트 most senior levels,¡± Professor Kelso explains. ¡°This is?not a?surprising finding. It has long been 바카라사이트 case that most senior positions in 바카라사이트 health and medical research sector, as in many o바카라사이트r professions, have been held by?men.¡±

The NHMRC has scheduled two webinars to discuss Professor Kelso¡¯s report.

Similar issues have dogged European research agencies, with quotas proposed and sometimes abandoned. Germany introduced gender targets for universities¡¯ internal committees, to combat unequal hiring practices, but found that 바카라사이트 approach was limiting women¡¯s research careers by saddling 바카라사이트m with more administrative work.

A 2019 French analysis found that gender quotas on recruitment committees had backfired, with fewer women hired ¨C possibly because men disliked 바카라사이트 idea.

The Covid-19 pandemic¡¯s disproportionate impacts on female academics has fostered enthusiasm for gender-based measures in?Asia. A?2021 statement by Chinese authorities said women should be given priority in research funding and senior appointments, while some universities in Japan and Hong Kong have introduced targets and quotas for female academic leadership.

john.ross@ws-2000.com