In spite of an increase in the number of women in research, gender disparity still persists in research authorship, says a new report by Elsevier.
The report, “The Researcher Journey Through a Gender Lens,” analyzed research participation and career progression across the European Union and in 15 countries including Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Australia and Japan.
This report is an extension of two other Elsevier reports — “Gender in the Global Research Landscape” and “Mapping Gender in the German Research Arena.”
“It’s really exciting that we are releasing the report and that it’s being done around International Women’s Day,” said Dr. Holly Falk-Krzesinski, vice president of research intelligence on the Global Strategic Networks team at Elsevier.
She said the report analyzed the science system as a whole and looked at collaboration, the overall impact of researchers’ citations on others in the field, and the ways in which scholars engage internationally.
“It is representative of our ongoing and broader effort towards gender diversity and promoting women in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine fields,” said Falk-Krzesinski, who is also co-chair of Elsevier’s Gender Working Group.
According to the report, the overall gap between men’s and women’s participation in research is decreasing. The ratio of women to men researchers increased to 20 women for every 100 men in almost all countries studied.
