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Thu 05 May 2007For the love of science, women in particular are losing outUnder the Microscope:The phrase "cash-rich, time-poor" is often heard now. It describes a phenomenon previously unknown in Ireland, where the opposite situation - "cash-poor, time-rich" was the norm, writes Prof William RevilleBoth alternatives are far from ideal and each springs largely from the economic model in practice. The current scenario is particularly stressful for career women who anxiously watch their biological clocks as they pound the career treadmill. A recent UK survey (summarised in the Sunday Telegraph, April 22nd, 2007) has found that a third of women graduates will never have children. As a career, science is particularly demanding while, at the same time, less financially rewarding than an investment of the same time and talent in some other careers. This undoubtedly is a hurdle to be overcome in attracting women into science and retaining them there.