Does Gender Affect Scientific Productivity ? A Critical Review of the Empirical Evidence and a Panel Data Econometric Analysis for FrenchPhysicists

International audienceThe paper revisits the issue of the gender gap in scientific productivity, oftenreferred as the “productivity puzzle” by economists and sociologists of science. Afterproviding a critical review of the empirical evidence, the paper presents the relevantresults of a panel data econometric analysis of individual publication productivitydifferences for two large samples of French cnrs and university physicists. Weobserve in both cases that the productivity of women in terms of number ofpublications is, by about one third in average, largely lower than that of men. Weconclude, however, that female physicists appear as productive as their malecolleagues in cnrs, and even more productive in French universities, when we takeinto account several factors, in particular unequal chances of promotion and frequentnon-publishing spells, which can reflect strong family engagements