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The proportion of women among researchers is increasing, according to a study published by Elsevier to mark International Women’s Day.
However among science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, women are well represented in the Life and Health Sciences, but are markedly under-represented in the Physical Sciences, the study found.
Nine out of 12 countries and regions evaluated, across 27 disciplines ranging from medicine, computer science and mathematics to business and arts & humanities, had a women researcher population of over 40% in the years 2011 – 2015, compared with just one of those territories in the period 1996-2000.
The US, the EU, the UK, Canada, Australia, France, Brazil, Denmark and Portugal all showed women researcher levels over 40% in 2011-2015. In the prior period, only Portugal had a level over 40%.
However women made up less than 25% of researchers in the Physical Sciences in the majority of comparators in the 2011-2015 period. Women also published fewer research papers on average than men, with Japan an exception to the rule. Women researchers were generally less internationally mobile than men, and slightly less likely to collaborate internationally on research papers, data showed.
Dr Holly Falk-Krzesinski, Elsevier’s v.p. of Strategic Alliances-Global Academic Relations, commented: “Progress is occurring in terms of increased participation of women in research, albeit incrementally and unevenly, which is a sign that efforts to encourage women to engage in research, including in the STEM fields, are gaining traction.”
She added: “A lot of discussions around gender disparity are driven by experience and speculation. While that’s a good place to start, there is a knowledge gap that makes it difficult to move to effective interventions and policy. With this report we bring empirical insight to those discussions. This data can be used – and built upon – by research leaders, research funding organizations, government and policy makers working on themes critical to STEM industry."
The report was based on Elsevier’s SciVal and Scopus data combined with name data from social media, applied onomastics, and Wikipedia.
Elsevier will host a series of events internationally to promote discussion on issues of gender and research, beginning with an event in Washington DC’s National Press Club on 31st March.