UK Leads the Way for Number of Women Working in R&D

In honour of International Women’s Day 2023, Ryan analysed  OECD data to reveal the progress made in increasing the number of women in R&D and what the next steps are for improving gender equality in R&D.

The UK is paving the way for women working in R&D with more female workers than anywhere else in the world.

But with the ratio of women to men in R&D almost unchanged in the past 10 years, could more be done to balance the scales?

Women in R&D in the UK

There are 213,856 women working in R&D in the UK at the moment, out of a total workforce of 548,498.

UK employers have hired 67,645 more female researchers in the past 10 years – a rise of 46%.

It means the UK is leading the way globally, with the highest number of women working in R&D in the world. We are followed by Germany which employs 187,231 women (an increase of 54% over ten years) and Japan with 158,927 female workers (an uplift of 31%).

Proportion of Men to Women in R&D Across the World

Despite the UK coming out on top for most women employed in R&D, the proportion of women working in research has hardly changed over the same period.

Women make up 39% of the UK R&D workforce, compared to 37.9% a decade ago, making this an area where the country needs to improve.

Ryan’s analysis of the ratio of women to men working in R&D shows the UK is down in 12^th place.

Argentina has the highest proportion of female researchers at 53%, followed by Latvia with a nearly 50-50 split and Lithuania at 49%. Argentina and Latvia are the only countries where the number of women in the R&D workforce is greater than men.

There Is Still a Way to Go

The UK should be proud that it is home to so many female researchers, but there is still a way to go to improve the gender balance.

There are still six men for every four women researchers in the UK, a figure nearly unchanged in the last decade.

Government ambitions to make the UK into a science superpower with huge levels of investment means this is an incredibly exciting time to be working in R&D.

However, the industry must do more to show it is a profession that is accessible to all, and offering great career opportunities.

Jodie O’Sullivan, Manager, R&D Account Management, is a Biochemistry graduate who made the transition into a professional services role after finishing her bachelor’s degree.

She said: “The UK should be proud that it is home to so many female researchers, but there is still a way to go to improve the gender balance.

“There are still six men for every four women researchers in the UK, a figure nearly unchanged in the last decade.

“Government ambitions to make the UK into a science superpower, with huge levels of investment, means this is an incredibly exciting time to be working in R&D.

“However, the industry must do more to show it is a profession that is accessible to all, and offering great career opportunities.”