There has been plenty of coverage in recent years about how more females than males are graduating from university with a tertiary degree.

However, data shows that when it comes to PhDs, the opposite is true. While there is a myriad of reasons why this is happening, one key thing is “a leaky pipeline”, which lets females through the cracks due to gender-based differences.

This is significant because PhDs are often associated with better opportunities and salaries. Moreover, a PhD is often a prerequisite for a career in research and academia. If there is a lack of representation in these areas, that has a wide-ranging impact on society in general.