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Female early-career scientists have conducted less interdisciplinary research in the past six decades: evidence from doctoral theses

Interdisciplinary Studies

Female early-career scientists have conducted less interdisciplinary research in the past six decades: evidence from doctoral theses

M. Liu, S. Yang, et al.

This study by Meijun Liu, Sijie Yang, Yi Bu, and Ning Zhang delves into over 675,000 doctoral theses to uncover striking gender disparities in interdisciplinary research. Despite a rise in interdisciplinary studies, male-authored theses significantly outperform their female counterparts in terms of interdisciplinarity, shedding light on ongoing issues in academia and suggesting essential policy changes to empower women.

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Playback language: English
Abstract
This study analyzes 675,135 doctoral theses from US Ph.D. graduates (1950-2016) across five scientific domains to examine gender disparities in interdisciplinary research (IDR). A novel indicator measures interdisciplinarity using subject co-occurrence matrices from the ProQuest database. Results reveal a growing trend in interdisciplinary theses, yet persistent gender disparities remain, with male-authored theses showing higher interdisciplinarity. Female advisors may exacerbate these disparities. The findings highlight the underrepresentation of women in IDR and suggest policy implications for advancing their careers.
Publisher
Humanities and Social Sciences Communications
Published On
Dec 07, 2023
Authors
Meijun Liu, Sijie Yang, Yi Bu, Ning Zhang
Tags
gender disparities
interdisciplinary research
doctoral theses
academic performance
policy implications
women underrepresentation

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