'Stuck in the Past'

The underrepresentation of women in science may mean that discrimination against female researchers is "institutional," says the Guardian's Alice Bell. A new study published in PNAS suggests science is "stuck in the past" when it comes to women and is focusing on the wrong issues in order to get past the problem, she adds. The researchers — Cornell University's Stephen Ceci and Wendy Williams — reviewed 20 years of data on gender discrimination in science and they say too much attention has been focused on discrimination when women apply for jobs or funding. Instead, they argue that the focus should be shifted to making changes in education and policy that "reflect the challenges faced by women interested in building a long-term career in science," Bell says.