12 páginas, 5 figuras, 2 tablasGender biases in science have received increasing attention in recent years. Underrepresentation at the highest academic levels
and bias in publication are some of the factors affecting women in science. In this study, we assessed the situation of women in
Limnology, a specific field of natural sciences, within the geographic context of the Iberian Peninsula.We used a multi-faceted
approach to diagnose the situation, and we propose guidelines to reduce gender gaps in Limnology. The database of members
of the Iberian Limnological Association (AIL) was used to analyse the variability between genders at different professional
stages. Data was also compiled on plenary speakers who attended conferences organized by different associations (AIL, SEFS
and ASLO) to assess women’s visibility. A published data set was used to identify leadership patterns in publications with
respect to gender. Finally, a survey of AIL memberswas conducted to understand their perception of the barriers in science that
result in differences between the genders. This study recognized differences at the recruitment level (more tenured positions
are held by men), visibility at conferences (fewer women are invited as plenary speakers) and publication as team leaders (men
have more publications as first and last authors). Survey participants recognised the scarcity of grants/funding, difficulties in
balancing life and career, and the scarcity of job opportunities as the three main barriers in science, regardless of gender.
Yet, women identified family-related barriers such as having children and gender biases more frequently. Overall, our study
indicates that there is a general gender bias in the field of Limnology in the Iberian Peninsula; however, it is slightly lower than
the reported levels in Europe and for other disciplines in Spain. Finally, we provide a list of recommendations to balance the
current biases based on suggestions made by the participants of a round table held at the XVII Congress of the AIL (Santander, July 2014). We encourage associations in natural sciences and the AIL in particular to use this study as a guideline for best
practices as well as a baseline for future analysis of gender biases.M. M. Sánchez-
Montoya was supported with the MC-Intra European
Fellowship (CLITEMP Project-330466),
M. Bartrons with the European Research Council
Synergy grant (ERC-2013-SyG 610028-
IMBALANCE-P), B. Gallardo with a Severo
Ochoa Program for Centres of Excellence in
R+D+I (SEV-2012-0262), E. Chappuis with an
Intramural CSIC project (ref. 0065) and N. Catalán
with a studentship from the Wenner-Gren
foundation (Sweden).Peer reviewe