Gender Trends in Science and Medical Writing

Karen Ventii, a former SciBling and now a science writer, wonders:

As a medical writer, I've noticed that most medical writers I meet are female. A quick Google search using the keywordsâ "freelance medical writerâ" produced seven female and three male writers (approx. 2:1 ratio) from the first 10 eligible results.1 While it is difficult to draw statistically relevant conclusions from such a small sample size, it certainly implies a trend.

The American Medical Writers Association is the leading professional organization for medical communicators, with over 5,500 members from around the world. The ratio of female to male members is 4449:1227 (approx. 4:1), mirroring the trend observed with the Google search.

In short, medical writing is a predominately female profession....