Session: #744

Discussion session: session with contributions from discussants and discussion

In the archaeological community topics such as gender roles and opportunity, bias and sexual harassment are currently widespread. However, when it comes to gender discrimination, many disparities are still present within the majority of the European countries. Some of the problems related to implied gender roles and career development also overstep national boundaries. Furthermore, issues associated with working women in the field of archaeology tend to be seemingly resolved or smoothed according to local cultural preconditions and are often tied to political commitment rather than taken as a matter of equality. Nevertheless, the impact such circumstances have on professional career development strongly affect research as much as a number of personal life choices.

Within this session we would like to discuss problems concerning the women dimension in all aspects of archaeology as a profession, spanning from field-work to the academia. Moreover, we aim to discuss specific working conditions and to open a debate on different forms of sexual and work harassment as well as related issues covering the lack of standard when it comes to gender-defined social needs like maternity leave and working guarantees. The general goal of the session is to share experiences and ideas, openly or anonymously, and to consider specific measures that could be taken to fight gender-inequality.

Women, gender roles, sexual-work harassment

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Laura Matilde Magno (Italy) ¹

Dr. Carmen Ruiz (Spain) ^2,3