Is higher education in Australia meritocratic? In this essay, the argument will be made that there is a gender imbalance in male dominated fields such as science and mathematics. The question however, is, why? And what steps is the Australian Government taking to rectify this? According to Susan M. Barnett (2007, p.i) there are many reasons this imbalance has occurred, and the question is simply too complex to have an answer. This essay will discuss just some of the possible reasons for this imbalance such as lack of mentorship in the workplace (Searby, Ballenger, Tripses, 2015), causing females to be at a disadvantage in the workplace and the role that woman play in home duties, such as child raising (Barnett, 2007) and a possible lack of interest in STEM subjects due to a lack of female role models in the STEM fields (Advancing Woman in STEM 2019, p.4). It has also been said that the lack of females in the fields of science and mathematics is not due to lack of ability, but rather, by choice (Wang, MT, Eccles, J, Kenny, S, 2013). As stated by Park, Lubinski & Benbow, 2008 ( cited in Ming-Te Wang et al 2013) research has shown that females are likely to perform just as highly as males in areas such as math, however, choose to change their college major to a degree equally as challenging, such as law, that are focused less on maths or science. This is largely due to females outperforming males in their verbal ability, despite having the same ability in math, which affords females the opportunity to consider a career in a non-STEM field. Adding to this complex topic, building a successful career in a STEM field requires a large amount of time and experience. Woman are ultimately, whether it be by choice, or circumstance, left to be the primary caregivers for children. In turn, this severely impacts the amount of time and focus left to build a successful career in any field and progress to a leadership level, especially in a field as mentally demanding as science or mathematics (Barnett, 2007). Also noted as a factor in this debate is the lack of mentorship for females in the workplace, therefor lessening the chances of rising through the ranks to a leadership or higher management position. In an article titled "Research on Female's Cultural and Structural Barriers to Access to Higher Education Leadership" Ballenger (2010) (cited by Searby et al 2015) it was said that when a strong mentorship relationship occurred in the workplace between males and females, female careers advanced at a higher rate than when a mentor, male or female, was not present. Also found by Dean 2009 (cited by Searby et al 2015) to be occurring in these fields were a strong presence of a "boys club" or "old boys' networks" which excludes females from higher leadership positions, keeping them out of the loops as such, preventing further career development. A further example of the lack of