The European Perspective on Women\u27s Leadership

The perspective of women in leadership positions is of particular impor- tance in Europe. It is a main subject in the areas of research and science. For example: At the University of Augsburg we conducted several studies of women\u27s leadership and the female academic career in view of gender is- sues such as gender within the family and in socialization. Furthermore we accomplished two gender mainstreaming studies with the focus on equity in several universities in Germany (Gender mainstreaming is a European law of 1997 and a political strategy of diversity management). In this article we want to show the perspective on women\u27s leadership in Europe. Therefore we want to present the European data on the educational status of girls and women at schools and universities and in academic ca- reers. Data for Germany is presented as an example to provide evidence of some details. First, we want to point out four contradictions for women in the education system and concerning leadership positions. Second, data is discussed and some results of research explaining the data are given. Fi- nally, we present a European Program for the educational system to give women more chances: The so called Gender Mainstreaming Program

Women leading in education across the continents

"WissenschaftlerInnen aus der ganzen Welt gründeten 2007 auf einer Konferenz in Rom das Netzwerk Women Leading Education Across the Continents (WLE). Ziel war es, einen qualitativen und quantitativen Überblick über Frauen in Führungspositionen im Bildungssystem (Schul- und Hochschulwesen) zu erhalten. Das Netzwerk verfolgt mehrere Ziele: eine Datensammlung zu Frauen in Führungspositionen im Bildungswesen weltweit; die Untersuchung von Gründen, die das Erreichen einer Führungsposition erleichtern oder erschweren; eine Unterfütterung dieser Daten anhand einer Analyse der Biografien der WLE-Mitglieder; die Einflussnahme auf Forschung, Politik und Praxis mithilfe von Publikationen und einem Online-Gender-Audit." (Autorenreferat)"Scholars across the globe created the Women Leading in Education Across the Continents (WLE) group at a conference held in Rome in 2007. The goal was to fill a knowledge vacuum; an understanding of the status of women in educational leadership, in both basic and higher education, from both a qualitative and quantitative view. The group emerged with the following goals: to gather data from an increasing number of countries across all continents regarding the number of women represented in positions of leadership in education; to describe issues that are either barriers or facilitators regarding the ability of women to attain the highest levels of educational leadership; to bring those issues to life through an analysis of the lives and stories of women within the group; to impact research, policy making and practice through publications and an online gender audit." (author's abstract

Clinical and genetic delineation of autosomal recessive and dominant ACTL6B-related developmental brain disorders.

PURPOSE: This study aims to comprehensively delineate the phenotypic spectrum of ACTL6B-related disorders, previously associated with both autosomal recessive and autosomal dominant neurodevelopmental disorders. Molecularly, the role of the nucleolar protein ACTL6B in contributing to the disease has remained unclear. METHODS: We identified 105 affected individuals, including 39 previously reported cases, and systematically analysed detailed clinical and genetic data for all individuals. Additionally, we conducted knockdown experiments in neuronal cells to investigate the role of ACTL6B in ribosome biogenesis. RESULTS: Biallelic variants in ACTL6B are associated with severe-to-profound global developmental delay/intellectual disability (GDD/ID), infantile intractable seizures, absent speech, autistic features, dystonia, and increased lethality. De novo monoallelic variants result in moderate-to-severe GDD/ID, absent speech, and autistic features, while seizures and dystonia were less frequently observed. Dysmorphic facial features and brain abnormalities, including hypoplastic corpus callosum, parenchymal volume loss/atrophy, are common findings in both groups. We reveal that in the nucleolus, ACTL6B plays a crucial role in ribosome biogenesis, in particular in pre-rRNA processing. CONCLUSION: This study provides a comprehensive characterization of the clinical spectrum of both autosomal recessive and dominant forms of ACTL6B-associated disorders. It offers a comparative analysis of their respective phenotypes provides a plausible molecular explanation and suggests their inclusion within the expanding category of 'ribosomopathies'

Review of: Waltraud Ernst (Hg.): Geschlecht und Innovation. Gender-Mainstreaming im Techno-Wissenschaftsbetrieb. Berlin u.a.: LIT Verlag 2010.

Die Technowissenschaften haben Frauen als potentielle Arbeitskräfte noch immer nicht adäquat erkannt – trotz Fachkräftemangel. In dem von Waltraud Ernst herausgegebenen Sammelband werden die Bemühungen und Strategien für die Herstellung von Chancengleichheit erörtert, mit dem Ziel einer Überwindung von Geschlechterhierarchien in den grundsätzlich innovationsbesetzten Berufsfeldern der Technik- und Naturwissenschaften. Der Band enthält überaus interessante, teilweise einzigartige Einblicke, wie die Zusammenhänge von Technik und Geschlecht in den unterschiedlichen Forschungsbereichen entworfen und diskutiert werden und wie die Verwirklichung von Gleichberechtigung als soziale Innovation angestrebt wird.The technosciences are still missing an adequate recognition of women as potential workforce – despite a shortage of skilled workers. This anthology, edited by Waltraud Ernst, discusses the efforts and strategies that are used to create equal opportunities, aiming at overcoming gender hierarchies in the fundamentally innovative professional fields of techno- and natural sciences. This volume contains highly interesting, in parts even unique insights into how the connections between technology and gender are constructed and discussed in various research areas and how the realization of equal opportunities is aspired as social innovation

Review of: Mechthild von Lutzau: Schulleiterinnen. Opladen u.a.: Verlag Barbara Budrich 2008

Als eine der ersten empirischen Studien zur Thematik in Deutschland untersucht die Arbeit von Mechthild von Lutzau den biographischen Prozess des Aufstiegs von Schulleiterinnen. Sozialisationsfaktoren, Unterstützungssysteme und Leistungsbereitschaft werden ebenso wie Hindernisse in Interviews erfasst. Ergebnisse sind unter anderem, dass Motivationen zum Aufstieg oft schon in der Kindheit gelegt sein können, dass die für Frauen typischen Brüche im Lebenslauf durchaus nicht immer hinderlich sein müssen und dass schließlich Schulleiterinnen neue Formen der Kooperation begründen können.Mechthild von Lutzau presents an empirical study on the biographical process that takes place in the professional advancement of heads of school, one of the first on this topic in Germany. Interviews capture socialization factors, support systems, and motivation as well as barriers. Results of this study include the possibility that motivations for promotion are already solidified in childhood, that typical interruptions in women’s résumés must not always be obstructive, and finally that heads of school can establish new forms of cooperation