presented by Dr. Maria Caprile, Center for European Initiatives and Research in the Mediterranean (CIREM), Spain, at the EPWS Debate in the European Parliament.

The overall objective of this project is enhancing research cooperation on gender and science between the European Union and the Mediterranean countries.

Research cooperation is aimed at better understanding the roots of gender inequality in science in the area, taking into account cultural diversities and traditions, and analyse how the Mediterranean countries are addressing this issue. It will deal with gender equality from a twofold perspective: the representation of women in scientific research and technological development and the integration of the gender dimension in research policy.

The project will provide state of the art description, data collection and relevant comparative analysis on gender and science in all the Mediterranean countries, focusing on three key themes: statistics on women in science, gender equality policies and research on gender inequalities in science careers. These results will be made accessible to the research community and policy makers via an online database, publishable reports and workshops. With the overall purpose of enhancing networking and steering policy-making on gender and science in the years to come, the project will finally develop recommendations for policy-makers aimed at enhancing the presence of women in scientific research and technological development at all levels and ensuring a better integration of the gender dimension in research policy.

The Mediterranean countries included in the project are the Mediterranean Partner Countries (MPCs), i.e. the Mediterranean countries included in the list of International Co-operation Partner Countries: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestinian administered areas, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia.