IN-Depth interview
A list of Questions
“career of Women in science and High technology”
If it is possible, the interview should be done
not in the workplace of the respondent, but in other informal surroundings. In
that way we should guarantee that the respondent can talk openly, without
fearing of anybody to enter the room during the interview and diminish a chance
of listening to the interview by colleagues. We should also ask the respondent
to have her CV during the interview in order to talk smoothly about her career
trend (dates, positions).
Personal information
o
When and where did you receive your
degree(s) in sciences or high technology?
o
How long are you in science?
o
How long have you been working in
this science or HT institution?
o
Did you work somewhere else? Where?
o
Career trend: In what position did you start your
career in science? How has your position, field of research (activity sphere)
been changing over time? What is your position (tasks) now?
o
What is your age?
o
What is your family status?
o
Children
o
Spouse (education, specialty,
position)
Scientific Career
o
Why did you choose to study
[physics, chemistry, etc.]?
o
What factors determined the choice
of your current research field or academic activity?
o
What do you like in your current
job? And what don’t?
o
Does your institution distribute any
financial resources for the scientific research? How would you evaluate the
transparency in the distribution of financial resources for research?
o
What are possibilities to take part
in the international research projects?
o
How often do you participate in the
international conferences? How do you get the financial resources for the
participating in the international conferences?
o
As scientist, do you work
individually or in a team? If in a team, describe your team (positions,
gender).
§
How could you evaluate the working
atmosphere in your team? Is it favourable for your scientific research?
§
How work tasks are allocated in the
team? Could you indicate any tasks that are
better carried out by women or that are more often delegated to them in your
team? Who has the power to decide how to allocate tasks and assignments in
the team? How much are you satisfied with the allocation of work tasks in the
team? Who are the main idea generators in your team?
§
How the contribution of each
scientist to a team work is usually evaluated in your team? How much are you
satisfied with evaluation criteria? Are work results and achievements of
scientists openly discussed in the team? Have you ever experienced an unfair
evaluation of your achievements or contribution to the team work? (If yes, did
you discuss it with someone at your institution? What were the results of this
discussion? If not, why?) How did you feel?
§
Is there a strong competition among
colleagues in your team? What is it based on and what
means are used for the competition? Who are the main competitors (men, women,
men with women)?
o
In your opinion, what are the
characteristics of an “excellent scientist”? (Traits, position, working habits)
o
Do you publish your research results
individually or as co-author? What factors determine the number of publications
and possibilities to publish results of individual research in prestigious,
international editions (journals) with high citation index?
o
Is number of publications a good
indicator of achievements in science?
o
Is there a practice in your
institution to include scientists in administrative positions into the list of
co-authors although they contribute to the scientific research relatively
little? How would you evaluate such a practice?
o
What else has to be evaluated as the
achievements of a scientist?
o How is the practice of working
overtime widespread at your science institution? Does working
overtime per ser have influence on the evaluation of scientist’s achievements?
o
How
much is it important for you to make a career? Why?
§
Do men
and women scientists have equal opportunities to make a scientific career at
your science institution?
o
Did you have any breaks or slow
downs in your science career (due to maternity leave, health problems or other
reasons)? If yes, when and for how long?
o
How do you organize your family life
to combine work and family?
§
Have
you ever experienced the devaluation as a scientist (through distribution of
work tasks and assignments, evaluation of achievements) due to your marital
status or family responsibilities and duties? Did you ever resign a
position/work for the family? Would you resign a position for the family?
o
How much scientific career is
connected to administrative position?
Participation in decision making bodies of Science institutions
Questions for women in
Senior positions (heads of departments, deputy deans, deans of faculties, members of scientific
boards, etc.)
o
How
did you achieve this position?
§
How much was the support and encouragement of
colleagues important in achieving the leading position? Did you have to compete
with men for this position?
o
What
advantages do you see in administrative position in scientific research? What
are the disadvantages?
o How are you getting along with administrative work?
§
Are
there any men scientists in the department under your supervision? How does gender matter in you?
§
How
often do you confront an opinion that women are not good at leadership as they
lack some characteristics crucial for administrative work, they are too
emotional, undetermined, unable to stand for the department, etc.? In your
opinion, can such statement be regarded as true? Do women scientists support
women in leading positions at your science institution? Why?
o
Do men and women have equal
opportunities to achieve an administrative position at your science
institution?
§
How
much are informal networks, spending leisure time together and friendship
important for career of men and women at your science institution?
§
Why
women would be better leaders than men? What character traits of women would be
disadvantage in leading positions, compared to men?
Questions
for women who are not in Senior positions
o
Would you agree to take part in the
competition for an administrative position at your science institution if you
were offered to?
§
If
not, why? What about other science institutions? Science institutions abroad? Would
you take part in the competition if there were any women competitors, not only
men? Would you take part in the competition for an administrative position on
your own, without any offer?
o
Do men and women have equal
opportunities to achieve an administrative position at your science
institution?
§
How
much are informal networks, spending leisure time together and friendship
important for career of men and women at your science institution?
§
Why
women would be better leaders than men? What character traits of women would be
disadvantage in leading positions, compared to men?
§
How
does gender of the leader matter in your institution?
§
How often
do you confront an opinion that women are not good at leadership as they lack
some characteristics crucial for administrative work, they are too emotional,
undetermined, unable to stand for the department, etc.? In your opinion, can
such statement be regarded as true?
Solving the problem of gender INEQUALITY in science
o
What features of the state science system
would you consider as creating obstacles for making scientific career?
§
Could
you indicate any barriers that women scientists face in their careers which are
not, or to the lesser extent are encountered by their male counterparts in the
field of exact sciences and high technologies?
o
Why, do you think, only few women choose
a career in sciences and HT?
o
In your opinion, do women experience
discrimination in the science system? What forms of discrimination could you
indicate?
o
Are there any open discussions about
discrimination of women in your institution? If yes, does your science institution implement
any strategy for the prevention of discrimination at work place and in the
recruitment process?
o
Who has to solve the problem of
gender inequality in sciences (women themselves, science institutions, state)?
§
Why
women are often evasive about becoming organized with other women for the
problem solving of gender inequality in science?
§
Could
women trust each other on the gender inequality solving issue or would they
join the opponents under the circumstances of pressure?
o
How would you evaluate the
implementation of such policy actions which encourage women scientists to make
career in sciences or seek administrative positions in science system:
§
Grants
only for women scientists;
§
Introduction
of quota system, defining proportion of women and men in decision-making bodies
of science institutions and preference of women over men when qualification
characteristics are the same;
§
Better
support for women that return to science after the maternity break in
scientific career.
§
Would
you consider such means as discriminating men? What would be more efficient – temporary
introduce the above mentioned means or publicly discuss and debate about the
problems of women and slowly change attitudes of men and women scientists to
the problems of gender inequality in sciences?
o
Would you agree to take part in such
discussions, debates with men scientists, seeking to solve problem of gender
inequality at your science institution or science system? If not, why? According to you, how
high is the risk of earning the label of “victim” or stereotypical “feminist
looser” in such discussions?
o
Do you have any ideas, proposals how
to encourage women to participate in decision-making in science institutions
and to pursue their scientific career more actively?
o
Is it necessary to encourage girls
to study sciences and HT at higher education institutions? Why?
o
In what respects participation of
women in sciences and HT is useful for science [society, state]? Would it make
any difference if women comprise more than one third of work force in sciences
and HT?
Sampling
Estonia and Latvia
|
Main group of respondents |
Number of respondents |
|
Women
scientists pursuing career in sciences in HT |
20 |
|
Additional groups of respondents |
|
|
Men
scientists pursuing career in sciences in HT ** |
It would
be good if you could also make up to 7 interviews with men, however, you
should inform us whether your budget (related to 5 person months) will allow
you to have this additional group of respondents !!! |
Sampling criteria for main group of
respondents:
Work experience: at least two years in science and HT.
Institutions: public science
institutes, universities.
Positions:
|
|
% |
N |
|
Professor,
chief research fellow: |
16 % |
3 |
|
Associated
professor, senior research fellow: |
30 % |
6 |
|
Assistant
professor, lecturer, research fellow: |
30 % |
6 |
|
Assistant,
junior research fellow: |
24 % |
5 |
Administrative position:
Women in senior positions (heads of
departments, deputy deans, deans of faculties, members of scientific boards) – 20-25
%
10
% - sciences with the lowest percentage of women in senior positions
10
% - sciences with the highest percentage of women in senior positions
Age:
|
|
N |
|
25-30 |
3 |
|
31-40 |
5 |
|
41-50 |
5 |
|
51-60 |
4 |
|
60 and
more |
3 |
Sciences:
|
|
Same institution;
deferent departments; deferent positions |
|
Senior position (N=4) |
|
|
N |
N |
N |
|
Physics |
2 |
+1 |
? |
|
Chemistry |
2 |
|
? |
|
Astronomy |
2 |
|
? |
|
Biochemistry |
2 |
|
? |
|
Mathematics |
2 |
|
? |
|
Informatics, IT |
1 |
+1 |
? |
|
Engineering, electronics |
2 |
+1 |
? |
Data analysis: thematic coding