Study Finds Women Biological Scientists Have More Success With Assistant Professor Interviews Than Male Peers

In recent years, women biological scientists who applied for assistant professor positions have been more likely to receive a job offer than their male peers, according to a new article published in bioRxiv.

For their study, the authors surveyed 449 scientists who applied for an assistant professor job between 2019 and 2022. Despite male applicants having, on average, slightly more first-author publications than women, over two-thirds of women applicants received at least one job offer, compared to around half of their male peers. Transgender or gender-nonconforming scholars were also more likely than men to receive a job offer for an early-career biological science faculty position.

In addition to gender differences, the report found job candidates who submitted more applications and/or had a more senior academic position were more successful in obtaining a job offer. In contrast, candidates who were first-generation college students, held multiple prior postdoctoral positions, were older in age, and/or those who resided outside of North America were less successful in receiving a faculty position.

The report’s authors included researchers with affiliations at Midwestern University in Arizona, the University of Michigan, Harvard Medical School, the University of Kansas, Virginia Tech, the University of North Dakota, the University of Arizona, Southern Illinois University, and Carleton University in Canada.