‘Why so few women in science, even now?’ asks Cambridge physicist

How much of this is female students not being confident that they can do well in the sciences? I was always an awkward cuss who went my own way and did stuff I wanted to do regardless of garbage like 'gender stereotypes' or whether I could see another woman doing what I wanted to do (my role models were chosen based on what they'd done, not what they looked like!)... and have spent a lot of my life being regarded as 'one of the boys' because that's the way I think. I think. Um. I didn't like "girl stuff" and was independent minded enough that I didn't feel the need to do it just because other girls did... those who feel a need to 'fit in' may impede their own progress. It's not their fault by any means, but how can we get the message across that you can do whatever appeals to you no matter what you are, it's your abilities and inclinations that matter!

All these gender equality champions are not championing equality, they are feminist advocators. A staggering amount of data shows day after day that boys are performing poor in all stages of education. More girls go to university that boys. Girls do better in school than boys. More boys drop out. But noone cares, they have their agenda. Instead of reading Donalds propaganda book I suggest reading Reeves book Of boys and men. A much more nuanced view of the problem.

My impression is and has been that women are very well represented in Biological sciences and currently dominate entry into Medicine. Notwithstanding the range of factors determining degree choice, perhaps the perceived or real satisfactions to be derived from the physical sciences are simply lower for women. As a male this was my own perception that physical sciences were just harder and less relatable to than the magic of watching chromosomes line up and swap genes. This phenomenon is of course, entirely based on physics and chemistry but can be more easily described with an attractive qualitative vocabulary. On a socioequalities front I should add, I see less commentary on access to study for the beleaguered and increasingly invisible, white working class of any gender. Perhaps this demographic group are no longer fashionable for the UKHE sector.

Is it fair to encourage more women students ino STEM when there is still a glass ceiling preventing women from achieving their full potential. I work in the Biosciences in a Russell Group University. In the last 20 years, in the subject area in which I work, over 15 men have been promoted to professorships and 0 women. Over the same period 20-40% of staff have been women. When I first came to this University I was told things were changing for women, 35 years later nothing has changed.