What societal changes are needed?
We need to support a better balance between work and caring responsibilities. In Switzerland, the cost of childcare and support for other dependants remains high, can be difficult to organise and is less socially integrated than in other countries. This is why we offer ETH staff and students a free
advice service
and aim to build up a network across ETH to support staff and students with caring responsibilities. We also need more female role models and networks where women support each other.
What networks and support programmes for young female scientists and professors are there at ETH Zurich?
Some examples that come to mind are the
ETH Women Professors Forum
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,
H.I.T.
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– High Potential University Leaders Identity & Skills Training
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or
CONNECT – Connecting Women’s Careers in Academia and Industry
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. In particular, I’d like to highlight a programme called
Fix the Leaky Pipeline
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, which gives young female scientists the opportunity to reflect on their professional situation, plan their career, undertake further training and expand their network. This programme has already been running for 15 years.
What can be done to counteract the “leaky pipeline” phenomenon?
As mentioned previously, the reasons why women leave an academic career early are varied and can’t be eliminated through one single action. So there is no cure-all that would provide a solution to this issue. It calls for interconnected services and measures that tackle all the different structural inequalities, and above all, it calls for an inclusive university culture that revolves around diversity.
Where have we made the most significant progress at ETH Zurich in recent years?
Over the past two years, more than 40 percent of new professorships at ETH have been awarded to women. And the proportion of women will continue to grow, as about 90 percent of retiring professors are men. Alongside these positive signals, I am really noticing a sense of optimism at ETH Zurich. Issues of equality, diversity and inclusion are receiving lots of attention across all levels and are being integrated into strategic considerations more and more often. In September 2021, for example, our Executive Board tasked the Vice President’s Office for Personnel Development and Leadership with developing a diversity strategy. Equal opportunities, including in education, are a core value for ETH. Services to promote women’s careers, encouraging gender and diversity-sensitive teaching, the use of inclusive language, promoting balance – this all demonstrates the weight that ETH attaches to the issue of equal opportunities in all its facets. Instrumental to this were above all the courage and commitment of our first and second-generation female professors.