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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).

• 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)

• 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?

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?

• 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?

Latvia

Sampling criteria for respondents:

Work experience: at least two years in science and HT.

Institutions: public science institutes, universities.

Positions:

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:

Sciences:

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