Gender balance in science: An astronomer’s view

Over the last century, work toward gender balance in science has taken a long and tenacious path. Progress has been so slow, however, that convergence may look just like a mirage. Astronomy is no exception. As an astronomer, when a weak signal overlaps a high-level noise, I wonder, “Is there a real detection of gender balance?” In this paper I address trends and correlations versus region, country, and age, as well as my personal experience in a country where science, and astronomy in particular, have “exploded” in the last three decades. The paths to be adopted then were expected to follow those already explored by others. Yet creative new approaches have proven to be very successful. It may be that gender balance in science also needs to step away from standard approaches and unveil creative avenues that may lead to a fair and innovative solution.Over the last century, work toward gender balance in science has taken a long and tenacious path. Progress has been so slow, however, that convergence may look just like a mirage. Astronomy is no exception. As an astronomer, when a weak signal overlaps a high-level noise, I wonder, “Is there a real detection of gender balance?” In this paper I address trends and correlations versus region, country, and age, as well as my personal experience in a country where science, and astronomy in particular, have “exploded” in the last three decades. The paths to be adopted then were expected to follow those already explored by others. Yet creative new approaches have proven to be very successful. It may be that gender balance in science also needs to step away from standard approaches and unveil creative avenues that may lead to a fair and innovative solution.