She Figures 2018

Equality between women and men is a core value of the European Union, enshrined in the European treaties. The EU, through a large body of legislation, actively promotes gender equality in areas such as equal pay, work-life balance, health and safety at work, social security, access to goods and services, and protection from human trafficking, gender-based violence and other forms of gender-based crime.

The EU is also equally committed to advancing gender equality in research and innovation. More specifically, gender equality and gender ‘mainstreaming’ (the integration of a gender perspective in the preparation and evaluation of policies) in academic research is one of the priorities for the European research area, and the promotion of both of these policies within research and innovation is among the aims of the EU’s framework programmes. In Horizon 2020, gender equality is both a ‘cross-cutting’ issue and the topic of the dedicated work programme ‘Science with and for society’, which funds specific initiatives in support of the EU’s gender equality strategy.

The ‘She figures’ publication provides a range of indicators on gender equality in research and innovation at pan-European level. It aims to give an overview of the gender equality situation, using a wide range of indicators to examine the impact and effectiveness of policies implemented in this area.