Press Release: Wasted talents: the situation of women scientists in Eastern European countries

The European Commission released a report on 29 January 2004 on the situation facing women scientists in the Eastern and Central European countries and in the Baltic States. The report concludes that women account for 38% of the scientific workforce in the Central and Eastern European Countries and the Baltic States (the Enwise countries), but this statistic conceals some bitter truths: a large proportion of female scientists is employed in areas where R&D expenditure is lowest. Inadequate resources and poor infrastructure impede the progress of a whole generation of promising scientists. Men are three times more likely to reach senior academic positions than women. In this rather gloomy picture, however, there is a positive sign: women scientists from the Enwise countries participate significantly in the European Union's Framework Programme. The Commission welcomes this fact, as the Framework Programme is a strategic tool to reinforce research capacities and the participation of women in research.

http://ec.europa.eu/comm/research/science-society/pdf/enwise_report.pdf http://ec.europa.eu/comm/research/science-society/pdf/enwise_report.pdf

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