Monitoring progress towards gender equality in the Sixth Framework Programme : sustainable energy systems

A series of gender monitoring studies were launched during FP6 (five lots each covering several activity areas, a separate study for DG INFSO and a coordination contract) designed to monitor progress towards gender equality and gender relevance awareness in FP6. The studies examine both the participation of women in FP6 activities and the gender dimension of the research content, the aim being to assess the success of current gender mainstreaming strategies and to provide recommendations for future activities in this field. This report presents the results for Sustainable Energy Systems, an area closely related to physics and engineering, which are not only the most male-dominated scientific fields, but also the fields in which the relevance of gender in research content is least evident. However, EU-funded research on sustainable energy reflects a rising concern about the relationship between energy and environment and has led to a greater focus on the role of energy consumers, social and economic factors in technology adoption, and impacts on people. The emphasis on these aspects opens up the opportunity to integrate gender issues in research content. The study has found good examples of research projects in which the integration of the gender dimension has clearly enhanced scientific excellence.