Comission Femmes et Astronomie de la SF2A : Women participation in french astronomy 2025

TL;DR

This study maps the current state of women's participation in French astronomy, highlighting a decline in female representation with increasing career level and job security, and establishing a baseline for future tracking.

Contribution

It expands previous surveys to include more institutes and provides detailed analysis of gender disparities across career stages and job types in French astronomy.

Findings

Women’s participation decreases with career seniority.

Access to permanent positions is a key bottleneck.

Gender gap widens with higher job security and income.

Abstract

The Commission Femmes et Astronomie of the French Astronomical Society, has conducted a statistical study aimed at mapping the current presence of women in French professional astronomy and establishing a baseline for tracking its evolution over time. This study follows an initial survey carried out in 2021, which covered eight astronomy and astrophysics institutes (1,060 employees). This year, the scope was expanded to 11 institutes, bringing together a total of 1,525 employees, including PhD students, postdoctoral researchers, academics, as well as technical and administrative staff, representing about 57% of the whole French community. We examined how the proportion of women varies according to career stage, level of responsibility, job security, and income. The results are compared to the 2021-2022 survey and appear to illustrate the well-known "leaky pipeline", with one of the main bottlenecks being access to permanent positions. The study shows that the proportion of women consistently declines with increasing job security, career seniority, qualification level, and salary.