Gender parity in research
Find out how the Daphne Jackson Trust is working harder than ever to bring more women back to research
This International Women’s Day, the University of Surrey-based Daphne Jackson Trust is working harder than ever to bring more women back to research.
Despite strides in the inclusion of women in science, recent research shows that women are still leaving the science workforce in large numbers. They make up less than 30% of advanced career authors, and even in equitable fields like biology, women are 40% less likely than men to still be publishing 20 years after their first research publication.
Though gender equality has improved across society, research on the child penalty shows that women’s careers are disproportionately affected by the birth of their first child, and UK women on average still assume a higher burden of childcare and household duties. It’s no surprise then, that this increased gender parity in research begins to erode as women reach the age where family and caring demands are the highest.
The Daphne Jackson Trust, a small academic charity based at the University of Surrey, is working to change this.
The Daphne Jackson Trust
Daphne Jackson was the UK’s first female professor of physics. When she saw a former female researcher stocking shelves at Tesco, the woman explained that women with PhDs who left science – to have children or to move for their husband’s career for example – had no way back in. Daphne realised just how much potential was being wasted, and devised the first fellowship to help retrain female scientists and get then back into research.
The Daphne Jackson Trust was founded to continue this work. Since 1992, we’ve helped more than 500 researchers return to the workforce with our unique combination of funding, training, and mentorship. Our fellowships are now available to all people in all research areas looking to return to research after a career break of at least two years taken for family caring, or health reasons.
Case study: Dr Priya Sharma
Very few Daphne Jackson Fellows planned to take a career break. But sometimes life gets in the way, and these researchers found their health concerns, caring work, or the needs of a young family incompatible with the demands of early or mid-career research. Our fellows describe the life-changing nature of their Daphne Jackson Fellowship, giving them a second chance at a research career they loved.
Dr Priya Sharma is a Daphne Jackson Fellow here in the University of Surrey Department of Physics. She is a theoretical condensed matter physicist and has pivoted to quantum technology through the retraining offered by her Fellowship.
“My fellowship has been a game-changer for my career and consequently, my personal life. The positive path it has put me on has helped me recover with even greater momentum from various issues I suffered from during my break. The level of support the fellowship provides is incomparable to any platform anywhere in academic research. This is the single most important driving force that has enabled the remarkable achievements during my fellowship thus far. The fellowship has converted a setback into a comeback for me.”
During her fellowship thus far, Priya has won UKRI and University grant funding, filed a patent for a novel qubit platform, and published several research papers in internationally recognised journals. She won Researcher of the Year 2024 in the School of Maths and Physics at the University of Surrey. She is a pragmatic ambassador for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the community, inspired by her lived experience.
Find out more about her research in this bite-size Life Scientific Short, where she speaks to our home celebrity, Prof. Jim Al Khalili.
Current opportunities
Returning researchers like Priya to their careers has impact across the research landscape. According to our 2021 survey, Daphne Jackson Fellowships have saved an estimated £37m of gross institutional costs and over 1,250 years of research experience and talent from being lost from the sector. For every £1 spent on a fellow, they bring in £2 of additional funding, and 11 former fellows are now Professors.
Through funding, flexible working, mentorship, and an inclusive culture, the Daphne Jackson Trust is leading the way to gender parity in all areas of research.
Are you looking to return to a research career? We have several fellowship opportunities open. Learn more about our Current opportunities.
Find us
The Daphne Jackson Trust
Department of Physics
University of Surrey
Guildford
Surrey
GU2 7XH
Built with Shorthand