Gender (In)equality in Research and Science
A Multilevel Analysis across Europe
Will be published approx. on 14. July 2026
Book
Hardback
278 pages
978-1-0353-4570-0 (ISBN)
Description
This insightful book provides a comparative and multidimensional exploration of gender inequalities in science and research across Europe. Combining quantitative and qualitative methods and comparing five European countries and seven types of research organisations, it examines how gender regimes, organisational cultures and policies and neoliberal logics shape careers, experiences and science.
Leading authors in the field analyse precarity, the glass ceiling, definitions of excellence, work-life balance, the passion trap and the impact of 'publish or perish' cultures, revealing how gendered expectations and practices intersect with structural and cultural barriers. Drawing on the Horizon Europe project MINDtheGEPs, the book highlights key areas of cultural and structural resistance and innovation that challenge the 'fix the women' approach and promote systemic change. Chapters link macro, meso and micro levels of analysis within a gender-as-social-structure framework, underscoring the importance of feminist approaches in understanding and addressing inequalities and in redefining science as a collective, inclusive and ethical enterprise. The book ultimately advocates for gender-aware institutional transformation that fosters both equality and excellence.
Gender (In)equality in Research and Science is prime reading for scholars and students of gender studies, sociology, political science, and social policy. It is also relevant to higher education leaders, equality officers and policymakers for its concrete tools for transforming organisational gendered cultures and implementing and monitoring gender equality plans.
Leading authors in the field analyse precarity, the glass ceiling, definitions of excellence, work-life balance, the passion trap and the impact of 'publish or perish' cultures, revealing how gendered expectations and practices intersect with structural and cultural barriers. Drawing on the Horizon Europe project MINDtheGEPs, the book highlights key areas of cultural and structural resistance and innovation that challenge the 'fix the women' approach and promote systemic change. Chapters link macro, meso and micro levels of analysis within a gender-as-social-structure framework, underscoring the importance of feminist approaches in understanding and addressing inequalities and in redefining science as a collective, inclusive and ethical enterprise. The book ultimately advocates for gender-aware institutional transformation that fosters both equality and excellence.
Gender (In)equality in Research and Science is prime reading for scholars and students of gender studies, sociology, political science, and social policy. It is also relevant to higher education leaders, equality officers and policymakers for its concrete tools for transforming organisational gendered cultures and implementing and monitoring gender equality plans.
Reviews / Votes
'An insightful and timely exploration of gender (in)equalities in science, combining quantitative depth with vivid narratives from across Europe. This volume will spark fresh thinking and drive meaningful, lasting change.' -- Joerg Mueller, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, SpainMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cheltenham
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-0353-4570-0 (9781035345700)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Edited by Cristina Solera, Associate Professor of Sociology, Department of Cultures, Politics and Society, University of Turin and Affiliate, Collegio Carlo Alberto and Manuela Naldini, Full Professor of Sociology of the Family, Department of Cultures, Politics and Society, University of Turin and Fellow, Collegio Carlo Alberto, Italy
Content
Contents
Introduction: studying gender (in)equalities in research and science
in different contexts 1
Cristina Solera and Manuela Naldini
PART I PAINTING A QUANTITATIVE PORTRAIT:
RESEARCH ORGANISATIONS IN ITALY, POLAND,
IRELAND, SPAIN AND SERBIA
1 Mapping the macro context: varieties of gender regimes 24
Manuela Naldini, Camilla Lasagna and Cristina Solera
2 Mapping the meso context: multi-area indicators for a gender
portrait 49
Domenico Sanseverino, Katarzyna Krzeminska and Cristina Solera
3 Gendered policy perceptions across career stages: evidence
from Italy and Serbia 75
Arianna Santero, Aleksandra Drecun, Nicolo Marchesini and
Giulia Tattarini
PART II PAINTING A QUALITATIVE PORTRAIT: MALE
AND FEMALE RESEARCHERS EMBEDDED IN
DIFFERENT CONTEXTS
4 Lived experiences of precarity: the gendered paths of
precariousness in Italian and Polish contexts 98
Paulina Sekula, Marco Cellini, Aleksandra Migalska, Cloe
Mirenda and Rosy Musumeci
5 Glass ceiling: comparing promotion and leadership across
different research organisations 117
Manuela Naldini, Gema Antequera, Ivana Jaksic, Sonia
Maria Llanes Guisande, Lucio Pisacane and Arianna Santero
6 Passion trouble: when you balance between family and passion 136
Magdalena Zadkowska, Magdalena Herzberg-Kurasz, Nicolo
Marchesini and Rosy Musumeci
7 Defining and experiencing excellence in a neoliberal
academia: comparing the views of researchers at different
career stages and roles 155
Rosy Musumeci, Angela Balzano, Aleksandra Migalska and
Paulina Sekula
PART III DOING SCIENCE IN THE NEOLIBERAL AGE:
CONTEXTUALISING CRITICAL ISSUES AND
LINES OF FLIGHT
8 Being a researcher in the neo-liberal age: the 'how not to
perish' aame-are we ready to change the rules? 175
Magdalena Anita Gajewska, Serena Tagliacozzoand
Magdalena Zadkowska
9 Fixing women or fixing the system? The case of mentoring 194
Cristina Solera, Marta Dziedzic, Aoife Ni Fhlatharta,
Natasza Kosakowska-Berezecka, Helena Mc Mahon and Sara Salerno
10 Lines of flight: good practices in MINDtheGEPs' Gender
Equality Plans 214
Claudia Colonnello, Josepine Fernow, Federico Luigi
Martaand Federica Turco
11 Feminist epistemologies for gendering science and changing
the system 234
Angela Balzano and Ilaria Santoemma
Introduction: studying gender (in)equalities in research and science
in different contexts 1
Cristina Solera and Manuela Naldini
PART I PAINTING A QUANTITATIVE PORTRAIT:
RESEARCH ORGANISATIONS IN ITALY, POLAND,
IRELAND, SPAIN AND SERBIA
1 Mapping the macro context: varieties of gender regimes 24
Manuela Naldini, Camilla Lasagna and Cristina Solera
2 Mapping the meso context: multi-area indicators for a gender
portrait 49
Domenico Sanseverino, Katarzyna Krzeminska and Cristina Solera
3 Gendered policy perceptions across career stages: evidence
from Italy and Serbia 75
Arianna Santero, Aleksandra Drecun, Nicolo Marchesini and
Giulia Tattarini
PART II PAINTING A QUALITATIVE PORTRAIT: MALE
AND FEMALE RESEARCHERS EMBEDDED IN
DIFFERENT CONTEXTS
4 Lived experiences of precarity: the gendered paths of
precariousness in Italian and Polish contexts 98
Paulina Sekula, Marco Cellini, Aleksandra Migalska, Cloe
Mirenda and Rosy Musumeci
5 Glass ceiling: comparing promotion and leadership across
different research organisations 117
Manuela Naldini, Gema Antequera, Ivana Jaksic, Sonia
Maria Llanes Guisande, Lucio Pisacane and Arianna Santero
6 Passion trouble: when you balance between family and passion 136
Magdalena Zadkowska, Magdalena Herzberg-Kurasz, Nicolo
Marchesini and Rosy Musumeci
7 Defining and experiencing excellence in a neoliberal
academia: comparing the views of researchers at different
career stages and roles 155
Rosy Musumeci, Angela Balzano, Aleksandra Migalska and
Paulina Sekula
PART III DOING SCIENCE IN THE NEOLIBERAL AGE:
CONTEXTUALISING CRITICAL ISSUES AND
LINES OF FLIGHT
8 Being a researcher in the neo-liberal age: the 'how not to
perish' aame-are we ready to change the rules? 175
Magdalena Anita Gajewska, Serena Tagliacozzoand
Magdalena Zadkowska
9 Fixing women or fixing the system? The case of mentoring 194
Cristina Solera, Marta Dziedzic, Aoife Ni Fhlatharta,
Natasza Kosakowska-Berezecka, Helena Mc Mahon and Sara Salerno
10 Lines of flight: good practices in MINDtheGEPs' Gender
Equality Plans 214
Claudia Colonnello, Josepine Fernow, Federico Luigi
Martaand Federica Turco
11 Feminist epistemologies for gendering science and changing
the system 234
Angela Balzano and Ilaria Santoemma