Women gain a solid foothold in the world of research

Research has for years been dominated by men, but today that is no longer the case. In research circles, we are approaching equality between the sexes. This is shown by a large survey from the Dutch analysis firm Elsevier. The proportion of active female researchers in the world has risen from 28 per cent to 41 per cent over the past 20 years. More equality in the research world can help to normalize greater differences among researchers. This can mean that you get more perspectives from people with different backgrounds, including in relation to ethnicity, economy, religion, age or gender. Senior researcher at the Department of Political Science at Aarhus University, Jens Peter Andersen, explains that the differences contribute to a truer picture of the world we live in and this means that research becomes more nuanced. He has investigated gender differences in research. – You question other things as a woman than you do as a man, he says. If we do not have diversity among researchers, we risk that there are areas that are simply not discovered. Fresh eyes on specific problems Jens Peter Andersen says that the different backgrounds mean that there is more focus on areas that have historically tended to be under-prioritised. – Female researchers are more aware of areas that affect women, he says. He adds that women often have more focus on equality. This can be seen in the fact that, for example, they have more focus on the fact that there is a mixed focus group when testing new medicine. It is important, so that one is also aware of how the female body reacts to the new medicines before they are released on the market. Jens Peter Andersen points out that one should of course celebrate that equality has progressed in the world of research, but that at the same time one should remember that the battle is not quite over yet. In the survey from Elsevier, one can also see that there is a lack of female researchers in the natural sciences. However, the senior researcher believes that if more women enter research, it can help to inspire others. – Others can imagine a future in research when there is someone to look up to, he says.



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