Women may be finding it harder than men to gain professorships because they are less likely to aim for the most prestigious postgraduate qualifications, a Westminster 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ study suggests.

Men predominate in taking research degrees at a ratio of 60:40 and women predominate on the less-regarded postgraduate diplomas.

This "must contribute to the very small proportion (8 per cent) of professors who are female," says a report on the European Access Network's findings.

Analysis of data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency also shows that Afro-Caribbean graduates tend to opt for postgraduate diplomas rather than research degrees. Only 8 per cent take the latter, while 41 per cent take postgraduate diplomas. By contrast, 28 per cent of Chinese postgraduates do research degrees, and just 19 per cent take diplomas.

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The report says the surveys have unearthed "new patterns of disadvantage and under-representation in higher education" that "will have significant repercussions on career opportunities for women and some minority ethnic groups".

It warns that there is a danger that British higher education will replicate the pattern in some European countries, where graduate schools in high-status universities concentrate on research degrees and "lower status universities" offer diplomas.

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The report calls for more research on why students opt for certain kinds of postgraduate programme, and for a campaign for "more inclusive postgraduate education".