Pettorelli, N., Evans, D.M., Garner, T.W.J., Katzner, T., Gompper, M.E., Altwegg, R., Branch, T.A., Johnson, J.A., Acevedo-Whitehouse, K., DaVolls, L., Rantanen, E., and Gordon, I.J. (2013) Addressing gender imbalances in Animal Conservation. Animal Conservation, 16 (2). pp. 131-133.

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Abstract

[Extract] The paucity of senior female scientists in science, including ecology and conservation, is a growing concern in the western world. 'Where are the women in ecology?' asked a paper in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment recently (Martin, 2012). 'Women are driven out of research', conclude O'Brien & Hapgood (2012). Despite the increasing popularity of biology, including ecology, among female undergraduates and graduates, the proportion of female scientists in top positions remains low (European Commission, 2009; Martin, 2012; O'Brien & Hapgood, 2012; Adamo, 2013). An increasing number of individuals, institutions and governmental organizations are starting to ask why so many female scientists do not end up being employed in the type of occupations in which they were trained (Rosser, 2008; Hill, Corbett & St. Rose, 2010; Royal Society of Edinburgh, 2012). There are several reasons to address this issue, especially at a time of economic austerity in many countries. Losing trained scientists can represent a sunk cost: conservative estimates put the economic cost of a PhD in the US at c. $500 000 (Rosser, 2008), while each PhD student in the UK receives c. £100 000 from the government to cover stipends and research and training expenses (UKRC, 2012). Moreover, gender diversity is associated with indirect benefits; for example, commercial busi- nesses with gender-balanced staff and management tend to perform better financially (UKRC, 2010a).

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