Recommendations for scientific unions
We conclude with recommendations for Scientific Unions and other worldwide organizations, in particular the unions members of the project. By Unions we mean worldwide members of the International Science Council, in particular those that are members of our project.
- Work collectively to change culture and norms to reduce the various aspects of the gender gap. Share policy, toolkits and learnings to enable member organizations and members. Launch campaigns to increase awareness of the benefits to society of reducing the gender gap.
- Define and advertise best practices to prevent, report and address sexual harassment and discrimination in professional spaces.
- In order to address the disproportionate impact of parenthood on the careers of women, recommend and disseminate in the scientific community proper accounting of child bearing/caring responsibilities (18 months per child recommended) when evaluating candidates in hiring and promotion processes. Recognize the existence and impact of discontinuous careers and suggest strategies for developing responsive hiring and funding policies. Encourage policies to help reduce salary disparities.
- Actively promote the visibility of female scientists, in particular at conferences. Program a session for all participants on diversity and inclusion in their discipline in union-sponsored conferences. Develop policies on gender balance for funding conferences with representative speaker and panel lists, scientific organizing committees and local organizing committees. Request a reporting mechanism for these concerns at the conference.
- Encourage the diversification of scientific awards, actively encouraging the nomination of women. Add 18 months per child to all age-limits in scientific awards for people having taken care of children.
- Encourage the presence of women in editorial boards in your discipline and publish reports on the proportion of papers published by women. Use double blind reviews. Manage constructive feedback on submitted papers.
- Welcome families in scientific activities. For scientific meetings that you sponsor or support, encourage taking care of all issues of family attending with children and putting a budget in place to offer childcare solutions.
- Create a committee for women and/or gender equality, with an assigned budget line. Organize specific meetings to promote women’s networking. Support women in writing better grant proposals. Develop websites on women in science, reporting all the news relevant for women in science such as success stories of female scientists, conferences or activities relevant to women in science. Encourage and advertise books and media written by women, biographies of women, and media releases.
- Actively promote gender balance at every level of your organization, including its leadership, committees and institutional events.
- In all outreach and educational programs and products, raise awareness> about the gender gap and include specific actions and events that aim at reducing the gender gap. When role models are introduced, include diverse backgrounds, genders and ages and those who did not necessarily have a straightforward traditional career, including scientists not employed in academia.
Marie-Françoise Roy et Colette Guillopé
