A quarterly publication of AQU Catalunya

96

January 2020

AQU Catalunya has undertaken the assessment and accreditation of merits in research of teaching and research staff since 2011, with assessment being based on six-year periods of research. The assessment of six-year periods of research is non-mandatory and is associated, in the case of both regular and contract teaching staff at public universities, with supplementary earnings. The assessment of merits in research is undertaken by the various specific committees that come under AQU's Research Assessment Commission (CAR).

Following a request from the Inter-University Council of Catalonia's (CIC) Women and Science Committee, AQU Catalunya has developed a study to deal with issues such as:

• Are there any differences between men and women in the rates of successful accreditation?
• In terms of professional career development, do women take any longer to obtain accreditation for merits in research?

The analysis shows that there are no differences with regard to the assessment procedure and that, in terms of professional career development, none of the expected differences were found.

Are there any differences in the accreditation of merits in research according to gender?

The assessment of gender-based differences in the percentage of those successfully obtaining the accreditation of merits in research is complicated by the composition effect. Men and women are not distributed evenly in fields of research and so any differences in the percentage of successful accreditation in two subject areas (one more male-dominated and another more female-dominated) could be attributed to gender when in fact they may be due to the subject area or field of specialisation, with there being no actual differences between men and women in each one.

Out of the 6,987 dossiers of contract teaching and research staff processed and assessed by AQU Catalunya, only the CAR committee for Humanities identified differences in the rate of successful accreditation according to gender. More specifically, the rate of successful accreditation in women was 6.3 percentage points lower than that of men, although the magnitude of this effect is low (p = 0.06, Cramér's V = 0.118).

Figure 1. Outcomes of the assessment of candidates' dossiers according to committee and gender

It could however be that the differences identified in Humanities, or those that the other committees did not find, mask composition effects in the fields of knowledge that come under each of the six committees. Figure 2 shows the assessment outcomes according to field of knowledge. Out of the 21 fields of knowledge, differences were only found in Civil Engineering and History and Art. Nevertheless, care should be taken with the interpretation as the confidence intervals (grey lines) are very wide.

Figure 2. Odds ratio (OR) of the outcomes of assessment and accreditation according to field of knowledge and gender

NB: OR > 1 (marked with a blue line) indicates that the probability of obtaining accreditation
for merits in research is higher in men, whereas for OR < 1 this probability is higher for women.

Are there any differences between men and women in terms of professional career development for obtaining a favourable report for a six-year period of research (in other words, accreditation for merits in research)? At what age do these differences occur? Do women aged between 35 and 45 take longer to obtain accreditation for merits in research?

The starting hypothesis was that, because of the effects of maternity, it was anticipated that there would be differences between men and women under 45.

From the analysis of the number of years assessed in each accredited research period for the sub-group of candidates with favourable dossiers (5,440), according to age group and gender (Figure 3), out of the six committees, statistically significant differences were only found in the Social Sciences among those aged between 35 and 45 (p = 0.004) and in Medical and Health Sciences (p = 0.026) among those aged between 45 and 55. More specifically, there was a higher level of dispersion in the number of years assessed per period of research among women aged between 35 and 45 in Social Sciences, with a trend towards a higher number of years taken to complete an accredited period of research. Among those aged between 45 and 55, on the other hand, there was greater dispersion in the number of years to obtain a accreditation for a full six-year period of research for men in Medical and Health Sciences, meaning that men tended to take longer.

Figure 3. Distribution graphs for the Social Sciences and Medical and Health Sciences

Social Sciences

Medical and Health Sciences

In which research period, if any, do differences occur?

No differences were expected between men and women as regards a first accreditation (six years) for merits in research; due to the effects of maternity, however, it was anticipated that there would be differences in a second period of research. In the 5,440 favourable reports, an analysis was also made of the number of years required to complete each research period according to gender.

Statistically significant differences between men and women were only found in the number of years required to complete the first research period in the Medical and Health Sciences. In this case, paradoxically, there was a higher level of dispersion in men, who took longer (i.e. more years) to complete the first research period.

Medical and Health Sciences

Conclusions

No conclusive significant differences were found in the assessment procedure, and no anticipated differences between men and women were found in terms of professional career development.

As far as assessment was concerned, any gender-based differences in all six CAR committees were only found in Humanities, but they were of a low magnitude. In terms of the 21 fields of knowledge, Civil Engineering and History and Art were the only fields of knowledge where the probability of obtaining a favourable outcome was lower for women. Care should be taken however when interpreting this figure because it may mask a composition effect in the subject area or specialised field (192). In summary, it cannot be concluded that there are any differences according to gender in the assessment and accreditation procedures.

With regard to differences between men and women in the time taken to complete a full six-year research period, anticipated differences were only found in the Social Sciences as regards the number of years per research period. It was found that women between 35 and 45 tend to take longer (i.e. more years) to complete a six-year research period. It is probable, however, that the subject area or specialised field have more influence than gender as regards the mean number of years required to complete a full six-year research period and obtain accreditation.

The fact that no differences were found, however, does not mean that they did not exist. One question that needs to be examined is whether the proportion of women undergoing accreditation is lower and if any differences occur in a stage prior to assessment (prior to applying for accreditation). In fact, the structural data for teaching staff in all systems show a male bias in the figures for full professor, while only 24% are women (EC, 2019), with full professor being the key figure in the design of university policies. This shows there is still a long way to go as regards gender equity and academic careers.

AQU Catalunya has pioneered the inclusion of the gender perspective in quality assurance procedures among European quality assurance HE agencies. Within the framework of knowledge generation, we have also focused special attention on gender differences, for example, in the transition from higher education to employment and have collaborated on different occasions with the Institut Català de les Dones, the body that designs, promotes and coordinates policy dealing with women in Catalan society (AQU, 2010; AQU, 2012). This study on gender differences in the accreditation of merits in research is the first one we have carried out that introduces the gender perspective in the assessment of people. We envisage it to be the first of various different studies that will raise awareness, within our scope of activity, of the ways in which gender differences become firmly established in the professional career path of university teaching staff.

For more information

MEC (2017) Científicas en cifras 2017. Madrid: Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades

AQU (2010). Gènere i inserció del col·lectiu universitari. Barcelona: AQU Catalunya

AQU (2012). Gènere i inserció laboral. Dones i homes 10 anys després de graduar-se, iguals o diferents? Barcelona: AQU Catalunya

AQU (2019). Marc general per a la incorporació de la perspectiva de gènere en la docència universitària. Barcelona: AQU Catalunya

European Commission (2019). She figures 2018. Luxembourg: Publication Office of the European Union