Women continue to be awarded the majority of biological science PhDs in the United States, according to the latest data from the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Statistics released this week show that 52% of biological science PhDs were awarded to women in 2009, the second year running that more women than men received PhDs in the field and up by almost
2 percentage points from the previous year.
In contrast, less than a third of PhDs in mathematics and statistics or physical sciences were awarded to women in 2009, although the proportion of PhDs awarded to women has increased in all fields of science and engineering since 2001.
The NSF also asked doctorate recipients about their post-PhD plans, and found that of those who had a definite plan, men were more likely to be heading into the industry sector than women.
Related articles:
Number of new US science PhDs falls for first time in seven years
Recent comments on this blog
African astronomy and how one student broke into the field
From Doctorate to Data Science: A very short guide
Work/life balance: New definitions