Why talented women are disappearing from universities

SwissInfo.ch 05 May 2017

Equal numbers of men and women do PhDs in Switzerland, but by post-doctoral level the number of women dwindles. One university is bringing women back to academia thanks to an innovative programme, writes Isobel Leybold-Johnson for SwissInfo.ch.

The University of Basel provides a clear example of the ‘leaky pipeline’ in these statistics for 2016. “We have many talented women who disappear from university at post-doc level,” explained Beate Böckem from the university’s equal opportunities office.

Keen not to lose this valuable pool of talent, the university launched Stay on Track, a project that targets female post-doctoral students coming back to work after maternity leave. Its goal: providing relief from a key duty during one semester to allow the returner to concentrate on her research. Stay on Track has helped over 40 female researchers since it started in 2014, said Böckem, who coordinates the scheme.
Full report on the SwissInfo.ch site

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