Old boys’ club still rules

The naturalist Charles Darwin was inarguably one of the world’s greatest scientists but he also maintained, publicly anyway, that women were biologically inferior to men. He perpetuated the sexism of Victorian society while trading letters with a wide circle of women, encouraging many of them in their scientific endeavours.

A social revolution has thankfully taken place since. But a study from researchers at the University of Canterbury looking at sexism in science suggests we may not have progressed as far as we think.

Looking at 20 years of data on more than

5000 individuals, spanning 28 scientific societies in five countries, the researchers found that the more senior you get in the science world, the plum positions and awards disproportionately go to men, even when senior women are available.

‘‘We conclude that, when the stakes are low, efforts to tackle gender bias have been partly successful, but when the stakes are higher, the old boys’ club still dominates,’’ says co-author, Professor Michael Plank.

I worked in a scientific society for nearly

10 years and have seen the club in action – what research grant or medal you’ve received, or what journal you edit, has a real impact on your career.

Women, who are often at a disadvantage because they often take time away from their career to have children, are missing out on plum roles because of bias in selection processes.

Another study out this month in Nature Human Behaviour looks at how implicit biases influenced how 40 scientific selection committees chose who to promote over a two-year period. It found that men and women panel members were biased towards selecting men unless they consciously believed that women faced barriers advancing through science.

Therein lies, in part, the answer. If you acknowledge what women are up against, you can counter your gender bias. The researchers suggest that taking steps to avoid nomination bias, improving the diversity of selection panels and increasing transparency of processes will help women overcome the gender divide.

Some good work is underway in New Zealand and women currently occupy some of the most senior positions. But there’s a long way to go to root out the bias that is denying opportunities to even our most experienced and capable women.

Women are missing out on plum roles because of bias in selection processes.