“Enlarging Europe with/for Women Scientists” Enwise valorisation Conference:

Education in the East–Working in the West Diana Meyer-Veden, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Germany: Responsible Person for Equal Opportunities Opportunities and Challenges for Gender Equality by Learning from two Different Regimes

ENWISE,Tallinn, 09/2004 Diana Meyer-Veden, PIK, Germany Introduction  WOMEN and Science:  How does the public reflect on female researchers – how do we reflect to the public?  Who is shaping our role – how do we contribute to the shaping of the roles of women?  What possibilities are open to us to form the roles and views on gender?  What possibilities are open to us to enable equal opportunities between female and male researchers?

ENWISE,Tallinn, 09/2004 Diana Meyer-Veden, PIK, Germany Roles of Gender  important factors: Culture, Society and Education  play on a different scales of time  education is the most efficient, because shortlasting and quickest to change factor  also play on different levels of influence  the levels become more complex and more indirect during our personal life course: micro – meso - macro level

ENWISE,Tallinn, 09/2004 Diana Meyer-Veden, PIK, Germany Roles of Gender  MICRO level - the closest family and friends:  - parents can educate their children equally almost indifferent to their gender  MESO level - when becoming school age:  - children have to get equal opportunities to look for their interests, not depending on traditional gender roles girls should learn to stand their ground  Here it is possible to shape the personality of women and to lay a basis that gender equality is being lived.

ENWISE,Tallinn, 09/2004 Diana Meyer-Veden, PIK, Germany Roles of Gender  Reaching the MACRO level - when following a career:  - this is mostly the level where gender roles are fixed and reflect on us from the public,  we are exposed and have to learn coping with the situation?  Here it is more possible to change the roles of gender via the establishment of a sufficient framework for equal opportunities.

ENWISE,Tallinn, 09/2004 Diana Meyer-Veden, PIK, Germany Roles of Gender  Two directions of change.  One from the macro level influencing the official role of women within the society, and one from the micro level putting a good basis and strong character into women to live and look for equal opportunities.

ENWISE,Tallinn, 09/2004 Diana Meyer-Veden, PIK, Germany Experiences on the MICRO level  During GDR times - Opportunities: Families brought up their children more gender indifferent, e.g. via the focus to do sports where girls got their credits and self-esteem  In schools kids were left to decide for their interests, girls and boys alike taught in DIY, sewing, gardening  Challenge: the former generation was formed of mothers who had to survive the difficult time after the second world war and by that became stronger and more independent

ENWISE,Tallinn, 09/2004 Diana Meyer-Veden, PIK, Germany Experiences on the MICRO level  Now:  Gender roles are manifested and reproduced stronger  Women are supported by special programmes/ quota  they are put under a kind of cover Challenge: they have to learn socialising and ‚competing‘ with men from the earliest days. It seems wrong to protect them and make them strong for a situation they do not know to then leave them free into the male dominated world in jobs, education etc.

ENWISE,Tallinn, 09/2004 Diana Meyer-Veden, PIK, Germany Experiences on the MACRO level  During GDR times - Opportunities:  Women got 1day/month off for doctors/public authorities  E.g.after maternity leave mothers was paid salary as long as a place in a crèche could be offered  Challenge: no possibility to work part time, very long working hours and commuting  No payment catalogue to ensure equal salaries  But women did not feel discriminated generally, also if the quota for females was not reached: „Emancipation was lived, nobody talked about it, today it is the other way around.“

ENWISE,Tallinn, 09/2004 Diana Meyer-Veden, PIK, Germany Experiences on the MACRO level  Now - Opportunities:  recent new law in favour of fostering the establishment of kindergartens from the federal government  the payment in research institutions (public payment catalogue) is indifferent to gender  good chance for equal opportunities  Challenge: new regulations for the unemployed foster male employment ( HARTZIV )  women are put back to biological tasks  more programmes for women support than in GDR times (contradictory)

ENWISE,Tallinn, 09/2004 Diana Meyer-Veden, PIK, Germany Summary  Chance:  If an appropriate framework could be established to lessen the inequalities between men and women (e.g. with crèches, kindergartens, same salary etc.) women have a good basis to work under similar circumstances as their male counterparts. But it is also up to parents/the early education that women become strong and ask and live equal opportunities.