The bar chart illustrates the number of men and women engaged in research across six different science-oriented fields in a particular UK university in 2009. Overall, men outnumbered women in every field. However, the gap between two genders varied considerably depending on the subject, with biology showing the closest figures and physics the widest disparity.
In terms of the largest differences, physics had the highest number of male students at around 220, compared to only 40 women, making it the field with the greatest gender gap. Astronomy and geology showed a similar pattern, with men accounting for approximately 150 students in each subject, while women represented just 65 and 75 students respectively.
However, not all subjects showed a significant gender difference. Biology and Medicine had comparatively smaller gender gap, with male students numbering around 235 and 200, while their female counterparts reached nearly 200 and 175. In fact, medicine came closest to gender parity among all six science-related curriculums. Veterinary medicine was something of an exception to the overall trend, where the gap difference was actually reversed, with women recording a higher figure of 110 compared to 80 men.