Women's academic careers in technology: a comparative European perspective

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present some outcomes of the PROMETEA research project funded by the European Union under FP6 from 2005 to 2007 (see www.prometea.info). PROMETEA is a strongly multidisciplinary and collaborative project involving 17 research teams from 13 different countries.Design/methodology/approachThe paper combines existing knowledge with new in‐depth pilot studies on women academics in engineering and technology, linked to qualitative research work on the experiences of both women and men working in this field, using cross‐comparison as a research strategy.FindingsThe paper identifies different issues for further investigations on women researchers in engineering and technology.Originality/valueThe paper focuses on comparative perspectives between countries, disciplines or research topics, age groups, academic and industrial research career paths, etc. The similarity and diversity of academic settings are discussed with an emphasis on the impact of the changing environment of research, the balance between research, teaching and administrative workload with its influence on career choices and patterns, the interactions between industry and academia, work‐life balance, the proportion of women academics in the field, gender awareness, and so on.