Scientists penalised by motherhood, shows research

Female academics with young children find it more difficult to access research funding and generate attention for their results than their male counterparts, according to a new study presented at the Royal Economic Society's Annual Conference (28 March 2018). Analysing the careers of 262 male and female scientists at the University of Turin over a ten-year period, the study shows that women receive less funding than their male peers and citation rates, where research is quoted in other academic work, drop for women with young children. The study examined teaching and family commitments alongside public funding and the impact of research achieved through the quality of journal publications and volume of citations. Researchers from the Universities of Bath, Turin and the National Research Council of Italy found that public funding of research is controlled by elite networks, such as professional scientific bodies, with those in leading management roles receiving twice the funding of other academics, through favouritism or unconscious bias in the selection process. Dr Cornelia Lawson , from the University's School of Management , said: "Our research shows that female scientists with young children are not matching the citation levels of their male counterparts. It may be that the challenge of travel to international conferences and meetings to promote research findings alongside childcare responsibility is at the heart of the motherhood penalty, leaving quality research overlooked.