Number of male and female research students in six science subjects

The bar chart illustrates the gender distribution of research students across six science-related disciplines at a UK university in 2009. Overall, it is evident that men were more prevalent in the majority of subjects, particularly in Physics, whereas women were more numerous only in Veterinary Medicine. Biology and Medicine were the most popular fields for both genders.

In terms of the male population, Biology had the highest number of students at 235, followed closely by Physics with 220 and Medicine with 200. Astronomy and Geology both attracted 150 male students, while Veterinary Medicine had the lowest figure at 80. Conversely, the female student population was highest in Biology at 200, followed by Medicine at 175 and Veterinary Medicine at 110. The numbers for women in Geology, Astronomy, and Physics were significantly lower, standing at 75, 60, and 40 respectively.

Notably, the gender gap was most pronounced in Physics, where male students outnumbered females by more than five times. In contrast, Medicine and Biology showed relatively balanced distributions. Veterinary Medicine was the only subject where female students exceeded their male counterparts, with 110 women compared to 80 men.