Toward a Gendered Pipeline Typology: A Comparative Analysis Across Six European Countries

• Main Authors: Shaik, Farah, Fusulier, Bernard
• Other Authors: UCL - Instituts de recherche et pôles (publication post 2010)
• Format: Report
• Language: Ndonga
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: Leaky Pipeline; Gender; Academia; Iceland
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/177751

In this report we propose a new Typology of Gendered Pipelines that provides a multi-level, multi-dimensional and comparative analytical framework of leaky pipelines and interrelated phenomena across six European countries and research institutions (Italy, Slovenia, Iceland, Switzerland, Belgium, The Netherlands). Along with previous studies and with a number of contemporary European studies, the GARCIA project establishes that the moving away of women from the scientific or academic path, leading to higher positions does not happen so simply as one could imagine at first glance and that rather than adopting mono-causality, we have to take a more composite view of causes and effects when thinking about the “Leaky Pipeline†and other phenomena. When looking at gender policies, under the hood of “â€gender equality†these have so far also focussed in a rather epidermic way on improving figures and representations in professorships and leadership positions (albeit still without much effect). In short, research institutions more rarely question the pipelines themselves, although already broached by numerous research studies in different national contexts. Pipelines are often seen as either career trajectories, or organizational career pathways that point to “leaksâ€, which are undeniably present in all our case-study institutions. However, we would argue that we cannot simply adopt an approach of “filling the gaps†or of pointing the fingers at gatekeepers. Our various project results have fed the focus on the “leaky pipeline†by providing us with a rich multi-level perspective; a multi-dimensional perspective; and a comparative perspective, which permits us to enlarge the research perspective to “Gendered Pipelinesâ€. We propose a typology that allows identifying a range of costs of gendered pipelines on three entity levels (Science/Institution/Individual). This enabled us to identify three different types or rationales of “career paths and organizationsâ€, which have different gendered impacts.