Women still earn slightly less than men do in the life sciences, though the difference narrows as both advance in their fields, according to a salary survey conducted by Abbott, Langer & Associates and sponsored by The Scientist and the American Institute of Biological Sciences.
Midcareer female scientists in the United States, who have worked for five to nine years since obtaining their PhDs, earn a median income of $55,000 (US), roughly 92% of the $60,000 their male colleagues earn. Women with 14 to 19 years in the profession earn a median of $75,000, 93% of the $81,000 earned by men; those who have worked 25 to 29 years since obtaining their PhDs earn a median of $89,850, 94% of the median of $95,000 for men.
The salary disparity--which many women sense--has prompted massive surveys of academic departments in universities as different as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which led ...
