Equal Opportunities and Scientific Careers

A.Y. 2022/2023
3
Max ECTS
24
Overall hours
SSD
SPS/09
Language
Italian
Learning objectives
The course wishes to provide a multidisciplinary knowledge in the field of equal opportunities and gender equality, with a specific focus on the labour market and scientific careers. The aims of the course is to highlight the contribution provided by the introduction of the notion of gender in the study of organizations and in the STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine) occupations and professions. In this perspective, it will provide the students with the conceptual tools allowing them to identify inequalities and discriminations based on gender and on other social categories, while suggesting the good practices to make organizations more equal.
Expected learning outcomes
At the end of the course, the participants will be able to frame the topics of inequalities, discrimination and equal opportunities using an interdisciplinary perspective. The skills acquired will mostly be theoretical and they will allow participants - thanks to both the knowledge of the most recent literature in the field of social sciences and the participation in the class workshops - to develop a critical thinking of the society around us, that is to read apparently neutral dynamics from a gender perspective, thus recognizing inequalities of opportunities and power asymmetries.
Single course

This course cannot be attended as a single course. Please check our list of single courses to find the ones available for enrolment.

Course syllabus and organization

Single session

Responsible
Lesson period
Second semester
Course syllabus
The course aims at providing a multidisciplinary knowledge in the field of Equal Opportunities and Gender Equality with a particular focus on the labor market and more specifically on organizations and scientific professions. Through the course, the participants will acquire the conceptual, interdisciplinary, tools which will enable them to understand the organizational dynamics in occupations and scientific careers from a gender perspective. The course aims to shed light on the mechanisms and reasons for inequalities in the STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Matemathics and Medicine) based on gender, but also race, class, sexual orientation, etc. and it will cover a wide range of topics, like for example the reasons of gender inequalities, the effects of unconscious biases in recruitments, women in science, the effect of work-life balance policies on gender relations and women's employement, the gender studies and the feminist movements.

The course is 24 hours long (12 lessons) and it provides 3 CFU. The student can be granted with a fourth additional credit after an additional examination (to be agreed with the teacher). The fourth credit must be approved by the president of the degree program.

Since the academic year 2022/203, the course becomes part of the new project promoted by the University of Milan to reinforce transversal skills and it will be therefore held online, on the Microsoft team platform. The lessons will take place in the second semester, from March to June, each Friday at 15.30.
Prerequisites for admission
None.
Teaching methods
ENG.
Mainly lectures, including videos and workshops. The use of videos and workshop allows the students to inductively learning the topics addressed in the class, which - together with the knowledge of the most recent literature - is particularly suitable for the purposes of the course, that is the promotion of a culture of equal opportunities.

Since the academic year 2022/2023, the course has been included in the UNIMI catalogue of "transversal skills" and it will be provided online on the Teams platform.

On Ariel students will be able to find:
1. Eleven "pills" of equal opportunities, that is eleven recorded video-lessons of about 30 minutes each on the different topics addressed in class.
2. The slides of each lesson (uploaded at the end of each lesson).
Teaching Resources
1. Camilla G.(2019). Same job, different rewards: the gender pay gap among physicians in Italy. Gender Work & Organization
2. Valian, V. (2004). Beyond Gender Schemas: Improving the Advancement of Women in Academia. NWSA Journal, vol. 16(1), pp. 207-220. Project MUSE, muse.jhu.edu/article/168397.
Assessment methods and Criteria
Since the academic year 2022/203, and for the first time, the class becomes part of the new project promoted by the University of Milan to reinforce transversal skills and is therefore open to all faculties and it will be held online. The new test could consist of a written based on the content of the first three chapters of the volume Gaiaschi, C. "Doppio Standard" (Carocci, 2022). Further information and any changes will be provided after an assessment of the number of students attending the class at the beginning of the course.

Students who have attended at least 2/3 of the lessons (8 out of 12) in a synchronous mode are considered to be attending.

Those who are unable to attend the lessons synchronously and contact the teacher during the course are considered "attending in a-synchronous". A-synchronous attending students are required to view the recordings of the lessons (available for about a week on Teams).

The exam for non-attending students consists of a written test based on the video lessons uploaded on Ariel (the 11 "pills of equal opportunities"), the first four chapters of the volume Gaiaschi, C. "Doppio Standard" (Carocci, 2022) and the following article: Beccalli B. (1999). Donne in quota. E' giusto riservare posti alle donne nel lavoro e nella politica?. Feltrinelli. Milano, pp.1-43.

The exam for students in custody consists of an oral interview based on chapters 1 and 4 of the volume Ghigi, R. "Making the difference" (il Mulino, 2019) and on chapters 1 and 3 of the volume Gaiaschi, C. "Doppio Standard "(Carocci, 2022).

The course recognizes 3 credits. The student can be granted with a fourth additional credit after an additional examination (to be agreed with the teacher). The fourth credit must be approved by the president of the degree program.

The evaluation criteria include the ability to discursively organize knowledge; the ability of critical reasoning; the ability of arguing and supporting its own positions; the quality of the exposition/writing, the effectiveness.

The dates of the exams are communicated through the University application UNIMIA. In order to take the exam, students should register before the deadline indicated through UNIMIA.

Students with specific learning disabilities or other disabilities are requested to contact the professor via email at least 10 days before the exam session to agree on any individualized measure.
In the email addressed to the teacher, the respective University services must be registered in CC: [email protected] (for students with LD) and [email protected] (for students with disabilities).
SPS/09 - ECONOMIC SOCIOLOGY AND SOCIOLOGY OF WORK AND ORGANIZATIONS - University credits: 3
Lessons: 24 hours
Professor: Del Giorgio Elena
Professor(s)