Gender bias in sciences 

Women paid less, receive fewer awards, resources

By Margaret Munro, Vancouver Sun, June 24, 2010 – p. B6

Women scientists in every country, including Canada, tend to be paid a lot less than their male counterparts, according to an international survey.

Six to 10 years after completing their PhDs, men’s salaries start to increase relative to women’s, according to the survey of 10,500 scientists that found a pronounced gender pay gap. And the gap widens over time, it found, with men’s salaries 18 to 40 per cent higher than women’s in Australia, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, India, Japan, the United States and Canada. Male scientists in Canada averaged $80,000 US, compared to women whose pay is closer to $65,000.

The finding fits with a notable gender bias in Canadian science, where men win a lot more than big salaries. Last month, the Harper government awarded all 19 of its new $10-million research awards to men. Not only were no women selected for the prestigious prizes, called the Canada Excellence Research Chairs, but there was not a female name on the short list of 36 candidates considered.

The all-male prizes re-ignited a debate over whether gender equality will ever be a reality on Canadian campuses.

“That this sort of thing can still happen is an embarrassment for Canada and profoundly demoralizing for the women scientists in this country,” Lynne Quarmby, a professor in the molecular biology and biochemistry department at Simon Fraser University, said shortly after the all-male prizes were announced.

The results of a career survey in the journal Nature this week show the salary gender bias is an international phenomenon.

It is likely the result of “accumulating inequities in resources and respect,” says Kathleen Christensen, who specializes in workplace issues at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, a non-profit research organization in New York.

Women scientists often start their careers with slightly lower salaries, in more poorly equipped labs, with fewer graduate students and appointments to less-prestigious committees, Christensen writes in a commentary.