Women researchers remain in minority

Women continue to hold relatively few leadership positions in Swiss academia and scientific research compared with other countries in Europe.

In 2007, 13 per cent of colleges were led by women, according to a report released by the Federal Statistics Office on Monday.

The numbers were published as part of the “She Figures 2009” report.

“While the numbers show that women’s participation in scientific research has generally been growing at a faster rate than men’s over the past decade, this trend has not yet led to gender equality, either in Switzerland or in the rest of Europe,” it said.

The proportion of women in research has been increasing over the past decade, however, officials said. Within Europe, Switzerland has one of the highest percentages of people holding doctorates.

Within that group, women make up 39 per cent. The European average is 45 per cent.

Women make up 67 per cent of education researchers and 68 per cent of agricultural researchers. Within the public sector, 29 per cent of researchers are women.

swissinfo.ch and agencies