Why are there so few women tenured professors?

Sheryl Sandberg asks: “Why are there so few women leaders.”, and in academia, we wonder: “Why are there so few women tenured professors?”.

I’m not qualified to give an answer to this question – and the answer itself is rather complex. But nonetheless, I think we need to ask this question, out and loud – and challenge the status quo.

Given all the challenges our world is facing, we need all brains on board to try and solve the riddles of today.
We can’t afford to discourage young girls to go into STEM fields. We can’t afford to discourage bright undergraduate women from continuoing onto graduate school.

And for those of us who opted for a career in science and feel sometimes awkward in a room full of grey-haired men: you are not alone. Tenure, She Wrote published a brilliant article recently. Isolation is part of this game.
But let that not be a reason to drop out. Instead, let’s Lean In.