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Female researchers are under-represented in the Colombian science infrastructure

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  • Andrea Paz
  • Carolina Pardo-Díaz

Abstract

Worldwide women have increased their participation in STEM, but we are still far from reaching gender parity. Although progress can be seen at the bachelor’s and master’s level, career advancement of women in research still faces substantial challenges leading to a ‘leaky pipeline’ phenomenon (i.e., the continuous decrease of women’s participation at advanced career stages). Latin America exhibits encouraging rates of women participation in research, but the panorama varies across countries and stages in the academic ladder. This study focuses on women’s participation in research in natural sciences in Colombia and investigates career progression, leadership roles, and funding rates by analyzing data on scholarships, grants, rankings, and academic positions. Overall, we found persistent gender imbalances throughout the research ecosystem that were significant using classical statistical analyses. First, although women constitute >50% graduates from bachelors in natural sciences,

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  • Andrea Paz & Carolina Pardo-Díaz, 2024. "Female researchers are under-represented in the Colombian science infrastructure," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 19(3), pages 1-18, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0298964
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0298964
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    4. Kasey Buckles, 2019. "Fixing the Leaky Pipeline: Strategies for Making Economics Work for Women at Every Stage," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 33(1), pages 43-60, Winter.
    5. Lerchenmueller, Marc J. & Sorenson, Olav, 2018. "The gender gap in early career transitions in the life sciences," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(6), pages 1007-1017.
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