The London Mathematical Society have released a report ‘Advancing women in mathematics: good practice in UK university departments‘. The LMS is “concerned about the loss of women from mathematics, particularly at the higher levels of research and teaching, and at the missed opportunities that this represents”.

The 78-page report, based on the work of the LMS Women in Mathematics Committee and the supporting departments in its Good Practice Scheme, includes gender statistics for staff and students in departments and examples of good practice on various relevant issues including around appointment, promotion and flexibility in career structure. The preface explains that this

shows that a surprisingly small proportion of women in the UK go on from an undergraduate degree in mathematics to study for a PhD in mathematics and that, of those women who achieve positions as university lecturers, worryingly few are promoted to professor, with many being engaged on teaching only contracts. Again, for the first time, this data enables each department to benchmark itself against the national picture and will assist both departments and the LMS to target actions appropriately.

The report was launched at the House of Commons last week.

Report: Advancing women in mathematics: good practice in UK university departments, 5.6MB PDF

Source: House of Commons Launch of Good Practice Report, news post by the LMS.