Highly Qualified Women in the ‘New Europe’: Territorial Sex Segregation

Abstract

The proportion of women in highly qualified scientific employment in central and eastern Europe and the Baltic States (CEEC-10) is higher than in western Europe. However, this relatively high representation is counteracted by unequal access to resources. This is illustrated by a new measure, the ‘honeypot indicator’. The focus of the EU ‘Lisbon strategy’ summit on increasing overall numbers of scientists does little to address the key issues of retention and advancement. Although social closure mechanisms may undermine the employment prospects of highly qualified women, the conclusion is that the accession of the CEEC-10 to the ‘mainstreaming’ of equal opportunities proclaimed by the European Union provides the best hope of improvement for their employment prospects.