Making a life in the life sciences and the role of mentoring for female scientists.

Evidence of sex differences in intellectual capabilities remains scant and, rather than revealing genetic origin, it is complicated by the influence of social circumstances. Some inequities persist, and although these have been decreasing in recent decades, therefore, it remains a major task for policy makers and educators to assist in setting up programs, including mentoring opportunities, that are directed at alleviating such inequities. This paper outlines some historical circumstances in science and suggests that mentoring has to be understood in a wide systemic framework. The freedom to think and act and follow research ideas through is intrinsically rewarding to society and to the individual. For female scientists, it is a freedom that has yet to be fully developed and mentoring is just one way in which such a process can be legitimized. The paper outlines how institutions can best do this, and how this might work in practice for the individual, and argues that science needs to have its own code of mentoring.