The under-representation of women in science, engineering and technology is an issue both for the research community and the individuals. On the one hand, ICT has opened up new opportunities for flexible working, irrespective of time and location, thus reducing the possible disadvantages of women in terms of performance, related to family organization and management. On the other hand, statistics show that women are traditionally under-represented in the ICT sectors workforce, at all professional levels, derived from the gap in terms of number of women students in these areas.This NoE recognises that increasing women participation in NoE activities can work against this trend, and can ultimately lead to an improvement in research and education culture, policy and practice. To reach this goal, the consortium aspires to a gender-balanced participation in the network activities and the decision making within the project. The proposed activities will seek to broaden the participation of women in all fields of basic research and education within the scope by actively supporting female participation. In fact, maximising diversity enhances the quality of research by:
- highlighting different priorities
- asking different questions
- bringing more varied perspectives on the direction of the research.
The actions that will be taken by the Consortium to promote gender equality in the frame of the NoE will be focused primarily on increasing the active participation of women in this research area. More specifically:
- Encouraging women’s participation in the network both as researchers and within the TREND management bodies. The presence of women in TREND is already good in comparison with other projects in the same technical area, with two WPs lead by women, but particular attention will be given to its increase and to the women active involvement.
- Creating a network of women researchers within the NoE, possibly with the support of Web 2.0 tools such as social networks (e.g., Facebook or LinkedIn). Periodic meetings involving TREND women will be organized. This will mainly provide a mentoring environment for young female researchers through sharing experience and information with more established researchers in the field.
- Promoting women speakers to represent the NoE in major conferences in Europe and overseas.
- Allocating dedicated bursaries to women for attending workshops and visiting partner laboratories.
- Organising seminars and career advising events in associated universities aiming to trigger the interest of female students in Green ICT.
All the institutions participating to the project support and promote the equal treatment between men and women in the workplace. The Consortium recognizes that the number of women working on ICT is very low and needs to be increased by promoting specific actions to show the appeal and relevance of this area.
