NWO carelessly when applying for a pregnant scientific scholarship

Christina Eckes, Professor of European Law at UvA, thinks she was discriminated against when she jumped in 2015 to get a prestigious grant from Vidi, a research grant of 800 000 euro. The NWO did not take sufficient account of her pregnancy, which put her at a disadvantage compared to her non-pregnant competitors.

Calculated

The lawyer was already hanging around when she submitted a research proposal in October: a few months after the deadline. like any candidate, she will have five days to respond to a first evaluation of her proposal. This reaction time fell exactly in the period during which it was calculated.

She informed NWO and asked her if her pregnancy could be taken into account. But that did not happen. NWO had already received the assessment of her application in December, but she received it on January 7, 2016. She sent her response on Jan. 13 – three days before her birth. She did not get the scholarship.

Her objection to the NWO was rejected and she also grabbed a bone at the court of Amsterdam. But the highest administrative judge, the State Council's administrative law department, still agrees with her today. Although the professor was not discriminated against, according to the verdict, NWO should have been extremely cautious in this case because "the fundamental right to equality treatment was at stake. " It did not happen. Not during the procedure nor after, when explaining the rejection.

No Customization

"The NWO failed to perform custom work in a situation where it was required," the judges write. In this case, the customization means: consult the woman about a new delay allowing him to offer a proper refutation. "The pregnant plaintiff's degree of assurance can not be decisive for the extent to which his fundamental rights are respected," the judgment says. NWO reacts internally to a reaction and promises improvement.

Eckes is delighted with the verdict. "This is primarily a matter of principle I know several women who have suffered from their pregnancy because of their application for admission to the NWE." Statistically, this is not surprisingly not more: you are applying for a Vidi grant between the ages of 30 and 40, at a time when many women have children. "

Next year, she will apply for the third time, which without this declaration will not be considered. would not have been possible. She still needs to adjust her research proposal three years ago. "It's about the EU and it's entitled" Legal Limits of Integration: A Future for the European Union. "So I can hardly ignore Brexit." [19659009] HOP, Steffi Weber