Career Guide 08 November 2021

Women in science

Women often face institutional and cultural barriers to success in science. These resources aim to highlight and advise on how women and their allies can grow their research careers.

Articles

How we boosted female faculty numbers in male-dominated departments

Two leaders of the University of Melbourne’s affirmative action strategy describe their drive to hire more female colleagues.
- Dom Byrne
Nature Careers Podcast23 Feb 2024 Nature
Passion, curiosity and perseverance: my mission to capture women in science on camera

Genetics researcher Elisabetta Citterio explains why she felt compelled to photograph 57 women who work in STEM fields.
- Josie Glausiusz
Career Q&A1 Feb 2024 Nature
From a pocketful of rocks to scientific director of palaeontological research

PhD candidate Dirley Cortés says that it takes grit and guts to navigate the challenges of being a Latin American woman in palaeontology.
- Efrain Rincon
Career Q&A31 Jan 2024 Nature
In Brazil, one in two female researchers has faced sexual harassment

A survey by the Brazilian Academy of Sciences bolsters calls to tackle the problem.
- Meghie Rodrigues
Career Feature9 Jan 2024 Nature
Breaking the menstruation taboo to make fieldwork more inclusive

We need to talk about periods when planning routine fieldwork trips, say ecologist Sarah E. Dalrymple and glaciologist Timothy P. Lane.
- Sarah Dalrymple
- Timothy Lane
Career Column9 Jan 2024 Nature
Why two scientist-mums made a database of parental-leave policies

By scouring websites and pestering university human-resources departments, Amanda Gorton and Tess Grainger are tracking the vast differences in leave entitlements across North America.
- Amanda J. Gorton
- Tess Grainger
Career Column10 Aug 2023 Nature
Bias in science: how to fight the good fight

Good luck trying to dismantle entrenched structures and processes, says Athene Donald — but don’t give up, support is out there.
- Athene Donald
Career Column26 Jul 2023 Nature
Don’t get mad, get equal: putting an end to misogyny in science

Subtle forms of misogyny attack female leadership and coerce women to conform to conventional gender norms. It’s time to call out these behaviours, say Alison Bentley and Rachael Garrett.
- Alison Bentley
- Rachael Garrett
Career Column26 Jun 2023 Nature
Women in engineering: using hydrology to manage Jordan’s scarce water

Esraa Tarawneh says research and data gathering can improve her country’s resilience to droughts and rare flash floods.
- Jacqui Thornton
Career Q&A23 Jun 2023 Nature
Women in engineering: giving Porsche 911s the ‘ultimate’ makeover

As a child, Imogen Howarth enjoyed solving problems and playing with cars. Now, she helps to redesign a classic and acts as a role model for aspiring female engineers.
- Jacqui Thornton
Career Q&A23 Jun 2023 Nature
Pandemic productivity loss: how scientific institutions should support academic mothers

Three years on, scientist mums implore universities, funding agencies and publishers to heed calls to account for COVID-19 disruptions.
- Nikki Forrester
Career Feature28 Mar 2023 Nature
Social sponges: Gendered brain development comes from society, not biology

After debunking many myths around male and female brains, Gina Rippon’s research interests now include gender gaps in science and why they persist, even in allegedly gender-equal societies.
- Dom Byrne
Nature Careers Podcast10 Mar 2023 Nature
Mother–daughter duo work together to find new worlds

Astronomers Natalie Batalha and Natasha Batalha collaborate to understand the variety of planets outside our Solar System.
- Sophia Chen
Career Q&A27 Feb 2023 Nature
Female scholars more likely than male counterparts to be elected to prestigious US scientific societies, finds study

Superior accomplishments and considerations of gender equity in academy membership might be contributing to the difference.
- Natasha Gilbert
Career News17 Feb 2023 Nature
A call to create funding equity for researcher-mums

Mothers in academic research and those who support them say in a report that the funding system can and should remedy gender bias in the sciences.
- Amanda Heidt
Career News27 Jan 2023 Nature
Leadership in science: how female researchers are breaking up the boys’ club

Science needs to progress from purely ‘white Alpha male’ approaches to leadership. Charu Kaushic explains why.
- Julie Gould
Nature Careers Podcast13 Jan 2023 Nature
Men dominate conference Q&A sessions — including online ones

‘Question and manswer’ sessions are the norm at both in-person and virtual events, even when there’s a good gender balance.
- Anne Gulland
Career Guide1 Dec 2022 Nature
‘Moms in Proteomics’ pushes for change

A need for community drove Jennifer Geddes-McAlister to found a network for mothers in science. Here’s what she learnt.
- Jennifer Geddes-McAlister
Career Column22 Nov 2022 Nature
Why women aren’t from Venus, and men aren’t from Mars

Neuroscientist Gina Rippon describes how and why she tackled the nature–nurture debate in her book The Gendered Brain, and the media furore it caused.
- Emily Cooke
Career Q&A18 Nov 2022 Nature
Saying ‘no’ in science isn’t enough

When women refuse requests to do unrewarded tasks, another female colleague often gets asked instead.
- Linda Babcock
- Brenda Peyser
- Laurie R. Weingart
Career Column10 Nov 2022 Nature
How hiring policies can help end workplace harassment

US institutions and states are revamping hiring practices in an attempt to increase transparency about past misconduct in academia.
- Emily Sohn
Career Feature26 Sep 2022 Nature
How we boosted the number of female faculty members at our institution

Lessons from an affirmative-recruitment initiative for women in science and technology.
- Marilys Guillemin
- Elaine Wong
- Georgina Such
Career Guide7 Sep 2022 Nature
Men outnumber women by more than 2 to 1 in US federal science jobs

Disparity contributes to US$4,300 gender pay gap, says report.
- Chris Woolston
Career News1 Sep 2022 Nature
How academic institutions can help to close Wikipedia’s gender gap

The world’s largest online encyclopedia mirrors society’s bias towards male achievements. Employers in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine can help to change that.
- Farah Qaiser
- Maryam Zaringhalam
- Emily Pinckney
Career Column23 May 2022 Nature
Why menopause matters in the academic workplace

Employers in some countries are stepping up efforts to support staff through this life stage. Others need to follow suit.
- Linda Nordling
Career Feature11 May 2022 Nature
Scientific collaborations are precarious territory for women

Closed networks and ingrained biases can make women’s collaborations a balancing act.
- Sara Reardon
Career Feature3 May 2022 Nature
Mathematics prizes have a gender problem — can it be fixed?

Female representation among mathematicians is improving. But the field’s most prestigious awards are still going almost exclusively to men.
- Davide Castelvecchi
News27 May 2022 Nature
Rooting African science and technology education in cultures and languages

The continent’s role in the global economy depends on development from within.
- Kendall Powell
Career Feature15 Feb 2022 Nature
Advance Kenyan science by seizing opportunities to collaborate

How networks can help to win research grants and equip labs in Africa.
- Kendall Powell
Career Feature14 Feb 2022 Nature
Capacity building to boost science in Ethiopia

Experience gained overseas can be used to develop home-grown solutions to local challenges.
- Kendall Powell
Career Feature10 Feb 2022 Nature
The wise counsel that can drive public-health research in Kenya

Finding the right working culture pays dividends when trying to juggle academia and parenthood in Africa.
- Kendall Powell
Career Feature9 Feb 2022 Nature
Female scientists can advance by saying: ‘Yes, I’ll do it’

A whole-hearted commitment to the demands of a job can help women to thrive in male-dominated spheres in Africa.
- Kendall Powell
Career Feature8 Feb 2022 Nature
Promoting mathematics to girls in Ghana

Female mathematicians are inspiring young people in Africa to pursue careers in unconventional fields.
- Kendall Powell
Career Feature7 Feb 2022 Nature
Realizing a passion for public health in Cameroon

A clear vision and good delegation skills can help women to advance in their careers.
- Kendall Powell
Career Feature3 Feb 2022 Nature
The superhero skills needed to juggle science and motherhood

It might demand 12-hour days, but the chance to help shape African science makes it all worth it.
- Kendall Powell
Career Feature1 Feb 2022 Nature
How Latin American researchers suffer in science

It’s time to tackle the cumulative barriers and biases faced by scientists who aren’t from wealthy countries.
- Ana M. Valenzuela-Toro
- Mariana Viglino
Career Column23 Sep 2021 Nature
Diversity in science workforce an ‘economic imperative’

UK parliamentary group calls for greater representation of women and minority ethnic groups.
- Chris Woolston
Career News2 Sep 2021 Nature
Fewer citations for female authors of medical research

Papers by women in elite medical journals are half as likely to be cited as are similar articles authored by men, research finds.
- Sara Reardon
Career News29 Jul 2021 Nature
Why science needs a new reward and recognition system

Researchers with children or carer roles have struggled more than others during the pandemic, amplifying existing inequalities, argue Edyta Swider-Cios and colleagues.
- Edyta Swider-Cios
- Katalin Solymosi
- Mangala Srinivas
Career Column15 Jul 2021 Nature
Seek diversity to solve complexity

A wide range of perspectives brings unique insight to societal problems, says Katrin Prager.
- Katrin Prager
Career Column1 Jul 2021 Nature
Technology transfer: Career-boosting computing skills for girls in Argentina

Melina Masnatta describes how the non-profit organization that she co-founded helps young women in Argentina to learn programming, design, communication and leadership.
- Nikki Forrester
Career Q&A23 Apr 2021 Nature
Women must not be obscured in science’s history

The literature has failed to acknowledge many female researchers, especially those from marginalized backgrounds. But a new generation of historians is changing the narrative.

Editorial24 Mar 2021 Nature
Too intelligent for the life sciences in Brazil: how two female researchers fought back

Luciana Leite and Luisa M. Diele-Viegas are using their own negative experiences to research the impact of societal and family expectations on women’s career choices.
- Luciana Leite
- Luisa M. Diele-Viegas
Career Column21 Oct 2020 Nature
How we formed a ‘journal club’ for equity in science

You can start and maintain your own group to help scientists of all backgrounds thrive.
- Matthew Bachman
- Kathryn C. Dickerson
- Brenda Yang
Career Column1 Oct 2020 Nature
If you want more women in your workforce, here’s how to recruit

Academic departments and institutions must show candidates that they welcome people from all backgrounds.
- Emma Pierson
- Elissa M. Redmiles
- Jessica Hullman
Career Column26 Aug 2020 Nature
The career cost of COVID-19 to female researchers, and how science should respond

Some funders and journals are trying to support female researchers and others whose publications and positions are at risk.
- Virginia Gewin
Career Feature20 Jul 2020 Nature
Why I’m not applying for promotion

Phill Cassey outlines one proactive step to support diversity in his workplace.
- Phil Cassey
Career Column11 Nov 2019 Nature
The women who cracked science’s glass ceiling

After the First World War, female scientists gained footholds in academia as well as industrial and government research, despite facing prejudice and many other barriers.
- Sally Horrocks
Career Feature6 Nov 2019 Nature
Why scientist-mums in the United States need better parental-support policies

Without a national paid family-leave policy, some researchers are struggling at crucial career phases.
- Kendall Powell
Career Feature30 Apr 2019 Nature
Make it easier for me to deliver childcare at conferences

Underprepared meetings that neglect to set up childcare facilities will ultimately damage science, says Eileen Parkes.
- Eileen Parkes
Career Guide19 Dec 2018 Nature
Why we’re editing women scientists onto Wikipedia

And here's why you should, too, say Jess Wade and Maryam Zaringhalam.
- Jess Wade
- Maryam Zaringhalam
Career Column14 Aug 2018 Nature

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