Essay: Why women lose out in the lab

EVEN in 2007, science is still a profession dominated by men. Although there has been progress, the disparity in numbers between male and female scientists, particularly at senior levels, is remarkable. The difference is most noticeable in the physical sciences where, according to UK government figures, women make up less than 20 per cent of postdoctoral physicists and fewer than 5 per cent of professors. In the more woman friendly biological sciences, the proportion of women is better – more than 40 per cent – at postdoc level, but this has fallen to almost 1 in 10 at professorial level.…