Strengthening a weak policy area through monitoring: the case of gender equality in the European Research Area

This article focuses on the central role of monitoring in the implementation of the Open Method of Coordination (OMC). Referring to gender equality in the European Research Area (ERA), it demonstrates that the OMC has only been partially implemented due to a lack of policy discourse and monitoring. Consequently, the OMC's potential remains underutilised, particularly with regard to identifying best practice and supporting mutual learning. Based on an analysis of the implementation of gender equality policies in the ERA at a national level, the article identifies starting points for the further development of the OMC. These include: (1) establishing a gender equality discourse between the European Commission and the Member States with the aim of setting common gender equality objectives; (2) encouraging Member States to commit more firmly to gender equality; and (3) implementing meaningful monitoring procedures at both the European and national levels

When Gender Trumps Skills: Employment Trajectories of Austrian Parents After Their First Birth

Increasing the labour market participation of mothers is often seen as a solution to address skill shortages in countries with long child-related career interruptions. However, little is known about the leave-taking behaviour of parents with higher and lower skill levels. This study addresses that gap by examining how employment trajectories after the transition to parenthood vary by gender and skill level in Austria, which has one of the longest parental leave entitlements globally. We focus on understanding whether skill differences shape leave-taking and labour market re-entry, and to what extent they explain the large and persistent gender gaps in parental employment. We use a new dataset that, for the first time, links Austrian administrative data on births and daily labour market activities (2009-2022) with tested skill scores from the OECD’s Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). Our main sample includes 5,130 Austrians born between 1942 and 1997. We focus on tested numeracy skills, which are strongly associated with employment and wages, offer a more precise measure of work-relevant skills than formal education, and account for important parts of the gender pay gap. Adopting a life-course perspective, we observe labour market patterns between the ages 20 and 70, and examine the three years before and after the birth of a first child to capture short- and medium-term dynamics. We find clear differences by skill level. Higher-skilled women tend to return to employment more quickly and are more likely to use educational leave to extend their parental leave. Lower-skilled mothers, by contrast, experience longer periods out of the labour force. Among fathers, skill gradients are present as well: higher-skilled men are more likely to take parental leave than their lower-skilled counterparts, though leave uptake remains very low in absolute terms. However, gender trumps skills. On average, mothers take 416 days of paid parental leave following the birth of their first child, while fathers take just nine days. Most mothers remain at home well beyond the period of paid leave, and part-time work is common upon return – regardless of skill level. Our findings suggest that policies aimed at increasing female labour market participation − particularly among the skilled − face structural constraints. In a context of demographic ageing and rising skill shortages, improving access to early childcare and encouraging more balanced leave-taking may be necessary to reduce gender gaps and make better use of existing skills across the workforce

Soziale Konditionierung in der Industriepolitik

Industriepolitische Förderungen werden in einer Reihe von Industrieländern, auch in Deutschland, teilweise an soziale oder beschäftigungspolitische Konditionen gebunden. Dies können beispielsweise Vorgaben zur Beschäftigungsentwicklung, zum Standorterhalt, zu den Arbeitsentgelten oder zur Qualifizierung von Beschäftigten sein. Die Studie untersucht Hindernisse und Erfolgsfaktoren für eine soziale Konditionierung, zieht Schlussfolgerungen aus den vorliegenden Erfahrungen und formuliert Handlungsempfehlungen. Im Zentrum stehen zum einen die deutschen Klimaschutzverträge (KSV), ergänzt um Erkenntnisse zur Bundesförderung Industrie und Klimaschutz (BIK, Modul 1, Teilmodul 2). Zum anderen betrachtet die Studie ausgewählte Förderungen aus anderen EU-Ländern und den USA. Industrial policies, such as subsidies to private companies, are sometimes tied to social or employment conditions. These may include requirements relating to job security, investments, wages or employee training. The study examines obstacles and success factors for social conditioning, draws conclusions from existing experience and formulates recommendations for action. The focus is on the German Carbon Contracts for Difference funding program („Klimaschutzverträge” – KSV), supplemented by findings on federal funding for industry and climate protection (BIK, Module 1, Sub-module 2). The study also looks at selected subsidies from other EU countries and the US

Regime‐Dependent Nowcasting of the Austrian Economy

We nowcast and forecast economic activity in Austria, namely, real gross domestic product (GDP), consumption, and investment, which are available at a quarterly frequency, using a preselected number of monthly indicators based on a combination of statistical procedures. We consider regime‐dependent and non–regime‐dependent mixed data sampling approaches and compare their forecast and nowcast accuracies in terms of the root mean square error and the mean absolute error. We are particularly interested in whether explicitly considering different regimes improves the nowcast. We examine business cycle‐related regimes (good/bad economic times) and financial uncertainty regimes (high/low uncertainty) and compare regime‐dependent and non–regime‐dependent models applying, among others, forecast combination methods. We find strong evidence that taking explicit account of regimes improves nowcasting and that only a handful of variables are important for nowcasting. In addition, different variables are important in different regimes. We observe, for example, that for GDP, in bad times, real industrial production matters more than its survey counterpart, namely, production expectations, and the other way around. The most important predictor for consumption in both regimes is bank loans to households, while for investment labor market indicators are most relevant. For all target variables, industrial production is more important in bad times than in good times

Academic identity crafting: How early-career women researchers in the United States and Austria form their professional identities

Much of the research on identity formation of early-career researchers (ECRs) emphasizes how neoliberal restructuring of academia has impacted processes of becoming an academic. As a marginalized population in the academy, this is especially acute for women and female-read bodies. This study illuminates “academic identity crafting” processes based on sixteen interviews with ECRs in the United States and Austria who identified as women. Findings point to forms of identity crafting that are connected to “thriving for autonomy,” “having a community,” and “finding purpose.” In addition, challenges of academic identity crafting, which are related to the neoliberal influence on the academy as well as the perceived absence of role models and mentors, were identified. This study highlights the need to improve the ways in which higher education institutions support early-career women researchers in crafting their academic identities

Österreich: Reiches Land fällt wirtschaftlich zurück

Österreich profitiert von der EU-Mitgliedschaft. Dennoch ist der Wohlstand in Finnland und Schweden, die 1995 gemeinsam mit Österreich der EU beigetreten sind, stärker gewachsen. Warum

Migrantinnen und Migranten sowie Schutzsuchende in der Teilhabebefragung

Die vorliegende Expertise legt Empfehlungen vor, um in der „Repräsentativbefragung zur Teilhabe von Menschen mit Behinderung“ (Teilhabebefragung) die Abdeckung von Migrantinnen und Migranten zu verbessern sowie die systematische Integration der Zielgruppe Schutzsuchende zu ermöglichen. Dazu wurden Literaturrecherchen durchgeführt, Dokumentationen zu den bisherigen Wellen der Teilhabebefragung sowie weiteren Studien und Daten gesichtet. Ergänzend wurden zahlreiche Interviews mit Vertreterinnen und Vertretern der Zielgruppen sowie Expertinnen und Experten für die Themen Migration und Teilhabe sowie Umfrageforschung geführt. Die Befragung dieser beiden Zielgruppen – Migrantinnen und Migranten sowie Schutzsuchende – erfordert eine Reihe von Entscheidungen und Anpassungen im Studiendesign des Teilhabesurveys. Für das Stichprobenverfahren wird eine Erweiterung des Auswahlrahmens sowie des Vorab-Screenings erörtert. In der Feldarbeit müssen Sprachbarrieren abgefedert, eine Vertrauensbasis für die Befragung gefördert und für Gemeinschaftsunterkünfte ein gesonderter Feldzugang organisiert werden. Befragungsinhalte sollen für die Zielgruppen dahingehend adaptiert werden, dass in wesentlichen Lebensbereichen wie Arbeit, Wohnen, Gesundheit, soziale Vernetzung und Diskriminierung teilweise anders geartete Teilhabehürden bestehen als bei Personen mit deutscher Staatsbürgerschaft. Die Expertise skizziert abschließend zwei mögliche Varianten, um die Teilhabebefragung unter Berücksichtigung der Empfehlungen effizient weiterzuentwickeln. This Expertise introduces recommendations to improve the coverage of migrants and systematically incorporate refugees in the German „Repräsentativbefragung zur Teilhabe von Menschen mit Behinderung” (Teilhabebefragung) [„Representative survey on the participation of people with disabilities” (participation survey)]. For this purpose, scientific literature as well as documentation on previous waves of the participation survey and other relevant studies and data sources were analysed. Additionally, numerous interviews with representatives of these target groups and experts on migration and participation research as well as survey methodology were conducted. Surveying the two target groups – migrants and refugees – requires several decisions and adaption regarding the study design of the participation survey. For sampling, an extension of the sampling frame and the pre-selective screening are discussed. Regarding field work, language barriers need to be addressed, a trustful interview situation has to be established, and special requirements for accessing participants in shared refugee accommodations have to be considered. Survey contents need to be adapted for the target groups, as relevant areas of life such as work, housing, health, social networks and discrimination cause participation hurdles that partly differ from those German citizens encounter. Conclusively, the Expertise outlines two possible options to further develop the participation survey efficiently, considering the recommendations made

“We’ve got a bit of a family mantra that you don’t give up”: A cross-national study of first-in-family students’ persistence at university

Numerous studies consider the reasons why students, particularly those from historically underrepresented groups, decide to depart university prior to completing their studies. Much of this attrition research focuses on the problems students encounter during their studies and the ways these issues might curtail their ability to sustain academic engagement. In this paper, we instead focus on the ways in which students, all of whom are first in their families to attend university, persist in their studies. Drawing on cross-national qualitative data from three discrete but complementary studies (N = 174) we conceptualise and use the lens of ‘mantras of persistence’ to investigate how broader processes of socialisation help students to enact persistence, which we identified in our research via the sayings, ‘maxims,’ or stories that learners applied to their university journeys. Our narrative data highlights three dominant mantras utilised by students, suggesting that there are fundamental commonalities in the norms, values, practices and discourses that first-in-family learners draw on to navigate higher education, despite differences in age, gender, field of study, and geographic context. However, we also demonstrate how these mantras are interwoven with neoliberal relations of power as well as the hidden emotional and affective work that first-in-family learners often engage in during their studies. We argue that recognising the importance of such mantras and how these may diverge from the normalised values or expectations within higher education settings is key, particularly if universities genuinely wish to improve the retention of students from more disadvantaged backgrounds