Gender Diversity in Research and Innovation Projects: The Proportion of Women in the Context of Higher Education

Abstract

Europe has gradually consolidated its integration of the gender dimension in the field of research and innovation. Institutional structures have shown that the development of gender diversity policies have improved the conditions of equality between women and men. However, the representation of women in the workforce is still an everyday and universal concern. This article analyses the position of women in academic research. For this purpose, the evolution of the participation of women in research and innovation projects in the context of higher education is observed, taking the University of the Basque Country, Spain, as a case study. In order to evaluate the situation of women in research and innovation projects, the authors analyse a database with 75,864 records of projects collected between 2007 and 2018. The analysis confirms that a more balanced participation has been achieved between women and men in research and innovation teams and in project management structures. However, it also shows that gender diversity should continue to be a priority, in addition to its integration in science and technology financing programmes. Knowing this reality can be useful to promote the intensive development of public policies and to contribute towards the effort to improve the statistics of women’s participation in science.