It is difficult to make the claim that the disproportionate number of male reviewers and authors is not indicative of some level of gender bias (L. Koube Nature 505, 291; 2014). As with many other challenges that female scientists face, the answer lies not in explaining why discrepancies exist, but in taking steps to resolve them.

The proportion of female referees (13% for Nature in 2013; Nature 504, 188; 2013) remains considerably lower than the proportion of female researchers (roughly 30% in the United States, according to a 2013 report by the US National Science Foundation on Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering). Not challenging this situation is tantamount to declaring that the quality of the pool of female referees is lower than that of their male counterparts, which is both short-sighted and wrong.

Arguments about personal or family responsibilities only serve to cloud the bigger issue, which is about finding a way to work towards a body of scientific literature that represents true gender balance among those contributing to it.