Longitudinal Career Survey of Entomology Doctoral Graduates Suggests That Females Are Disadvantaged in Entomology Job Market

Abstract

Abstract Here, I provide data from a longitudinal survey that suggests that male entomology doctoral graduates are more successful at getting scientific positions than female graduates are. I digitally followed over 800 male and female doctorates graduating between 2001 and 2018 over several years to determine occupational outcomes. Males significantly outnumber females in industry positions, and occupy more academic positions and government jobs than females. Males may get a head start in employment by publishing significantly more scientific papers during their graduate programs than do females, setting them up to be more competitive. Once hired into academia, males appear to continue this publication pattern, obtaining significantly higher H-indices than female academic colleagues later in their careers, which may play a role in being promoted more quickly than females. Males are also favored by institutions at which they previously interned: Males working as postdoctoral scientists in USDA labs end up being hired into significantly more permanent jobs at USDA than females who also were postdocs at USDA. Another important result of the research is the finding that the majority of both genders undergo postdoctoral training, but fewer than 25% of entomology postdocs get academic positions, demonstrating the bleak outlook of the academic job market.