FESTA - Female Empowerment in Science and Technology Academia

The project “Female Empowerment in Science and Technology Academia” (FESTA) was funded by the European Union to study the role of gender in academic institutions and research. The objective of the project is to identify which organizational behaviour help to create better opportunities for employment and career advancement of women scientists and which changes should be made ​​to the now prevailing organizational structure in research institutions in order to ensure gender equality. IRVAPP analyzed specifically the formal recruitment criteria used in researchers recruitment and career development of research foundation “Bruno Kessler” (FBK) based in Trentino region. Analyzing data from recent years hiring processes, controlling for the gender composition of both the candidates and the selection committee, a correlation was found regarding the gender composition of the selection committee and the gender of candidates. Although this correlation suggests that there is a positive discrimination of women in the process of recruitment, it was also noted that the most decisive factor in the selection process appears to be the possession of previous experience of research at FBK.