Defence spending and women in research: A cross-country comparison

Abstract

This article explores whether greater levels of national defence spending effectively push women away from research careers in science and engineering due to the biases that defence spending can foster in research and development (R&D) institutions. Defence R&D spending shapes the orientation of R&D both through the direct subsidisation of R&D, as well as through procurement, which creates demand for military technologies. These biases created by defence spending potentially alter and shape career tracks in ways that may be more antithetical to feminine gender norms and job values than those of men, thus reducing women’s participation in research careers and reducing gender diversity among developers of new technology. We evaluate this gender asymmetry empirically through a panel dataset of thirty-three nations. Our findings indicate that greater levels of defence spending are indeed associated with lower participation of women in research careers, particularly in government and higher education.