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research and development policy.  The 27 members of CODEST
automatically became members of ESTA; the other 73 slots were filled by
asking the European organisations (listed in Table 5.1) to nominate
individuals.  Organisations were asked to nominate approximately twice as
many individuals as there were places, with the final selection of ESTA
members being made in Brussels.   This was to give the European
Commission a chance to balance ESTA according to the criteria set out in
the Decision, that is, geography, different types of research (pure, applied and
development) and the various fields of scientific and technological activity.
In 1994, only 4 out of the 100 members were female.
Table 5.1: Composition of ESTA in 1994
Members proposed by:
Number
Number
of members
 of women
CODEST
27
1
European Science Foundation (ESF)
12
0
European Industrial Research Managers’ Association (EIRMA)
12
0
Academia Europaea
6
2
All European Academies (ALLEA)
6
0
European Rectors’ Conference (CRE)
6
0
European Council of Applied Science & Engineering (EURO-CASE)
4
0
Industrial Research & Development Advisory Committee (IRDAC)
4
0
UNICE
2
0
European Round Table (ERT)
2
0
European Round Table Confederation (ETUC)
2
0
CERN
1
0
European Space Agency (ESA)
1
0
European Southern Observatory (ESO)
1
0
European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF)
1
0
Direct Appointment  by  European  Commission
13
1
Total
100
4
Source: EU Commission.  See also Nature, no 372, p 720
Note: The breakdown by country is as follows (female/total): Germany 0/16, France 0/14, UK 0/
11, Italy 0/10, Spain 2/7, Netherlands 0/7, Belgium 0/7, Ireland 1/5, Denmark 1/4, Sweden 0/4,
Switzerland 0/4, Austria 0/3, Finland 0/2, Portugal 0/2, Greece 0/1, Norway 0/1, Iceland 0/1 and
Luxembourg 0/1.  ESTA members are listed by country where they work rather than by
nationality.
Edith Cresson, when asked about the composition of the 1994 ESTA in a
question in the European Parliament, stated that women are relatively
under-represented in many of the European organisations that were
approached to nominate individuals.  Indeed, the lists put forward by these
organisations often failed to include a single woman.  Nevertheless, she said
that the Commission had endeavoured to choose as many women as
possible and would pursue the same line when the membership of the
Assembly was renewed in 1997.  In that year, ESTA was reduced in size to
61 members but the representation of experts in the social and economic
fields was increased.  In the 1997 ESTA, women held 5/61 or 8% of the
seats.
ESTA
In 1997, women held 5/61 or
8% of the seats.  The
breakdown by country is as
follows (female/total): EU
Countries: Germany 0/9, U.K. 0/9,
France 0/7, Italy 0/6, Spain 1/4,
Netherlands 0/4, Sweden 0/3;
Belgium 0/3, Austria 1/2,
Denmark 1/2, Ireland 1/2,
Finland 0/2, Luxembourg 0/1,
Portugal 1/2; Other Countries:
Iceland 0/1, Israel 0/1, Norway
0/1, Switzerland 0/2.
Shaping scientific policy
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Science policies in the European Union
CREST shows a dramatic improvement in gender balance change in
comparison to 1993.  Then, CREST had no female member at all, whereas
in 1998, this committee (where delegates are chosen by the Member States)
had 16/45, or 35% female members.
The Research Directorate-General announced in 1998 that it is to
restructure its two advisory bodies –IRDAC and ESTA – into a two-
chamber body to be known as the European Research Forum, bringing
together industry and the academic community.  However the composition
of this new body has not been made public to date.
Advisory groups and assessment panels in the
Fourth and Fifth Framework Programmes:
The Assessment Panels for the Fourth Framework.  Information on the gender
composition of the assessment panels, and of the awardees, was not collected
systematically.  The TMR and the TESR Programmes did however collect
an analyse such information.  In 1995, between 11 and 23% of panel
members were female compared with between 15 and 28% in 1997.   In the
two selection panels determining access to large-scale facilities (activity 2),
the ratio of women to total members was 1/31 (3%) and 1/7 (14%).  In the
seven panels responsible for choosing postgraduate and postdoctoral grants
for training, grants for experienced scientists and return grants (activity 3)
which are discipline specific, women formed 13 to 24% of the panel
members.  In the selection process for accompanying measures
(Euroconferences, summer courses and practical courses), women were 7%
of the primary reviewers and formed 20% of the panels that reviewed these
proposals in Brussels.
Assessment panels for the Targeted Socio-Economic Research Programme (TSER).
This programme was concerned with the evaluation of scientific and
technical policies, research on education, and research on social exclusion
and integration in Europe.  45/184 (25%) of the members of the review
panels was female.
Framework Programme Monitoring Panel. The Panel for the Fourth Framework
had no women members: currently, three of the eight members of the Fifth
Framework Monitoring Panel are women (1999).
Advisory groups and assessment panels for the Fifth Framework Programme.
Information on the gender composition of panels and awardees will be
systematically collected in the Fifth Framework Programme.  This dramatic
change is in part attributable to the inclusion of gender among the selection
criteria for panel members.  The call for individuals to serve on the advisory
groups for the Fifth Framework Programme in the Official Journal of the
European Communities on 13.6.98 included the following passage:
… the Commission will adopt the list of members of advisory groups
which will subsequently be made public.  It will endeavour to ensure
that the groups have a balanced composition.  To this end, it will take
account of the geographical origin and sector of origin (industry and
services, research and innovation, users and public regulatory bodies,
and socio-economic circles) of the applicants in question.  The
Commission will also endeavour to ensure a balanced participation between
women and men’.  (our emphasis)
‘By building methods for doing
science in a more interactive
and exclusive way, we can make
active partners of all the parties
involved and ensure the full
participation of women and
young scientists ... wider
participation opens new
prospects, affecting how
research is done and its focus.’
Federico Mayor, Director-General of
the United Nations Educational
Scientific and Cultural Organisation
(1999) Science no 285, p 529.
CREST
In 1998, women held 16 of the
45 seats.  The breakdown by
country is (female/total): EU
Countries: Austria 0/2, Belgium
2/4, Denmark 0/2, Finland 1/2,
France 1/4, Germany 0/3,
Greece 0/2, Ireland 2/3, Italy 0/
2, Luxembourg 1/3, Netherlands
1/3, Portugal 2/3, Sweden 3/3,
Spain 1/2, UK 1/2. EFTA
Countries: Iceland 0/2,
Lichtenstein 0/2, Norway 1/2.
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