FESTA: the European Project to promote women’s scientific careers

09/01/2017 The "FESTA - GARCIA" final conference in Brussels was jointly organized by FBK (FESTA project) and Université Catholique de Louvain (GARCIA project) which has 135 members including academics from all over Europe, and also from the US and several European Commission officials as well as businesses representatives

FESTA (Female Empowerment in Science and Technology Academia), a five-year project, was co-funded by the European Union with 2.5 million Euros. During the empirical investigations, among other things, researchers studied some informal communication occasions within research organizations that are often important preconditions for formal decisions so as to detect any mechanisms that may disadvantage the women’s career dynamics. In Trentino, a number of classes from high school institutions have been involved in the project as well, to emphasize the issue of gender gaps as early as in the school environment. The project, of which Uppsala University is coordinator, has seen the advent of research realities of five other European countries, including Italy participating in the Bruno Kessler Foundation in Trento.

GARCIA (Gendering the Academy adn Research Combating Career Istability and Asymmetries), co-financed by the European Union and coordinated by Barbara Poggio and Annalisa Murgia with the University of Trento, deals with implementing actions in European universities and research centers research to promote a culture of gender equality and eliminate stereotypes and discrimination. The attention was focused on the early stages of scientific careers, to explore the obstacles which, right from the start, give way to an unequal distribution of women and men in the highest levels of scientific careers.