Women in research and innovation careers

ReICO data shows that women's share of graduates varies considerably across fields of study and between countries, as well as across levels of qualification.

Women now make up a majority of master's graduates in many OECD countries, though their representation continues to vary widely across disciplines, reflecting differences in education systems, labour markets, and the wider social context.

While patterns differ, in general women continue to be underrepresented among doctoral graduates in Science, Technology, Engineering and Manufacturing (STEM) fields and overrepresented in arts, humanities, education, and health fields. 

Although women now attain advanced qualifications at equal or higher rates than men overall, they remain underrepresented in the R&D workforce and STEM professions.

ReICO indicators show that, in most countries, the share of women among science and engineering professionals, ICT professionals, and R&D personnel remains well below parity. This is especially pronounced in business R&D, where shares of women remain far below those seen in the higher education sector.

Together, these indicators point to a persistent mismatch between women's growing presence among graduates and their representation in the research and innovation workforce.

The ReICO database includes time series for most key indicators, making it possible to compare how the share of women among R&D personnel has evolved across countries.

Progress has been uneven. In some countries, the share of women in R&D has changed little since 2015, while others have seen steady gains over the same period.

These differences raise questions about what lies behind them: the role of targeted policies, for example, underlying shifts in the fields and sectors where R&D is concentrated, or wider changes in education and the labour market.

ReICO data can help policymakers and researchers explore these questions, particularly as new indicators are added and refined over time to expand the evidence base.

ReICO data indicates that, even among the highly qualified, women and men often experience different employment conditions.

Across many countries, women are less likely than men to hold full-time or indefinite contracts and tend to have lower employment rates, pointing to a more precarious or interrupted attachment to the labour market.

Because these indicators are drawn mainly from survey data, part of the difference reflects sampling variability, and care is needed in interpreting smaller gaps in particular.

Even so, a clear pattern emerges across several countries, where women consistently experience less favourable outcomes.