Appeal of the Women in Tertiary Education and Science Council for academia
Appeal of the Women in Tertiary Education and Science Council [pl. Rada ds. Kobiet w Szkolnictwie Wyższym i Nauce] for academia with reference to recommendations for advisory organs in the Ministry of Science and Higher Education.
The Ministry of Science and Higher Education has announced that by the end of 2025, new rules for the evaluation of the quality of scientific activity will be published. In April this year, a team has been appointed whose aim is to support the Ministry in the development of the new conception of evaluation. Accountable for selecting members of the team are academia institutions, such as: Main Council of Science and Higher Education, Conference of Academic Rectors of Polish Schools, Committee of Science Evaluation, Polish Academy of Sciences, Conference of Public Rectors of Professional Academies, Domestic Representation of Doctoral Students and Council of Young Scientists, Main Council of Research Faculties.
Solely men have received environmental recommendations for the team. As the Women in Tertiary Education and Science Council, we acknowledged this information with surprise and disapproval. Our objections are directed, first and foremost, to the institutions that have designated more than one person to the new advisory team, but also to these institutions in which women are a majority, but despite this a man has been selected as a representative.
Balancing gender representation in all such assemblies ensures diversity of perspectives and approaches, allows for experience acknowledgement of men and women functioning in science and higher education, and enables the use of the potential of both genders. We fully approve of the Ministry’s decision regarding to the invitation of female scientists and researchers to the team. At the same time, we appeal to all academic institutions for increased mindfulness and fair representation of men and women in granting such recommendations in the future.
Academia’s expectations towards the new model of evaluation are great. One of them is an improvement of conditions and quality of scientific work, as well as professional development of all men and women of science. In the academy, as in every other sphere of social life, it is our duty to take care of equal treatment and fair representation, for any gender neither guarantees nor stands in contradiction with high competencies, knowledge, and experience.
In the third decade of the twenty-first century, we do not find any substantive justification for omitting female representatives of science and higher education in advisory and decision-making assemblies. As advisory team, whose aim is to support actions of Ministry of Science and Higher Education in favour of equality, balance, and fair representation of women in science and higher education, we appeal to You for the following: if any further recommendations to teams being established by Ministry of Science and Higher Education as well as within academia occur, we request for similar situations not to happen.
Warsaw, April 28th, 2025
Prof. dr hab. Anna Pacześniak
Chairwoman of the Women in Tertiary Education and Science Council
Conversation with prof. Anna Pacześniak in Academic Forum:
Translated by Maja Zaucha (student of English Studies at the University of Wrocław) as part of the translation practice.
Added by: S.F.
Date of publication: May 12th, 2025