Women in the Sciences

In its report issued in May, the University's Task Force on Women in Science and Engineering dramatically highlighted the "leaky...

In its report issued in May, the University's Task Force on Women in Science and Engineering dramatically highlighted the "leaky pipeline" at work in academic science: its data, shown below, demonstrate that plenty of undergraduate women study the natural sciences at Harvard, and women now outnumber men in Medical School and School of Public Health doctoral enrollments. But the tenured professoriate is overwhelmingly male. As hiring increases in the sciences, the gender composition shown here may begin to change, especially if the University succeeds in its announced strategy of appointing more professors from its junior-faculty ranks, where women are more equally represented today. But that, in turn, depends in part on whether conditions for work and research improve for the tenure-track faculty.

 

 

Chart by Stephen Anderson

Most popular

What Trump Means for John Roberts's Legacy

Executive power is on the docket at the Supreme Court.

The Harvard Professor Who Quantified Democracy

Erica Chenoweth’s data shows how—and when—authoritarians fall.

Harvard’s Endowment, Donations Rise—but the University Runs a Deficit

The annual financial report signals severe challenges to come.

Explore More From Current Issue

Two women in traditional Japanese clothing sitting on a wooden platform near a tranquil pond, surrounded by autumn foliage.

Japan As It Never Will Be Again

Harvard’s Stillman collection showcases glimpses of the Meiji era. 

A person walks across a street lined with historic buildings and a clock tower in the background.

Harvard In the News

A legal victory against Trump, hazing in the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra, and kicking off a Crimson football season with style

A man in a gray suit sits confidently in a vintage armchair, holding a glass.

The Life of a Harvard Spy

Richard Skeffington Welch’s illustrious—and clandestine—career in the CIA