The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) is committed to promoting gender equality in research funding in all disciplines. The standards for equality are set out in a mission statement.
A special office, created in collaboration with the Equal Opportunities Commission, continually examines and implements measures proposed by a group of experts in the GRIPS Gender Report. It also independently suggests its own measures.
Equal opportunity in research funding is aimed at removing gender-based inequalities for both women and men. For example, the SNSF supports measures that enable both genders to increase the compatibility of career and family by recognising that either may wish to work part-time. Further measures are needed to remove existing structural barriers for women scientists and to ensure that they enjoy equal access to resources.
Within the scope of its remit, the SNSF actively supports women researchers and strives to counteract the under-representation of women in its funding schemes and panels.
A study on Gender and Research Funding (GEFO) was conducted between October 2006 and June 2008 with the aim of
- quantifying gender-specific loss rates (leaky pipeline) in scientific careers and describing the career development of junior scientists;
- analysing the impact of factors within and outside science on gender-specific loss rates. The role played by the SNSF’s research funding policy was of particular interest in this context.