International recognition is crucial to the advancement of academic careers, but research from the University of Oxford shows that female researchers tend to be less internationally mobile than their male peers.

“Current literature points to gender inequality in science across countries,” the researchers explain. “But a lack of relevant data on the migration of scholars has made it difficult to answer whether male and female scientists migrate equally.”

Relocation barriers

Researchers often relocate to other countries in pursuit of career advancement, but the study highlights that female scientists still face under-representation among internationally mobile researchers. Not only do they relocate less frequently, but they also tend to come from and move to fewer countries and cover shorter distances than their male counterparts.

The research further demonstrates that gender inequality within mobile academic scientists fluctuates over time and varies between countries on a global level. It also sheds light on how this imbalance affects the demographic makeup of the scientific workforce in both the countries of origin and destination. The study provides a comprehensive and dynamic perspective on the global migration of scholars from a gender standpoint.

“While the U.S. remained the leading academic destination worldwide, the shares of both female and male scholarly inflows to that country declined from around 25% to 20% over the study period, partially due to the growing relevance of China,” the researchers explain.

“While gender inequalities remain, our findings support a growing feminization of scholars migrating internationally. However, female researchers are still restricted in moving as globally and as freely as their male counterparts.”

Fewer barriers

The study reveals that gender disparities among researchers and international scholars are less pronounced in high-income and upper-middle-income countries compared to low-income countries. While the U.S., U.K., and Germany remained attractive to both female and male mobile scholars, gender gaps persisted even in these leading global hubs of international science.

However, in a few countries like Portugal, Brazil, and Argentina, gender parity was nearly achieved among mobile researchers. Conversely, significant gender gaps favoring men were observed in countries such as Japan and South Korea.

“Our study indicates that opportunities for women to advance their academic careers through international mobility have increased,” the researchers conclude. “While we unveiled a key and welcome trend, we also note that more research is needed to understand underlying mechanisms, including the roles played by families and by science policies in shaping gender differences in the drivers and outcomes of relocations.”