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Women Lead Health Research

More women than men are involved in health research and the proportion is increasing, according to the latest Health Research Council workforce survey.

As at July 1997, women made up 65% of full-time equivalent HRC-funded research positions, an increase of 7% since 1995. This high participation is also reflected in the HRC career development awards made to women, according to HRC director Dr Bruce Scoggins. An analysis of biomedical grant applications from 1997 found that female researchers are also slightly more successful at getting funding.

Fewer women than men were clustered at the highest academic level, which includes senior lecturers and professors. In 1997, 65% of health researchers at this level were men. However, several internationally recognised New Zealand health research groups are led by women. Some examples include:

• Associate Professor Sally Casswell, director of the Alcohol and Public Health Research Unit at Auckland University
• Professor Diana Hill, who leads a molecular genetics research group at the University of Otago
• Dr Robyn Norton, director of the Injury Prevention Research Centre at Auckland University
• Dr Paparangi Reid, of Te Roopu Rangahau Hauora a Eru Pomare, a Maori health research group at the Wellington School of Medicine

Women's health research participation parallels the proportion of women studying health-related disciplines such as medicine at universities, says Scoggins. In 1997, 62% of university students in these disciplines were women.