Chemistry textbooks still portray men as scientists while women perform domestic duties

School chemistry books overwhelmingly focus on men, and when women are included they are often portrayed doing domestic activities rather than science, an analysis from the UK and Ireland has found.

In 2019, the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Pay and Reward Survey found women were, on average, paid 21% less than men, while the RSC also found papers from female authors were more likely to be rejected, particularly if the reviewer was a man. Representation of men and women, such as in textbooks, is an important factor. It can fuel unconscious biases and discourage women and people from minority communities from pursuing jobs in science.