Work Styles, Attitudes, and Productivity of Scientists in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom: A Comparison by Gender

Abstract

With scientific research growing increasingly multidisciplinary in nature, team playing and communication skills have become critical in the achievement of scientific breakthroughs. This study adds valuable evidence to the oft-cited puzzle in the sciences by comparing the work styles, attitudes, and productivity of female and male scientists. The application of t-test analysis to data on scientists from the United Kingdom and the Netherlands indicates that women report relatively higher abilities in communication skills and teamwork than men. Also, both female and male scientists report difficulties in balancing work and family responsibilities, but proportionately more women than men rely on outside sources of childcare. A separate distribution analysis of academic productivity demonstrates substantial overlap between men and women in the number of scientific publications per year. These results add support to mounting pressure for policy reforms that effectively support the retention and advancement of women in the sciences. Key words: Skills, Workplace Diversity, Technical Innovation, Scientific Output, Women in Science, Science in Europe 1. Introduction Creativity leads to innovations, higher productivity, and ultimately, to economic growth. Human factors govern scientific innovation, with creativity across industries as an important factor in the stimulation of innovation in all its forms.1 Innovation, in turn, contributes to competitiveness and economic growth. A variety of ways of thinking and backgrounds are needed for an environment in which fruitful ideas can prosper. A broader participation in the scientific workforce is the surest strategy for bringing the best ideas, highest creativity, and greatest innovation to the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics enterprise and the service of the nation, (CEOSE 2004: xv). Cultural factors can also have a direct impact on scientific output and productivity, and cultural differences between the United States and Europe have been linked to differences in scientific productivity. In comparison with Americans, Europeans are notably less inclined to risk failure.2 The same is true for companies in terms of their willingness to be bold and experimental, and their general attitudes toward risk. However, the increasing demand on personnel to continually adapt their skills to the requirements of the labor market has provided impetus for many on both continents to acquire new knowledge and skills. European institutions have become the source of a growth in the number of high quality publications, and a growing amount of basic research is originating from European laboratories (TFFAI 2005). Questions about how to diversify the scientific workforce have gained attention in recent years in academic circles, policy discourse, and the media.3 A large literature, based mostly on American statistics, reveals numerous factors that influence women in scientific and technical disciplines, and why far fewer reach high positions.4 European countries exhibit the same pattern, as women remain under-represented in Europe's professional scientific employment across the business sector and academia (European Commission 2005). The low female representation comes at a cost because women bring a distinct set of skills, work styles, and attitudes to the table that can potentially affect productivity at all levels. The lack of consensus on the puzzle in science leaves open the question of whether gender differences in productivity do exist, and if so, the path by which these gender differences occur.5 To address this question, we conduct tests of statistical differences between male and female scientists in work styles, attitudes toward work, and productivity. The work is two-fold. In the first part of the study, we apply t-test analysis to samples of scientists from two western European countries known for their high indicators of scientific output: the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. …