Gender (im)balance in the pool of graduate talent: the Portuguese case

The paper aims to characterise the Portuguese pool of graduate talent for research by focusing on the evolution of both the participation of men and women in doctoral education and the subject areas of their doctoral degrees. The analysis of data on the doctoral theses concluded between 1970 and 2016 suggest that while a gender balance in terms of participation in doctoral education has been reached, a horizontal segregation regarding the scientific areas of the doctorates seems to persist.

These findings are discussed in the light of a comparative analysis with other European countries. Moreover, findings are interpreted through the lenses of social and contextual factors specific to Portugal and that explain its particular position in terms of the gender (im)balance in doctoral education. The need for Portuguese universities to become more responsible organisations through the implementation of gender equality measures regarding participation in doctoral education is then debated.