Women's Rights

Why Science Act Protects Women in Science — A Policy Rooted in History, Data, and Justice

In 2025, the gender gap in global science remains stubbornly persistent. Women account for less than 30% of researchers worldwide, and their representation in senior authorship, editorial leadership, and grant funding trails far behind their male counterparts (Fig. 1). These disparities are not incidental — they are the cumulative result of structural exclusions, cultural biases, and systemic underrecognition. Science Act’s policy to protect and elevate women researchers is not a gesture. It is a correction.

The roots of this policy stretch back centuries. From Rosalind Franklin’s sidelined contributions to DNA structure, to Chien-Shiung Wu’s overlooked role in nuclear physics, history is replete with women whose scientific brilliance was eclipsed by institutional blindness. Even today, women are less likely to be cited, invited to keynote, or selected for editorial boards. The consequences are not just personal — they shape the very questions science asks, the methods it values, and the futures it imagines.

Science Act was founded with a mandate to challenge these patterns. Our editorial governance includes gender-balanced panels. Our submission system flags disparities in authorship order and contribution statements. Our funding model guarantees full APC support for accepted papers authored by women from underrepresented regions or institutions. These are not add-ons — they are embedded in our publishing DNA.

But policy alone is insufficient. Culture must follow. That is why Science Act actively recruits women reviewers, highlights women-led research in featured issues, and supports mentorship networks across continents. We do not ask women to “lean in” to broken systems. We rebuild the systems.

Critics sometimes ask: why single out women? The answer is empirical. Studies show that diverse teams produce more innovative science. Journals with inclusive editorial boards publish more interdisciplinary work. And when women lead, research agendas expand to include neglected populations, overlooked diseases, and novel methodologies. Equity is not charity — it is scientific necessity.

Our commitment is intersectional. We recognize that women of color, LGBTQ+ women, disabled women, and those outside elite institutions face compounded barriers. Science Act’s policy framework is designed to identify and dismantle these layers — through targeted outreach, transparent review, and inclusive language.

We also know that visibility matters. That is why our homepage features women scientists, our metrics track gender equity, and our editorial statements cite women’s contributions explicitly. We do not wait for history to recognize them. We do it now.

Science Act is not alone. Journals across disciplines are awakening to the imperative of equity. But declarations are not enough. What matters is infrastructure — funding, review, authorship, and editorial power. That is where change lives.

In protecting women, we protect science itself. We ensure that its future is not a mirror of its past, but a canvas for what it could be — rigorous, inclusive, and just.

Fig. 1 A historical Timeline of Woman in Science