Even though women’s participation in the workforce has increased considerably in past decades, the advancement of women to higher ranks and in traditionally masculine sectors is far from complete. At the same time, the underrepresentation of men in communal roles and careers seems even more resistant to change.

This conference aims to facilitate a multi-faceted analysis of the complex self-maintaining system that keeps the gender hierarchy in its place. This system resembles a seven-headed dragon: Interventions that aim to cut off one head of the dragon (e.g., quota policies to place more women in positions of power) will work better if they take into account the dragon’s other heads (e.g., resistance from those not benefiting from quota, reduced self-esteem among targets of quota). Our meeting is motivated by the assessment that many interventions to improve gender equality fail to reach their intended outcomes, because improving opportunities in one way often raises barriers somewhere else.

This two-and-a-half-day meeting seeks to bring together established and junior researchers to focus on questions such as “Which processes make differences in outcome between men and women so difficult to eradicate?”, “How do these processes interact?”, “What novel research methods are available to uncover these mechanisms” and “What interventions will be effective in promoting gender equality?”.

The meeting will be held from September 26th to 28th 2019 in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Registration fees are 50 Euro for junior participants (PhD students and postdocs) and 90 Euro  for senior participants. This will cover the cost of conference attendance and food. Affordable accommodation options in Utrecht will be offered.

Deadline for applications is March 1st, 2019. To apply, please send a presentation title and abstract (max. 300 words) to EASP-Utrecht@uu.nl. Please indicate your preferred type of presentation (talk, poster including blitz talk), your current affiliation and position, as well as your EASP membership status.

Looking forward to meeting you in Utrecht!

Kind regards,

The organizing committee
Belle Derks, Floor Rink, Ruth van Veelen and Francesca Manzi