37 researchers in business enterprises

In 2011, almost 197,000 researchers were involved in R&D activity in business enterprises. This is a young population, with half aged under 38. The proportion of women is still low (20%). The majority of researchers in business enterprises hold an engineering diploma. Only 12% have a PhD. Women are strongly represented in medical and biological sciences.

In France in 2011, 197,000 researchers (physical persons) were carrying out their R&D activity in a business enterprise. The population of researchers in business enterprises is still young and very much male dominated. The median age of these researchers in France is 38, compared with 41 overall for managers in business enterprises that are active in R&D (chart 37.01). Between the ages of 35 and 40, a proportion of researchers in business enterprises change activity and move into other positions, while usually still remaining in the private sector. Researchers aged over 50 represent only 15% of all researchers working in the business enterprise sector.

In 2011, more than half of researchers in business enterprises had graduated from an engineering school (chart 37.02). Those with a PhD represented only 12% of researchers in the private sector. A quarter of these had a PhD in medical sciences. In addition, among PhD graduates working in business enterprises, excluding those with a PhD in medical sciences, 28% obtained their PhD after first obtaining a qualification in an engineering school, which boosts the importance of this sector. Lastly, 16% of researchers in business enterprises held a Master's degree (or Diploma of advanced studies (Diplôme d’études approfondies - DEA)/Specialised graduate diploma (Diplôme d’études supérieures spécialisées - DESS)). By working in research in business enterprises, it is also possible to obtain validation for professional experience: 9% of researchers have a level of study below that of a Bachelor's degree.

Four out of five researchers in business enterprises work in Engineering sciences or Mathematics-Software-Physics (chart 37.03). In contrast, fewer than 3% work in the Social sciences, Earth Sciences or Humanities.

In businesses in the service sector (Audiovisual, Computer science and engineering) half of researchers are under 35, whereas in other sectors where research is geared more towards industry (Manufacture of communication equipment, Agriculture, Manufacture of appliances for measuring and Pharmaceutical industry) the median age is over 41. In the pharmaceutical sector, 46% of researchers hold a PhD, whereas in the Automobile and Aeronautic construction sectors the proportion of PhDs is 4% and 7% respectively.

In 2011, 5% of business enterprise researchers working in France were foreign nationals and practically half of these were from European Union member states.

On average, only one in five researchers are women. However, the rate of feminisation is higher among the younger generations: women represent a quarter of researchers among the under-25s (chart 37.04a and chart 37.04b). This higher feminisation among young researchers in business enterprises (and among the youngest managers in businesses too) is explained by the fact that women are on average two years younger than the men. Compared to their male colleagues, fewer women researchers are engineers (43% compared with 57%) and more hold PhDs (20% compared with 10%). However, this contrast relates to the discipline in which the researchers work, which in turn depends on the sector of the company where research work is mainly carried out, called the company's research sector.  ¹ In Mathematics-Software-Physics, women researchers represent only 15% of the total. In contrast, women outnumber men in Medical sciences and Biological sciences.

Laurent Perrain

¹ For a constant sector structure, the gap between the rate of male and female researchers who hold a PhD is reduced to 3 points in favour of women, instead of the 10 points observed here.