'The first author was a woman. She should be in the kitchen, not writing papers': Bias in STEM publishing still punishes women

View of an unidentified chemist as she works with various flaks in a laboratory, May 23, 1958.

In this adapted excerpt from "Not Just for the Boys: Why We Need More Women in Science" (Oxford University Press, 2023), physicist Athene Donald examines the role of bias against women in scientific publishing, and its pervasiveness that still persists among academia.

In judging individuals, it might be thought that there are appropriate quantitative and objective metrics to be used. In reality, such metrics can be seen to disadvantage women. Different disciplines and different countries may exhibit these tendencies to a greater or lesser extent. Letters of reference — in science as elsewhere — tend to use fewer stand-out adjectives about women than men, meaning their chance of progression is reduced.