Men get most out of research stays abroad

Moving abroad can give a researcher’s career a real boost.

Previous international research also shows that men are more likely than women to take the plunge.

A new study from the University of Copenhagen has looked at what researchers actually gain from moving abroad. The study involved almost 16,000 researchers from around the world.

“What we find is that women get slightly less out of moving than men,” says Mathias Wullum Nielsen, one of the authors of the article.

The gender gap is evident in both overall publication output and publications in top-tier journals, both of which increase after a stay abroad. However, the increase is less significant for women than for men. The differences in citations, however, are less pronounced and more uncertain.

Men are more flexible

More than one in five female researchers and one in four male researchers worldwide have spent time abroad as part of an international research stay, according to the figures cited in the study.

“So why are women less mobile?”

“Something that is often highlighted is what we refer to as ‘dual career couples’, i.e. couples in which both partners have careers,” says Nielsen.

Women in academia are more likely to have partners with their own careers who find it difficult to relocate. Male researchers are more likely to have partners in more flexible jobs, according to Nielsen.

He uses himself as an example:

“I got a post-doctoral fellowship at Stanford University after my education in Denmark. My wife is American and was able to step straight into an administrative job at the university. That made it easy for me to move because we could go together.”

Another explanation relates to caregiving responsibilities.

“Even in Scandinavia, women still shoulder a larger share of caregiving responsibilities at home, which can make it more difficult to move abroad.”

Mobility boosts careers

“The findings suggest that barriers associated with relocation still persist, contributing to continued gender disparities and potentially shaping career trajectories over time,” says Nielsen.

“Why is it a problem that women are less mobile?”

“A substantial body of research, both in sociology and economics, shows that moving abroad can have a positive impact on careers,” explains Nielsen.

According to Nielsen, moving abroad can also help researchers find an environment better suited to their area of expertise.

“You gain new perspectives and ideas, access to other researchers working in areas closer to your own, as well as broader networks. Researchers may also find better resources and working conditions at their new institution.”

The researchers used big data

We know, then, that there are gender differences in mobility.

But do women and men benefit equally from relocating?

To answer that question, the researchers used data from Web of Science, a large database of research articles. The articles list the institutions researchers are affiliated with, and this information was used to track whether they had been internationally mobile.

They focused on researchers who published for the first time between 2008 and 2010, and tracked their careers over time.

“We identified researchers who changed affiliation to a university in another country within a given time frame and remained at the new institution for at least two years,” says Nielsen.

This resulted in a sample of almost 16,000 researchers who had moved abroad. They then compared changes in how much researchers published after relocating.

“The key point here is that we compare each researcher with themselves – before and after the move.”

Relocation increased production

The findings show that both women and men benefit from a stay abroad.

“They publish more and more of their work appears in high-ranked journals,” says Nielsen.

Nielsen and colleagues did not find clear differences in citation counts.

“The main point is, however, that men get more out of mobility than women.”

When researchers are compared with themselves before and after moving, performance increases more for men.

Two possible reasons

The gender difference in performance may have various explanations. Nielsen notes that one limitation of the study is that it relies solely on publication data, looking only at the number of publications and citations.

“So we can’t draw any conclusions about the role of partners, family or similar factors.”

He nevertheless points to some possible explanations.

“One relates to what we call ‘tied mobility’. Female researchers are more likely to relocate because of a partner, rather than necessarily choosing the destination that offers the greatest professional benefit for themselves.”

Another explanation relates to poor organisation:

“It may be that women are given less favourable conditions when they arrive at a new institution. For example, less resources for research, poorer facilities and so on.”

According to Nielsen, the findings can be summarised as a ‘double disadvantage’:

“Women move abroad less often, and when they do, they get less out of it than men.”

Were the women representative?

One question the researchers have raised is whether the women in the study are representative of the average female academic.

In the article, they point to several factors that may distinguish them from others, including age and family situation. Specialisation within their field, as well as whether the move abroad was voluntary or driven by a partner’s career, may also factor in.

“This was also raised during the peer review process. The question is whether this is truly about gender, or whether it reflects other differences between the men and women who move abroad.”

“But here I would argue, and many gender researchers would agree, that this is precisely what gender is. It’s about the different conditions and starting points that women and men face within these systems. So it’s not something outside gender – it's part of it.”

Different measures of productivity

“To measure researchers’ performance, you looked at how much they publish, and you also include a separate category for publications in major journals. But are there other ways of measuring performance?”

“Publication output is clearly not the only way to measure impact,” Nielsen replies.

“At the same time, publication output, top-tier journals and citations are still the criteria by which researchers are largely evaluated. It impacts hiring decisions, funding and career opportunities.”

The Web of Science database covers the most central and influential journals.

“But could there be aspects of research work, such as more locally oriented knowledge production and applied research, which are not captured by such measures? Could it be that women who relocate are more involved in other types of research?”

“Yes, you could certainly say that. But we compare each researcher with themselves, before and after research mobility. It’s not just a comparison between women and men.”

“So the discussion is not about whether women and men publish the same amount,” Nielsen points out.

“That’s another discussion altogether. Here we look at what they gain from moving,” he says.

Do senior positions boost performance?

A key question is what actually explains the increase in publication output.

“Could it be that the increase in publication output is not driven by the international mobility itself, but by researchers publishing more as they advance into higher positions?”

“Definitely. Ideally, we should also have looked at who remains in academia, who files patents and who becomes professors. That would have provided a clearer picture of the impact on careers,” Nielsen replies.

One example of how this can be done is by studying CVs, which provide information on mobility, publications and types of position held.

“But CV data have clear limitations, especially when looking further back in time. As a result, this study offers more of a bird’s-eye view. It would be interesting to see follow-up studies at the country level, based on more detailed career data.”

An unreasonable requirement?

“What do you think about the fact that international mobility itself has become a norm or expectation in academia?”

“The universities are in a bit of a dilemma there,” Nielsen replies.

On the one hand, we know that international mobility can be useful.

“It provides access to new environments and ideas, and helps build bridges between research communities, which benefits both the institutions and the researchers.”

However, it can also create imbalances:

“If the opportunities for mobility are not equal, such expectations can push some people out.”

What can politicians do?

Nielsen argues that politicians and institutions should look for alternative solutions so that mobility requirements do not disadvantage women and primary caregivers.

“Another question is whether we define mobility too narrowly. Do researchers actually have to move? Or could we consider shorter stays over time, dual affiliations with multiple institutions or more flexible arrangements?” Nielsen asks.

The researcher believes that digital technologies could play a role in that context.

“The world is becoming increasingly digital, so it may be possible to facilitate more movement back and forth between institutions, without people necessarily having to relocate their entire lives to a new place,” Nielsen says.

Translated by Totaltekst.