"Equality has been a core principle of the ivory tower for decades. Yet there remain sizeable gender representation gaps, particularly at the highest levels of academia. Using a new mathematical model built on over 16,000 data points, we estimate the long-term gender composition of one university, and we find that intervention is required for parity.

"With our model, we have explored hundreds of possible gender equity interventions, and we find that the most successful ones have two things in common: a top-down change in hiring and a bottom-up culture of inclusivity. Specifically, promotion must be gender neutral; women must be hired at the same rate and rank as men (both within and across STEM and non-STEM disciplines); and new hires must be retained.

"The first two conditions have to come from university administrators. A true commitment to gender equity requires parity in hiring across disciplines, not just within them. In other words, we need more women in STEM and more promotions in non-STEM. Female-dominated disciplines are systematically undervalued, and this must change if full gender parity is going to be achieved.

"The final condition is on us. We can all contribute to a culture of inclusion. Our model predicts that most gender gaps appear at the start of the academic career. So, send that email to that new staff member. Buy them a coffee. Count the number of women in your collaboration circles; in your tearoom. Make sure that you’re doing your part to build a culture of inclusion."