A major global study released in April 2026 has confirmed a persistent and troubling gap in the world of science: women are present in significant numbers, but they remain largely excluded from positions of real power and influence.
While women now make up nearly one-third (33%) of all researchers worldwide, their representation at the highest levels of scientific decision-making tells a different story. According to the report, women hold only 19% of seats in national science academies—the prestigious institutions that shape scientific policy and priorities for decades.
The study concludes that the root cause is not a lack of talent or ambition, but deeply entrenched, male-designed structures that systematically disadvantage women.
‘Old Boys’ Club’ in Recruitment
The report identifies a key mechanism of exclusion: the recruitment process. In over 90% of science academies worldwide, only current members—the vast majority of whom are men—are allowed to nominate and elect new members.
This closed-loop system perpetuates a cycle where established male scientists select candidates who look like them, effectively locking out qualified women regardless of their achievements.
Quantifying the Barriers
The global research, which surveyed thousands of female scientists across multiple continents, quantified the daily hurdles women face:
- Barriers to Advancement: Women are three times more likely than men to report facing significant obstacles to promotion.
- Family Responsibilities: Women scientists are 4.5 times more likely to have career interruptions or absences due to primary caregiving and family duties.
- Confidence and Belonging: A staggering six times more women than men reported feeling that they cannot participate or contribute at the same level as their male colleagues, a stark indicator of the psychological toll of systemic exclusion.
“The problem isn’t the pipeline of talented women—it’s the sieve that lets them drain out before reaching the top,” the report’s authors note. “Science is losing brilliant minds not because they fail, but because the system was never built for them to succeed.”
A Call for Structural Change
The study urges immediate, radical changes to how scientific institutions operate. Key recommendations include:
- Ending the self-perpetuating nomination system in academies.
- Implementing transparent, quota-based recruitment targets.
- Providing enforceable, equal access to research funding and parental leave.
- Mandating unconscious bias training for all selection committees.
As one female astrophysicist from a G7 country told the research team: “We are allowed to do the work, but we are rarely allowed to decide what work matters. That is not presence. That is permission.”
The full report, released ahead of the 2026 World Science Forum, is expected to put unprecedented pressure on national governments and research bodies to move beyond token representation and finally address the power imbalance at the heart of global science.
Phys