Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • 2010
  • Working Paper
  • HBS Working Paper Series

From Bench to Board: Gender Differences in University Scientists' Participation in Commercial Science

By: Toby E. Stuart
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:49
ShareBar

Abstract

This paper examines gender differences in the participation of university life science faculty in commercial science. Based on theory and field interviews, we develop hypotheses regarding how scientists' productivity, co-authorship networks, and institutional affiliations have different effects on whether male and female faculty become "academic entrepreneurs." We then statistically examine this framework in a national sample of 6,000 life scientists whose careers span more than 20 years. We find sharp gender differences in participation in for-profit ventures, which we measure as the likelihood of joining the scientific advisory board (SAB) of a biotechnology firm. Compared to men, women life scientists are much less likely to advise for-profit biotechnology companies. We also identify factors that contour this gender difference, including scientists' co-authorship network structure and the level of support for commercial science at their universities. Surprisingly, we find that the (conditional) gender gap is largest among faculty members at the highest status institutions.

Keywords

Business Startups; For-Profit Firms; Gender Characteristics; Higher Education; Entrepreneurship; Governing and Advisory Boards; Science-Based Business; Nonprofit Organizations; Biotechnology Industry

Citation

Ding, Waverly W., Fiona Murray, and Toby E. Stuart. "From Bench to Board: Gender Differences in University Scientists' Participation in Commercial Science." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 11-014, August 2010.
  • Read Now

About The Author

Toby E. Stuart

Strategy
→More Publications

More from the Author

    • October 2012
    • Faculty Research

    Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged)

    By: Toby Stuart and James Weber
    • October 2012
    • Faculty Research

    GSK's Acquisition of Sirtris: Independence or Integration? (Abridged)

    By: Toby Stuart and James Weber
    • 2011
    • Faculty Research

    Inside the Black Box of the Corporate Staff: An Exploratory Analysis Through the Lens of E-Mail Networks

    By: Toby E. Stuart
More from the Author
  • Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged) By: Toby Stuart and James Weber
  • GSK's Acquisition of Sirtris: Independence or Integration? (Abridged) By: Toby Stuart and James Weber
  • Inside the Black Box of the Corporate Staff: An Exploratory Analysis Through the Lens of E-Mail Networks By: Toby E. Stuart
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College