Tim Hunt forced to apologise for 'breathtakingly sexist' comments

A Nobel prizewinning biochemist has been forced to apologise after claiming that female scientists distract men from their work and should not allowed in the same laboratory.

"Let me tell you about my trouble with girls," Sir Tim Hunt told scientists and reporters at the World Conference of Science Journalists in South Korea. "Three things happen when they are in the lab; you fall in love with them, they fall in love with you and when you criticise them, they cry."

His comments were described as "breathtakingly sexist" by Time magazine and prominent female scientists were quick to attack his outdated views on social media.

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"That Tim Hunt and others feel comfortable being overtly sexist in public says a lot about the larger environment in science," tweeted scientist Karen James.

Another postdoctoral researcher said: "For every Tim Hunt remark, there's an extra woman in science that takes an interest in feminism. Ever wonder why there are so many of us?"

The 72-year old won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2001 for his work on protein molecules and their role in cell division, and also received a knighthood in 2006.

The Royal Society, of which Hunt is a fellow, issued a statement distancing itself from his remarks. "[His] comments in no way reflect the views of the Royal Society," it said. "Too many talented individuals do not fulfil their scientific potential because of issues such as gender and the Society is committed to helping to put this right."

Hunt has since apologised for causing offence, but stands by his comments and said he was just being "honest". Speaking to BBC Radio 4 he conceded that "it was a very stupid thing to do in the presence of all those journalists" and that he was "really, really sorry".

He insisted that his remarks were "intended as a light-hearted, ironic comment" but had been "interpreted deadly seriously by my audience".

His comments come at a time when the ratio of women to men in science, technology and mathematics (Stem) careers remains "stubbornly low," says The Guardian. Just 13 per cent of people working in Stem occupations are women despite ongoing initiatives to encourage girls to enter the field.