Leaving science—attrition of biologists in 38 OECD countries
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Wiley
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Abstract
We examine biologists leaving science in 38 OECD countries in the past two decades. In a cohort-based and longitudinal fashion, we follow individuals over time, from their first publication (N = 86 178). We examine four disciplines: AGRI (agricultural, biological sciences), BIO (biochemistry, genetics, molecular biology), IMMU (immunology, microbiology), and NEURO (neuroscience). Our Kaplan–Meier survival analysis of BIO shows that 60% of women are still in science after 5 years, 40% after 10 years, and only 20% after 19 years. Women in BIO are 23.26% more likely than men to leave science after 10 years and 39.74% after 19 years. Gender differences increase consistently in later career stages. They are high, but comparing the 2000 and 2010 cohorts, have slightly decreased over time.
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attrition in science, retention in science, survival analysis, Kaplan-Meier estimations, leaving science, quitting publishing, longitudinal study, Big Data, Scopus, OECD countries, academic profession, academic career, molecular biology, biologists, immunology, neuroscience, women in science, survival probability, large-scale datasets, leaving academia, push and pull factors, cohort analysis, gender determination, ASJC disciplines, gender gap in science, academic publishing
Citation
Kwiek, M., Szymula, L. (2025). Leaving science—attrition of biologists in 38 OECD countries. FEBS Letters. Online first: March 8, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1002/1873-3468.70028