Under Theilgaard's leadership, the BRIMAS project is aimed at developing bioresorbable bone implants. Using injection moulding techniques, partners, including research, academic and industrial entities, are producing composite implants of complex design for stabilisation after fracture. Another project, now completed, entitled "Injection moulded functionally graded ceramics for biomedical applications" took a similar approach to the development of a composite ceramic spacer for insertion between and fusion of adjacent vertebrae in the spine. Finally, the PORELEASE project is concerned with the development of new synthetic bone graft materials. "In previously male-dominated scientific areas such as medicine, pharmacology, and chemical engineering," says Theilgaard, "the number of women is now growing exponentially. We are more and more present in classrooms and laboratories, and at high-level meetings and conferences, but there is still, undoubtedly, a 'glass ceiling', a level above which very few women advance. The top ranks in academia and industry remain heavily dominated by men and we can still see discrimination against women in areas where the 'old boys club' mentality lingers on. When women do manage to break into these areas, they are usually single women and they have to fight and succeed according to the established male-defined rules."

There is one fundamental reality which sets women apart from men and which has been used as a justification for keeping women out of male-dominated roles. Women bear children. "Childbearing age for women does not correspond to the time of qualification for high-level positions," says Theilgaard. "Today, a Ph.D. degree is a prerequisite for any person expecting to rise within the sciences. This takes about nine years to achieve from the time one leaves secondary school, after which you are expected to move into a post-doctoral position and start accumulating experience. The training and early professional periods, when people are in their twenties and early thirties, are typically very labour- and time-intensive. So when exactly is a woman supposed to have her children?" "We need to provide more support for young women who choose to become mothers while still in training, including flexible training programmes and better childcare facilities. We could also think about appropriate financial support for students with young families. I come back as well to the question of social stigma. There should be no negative social impact associated with having children while still at university. In short, we need to create conditions under which both men and women can advance and be productive without giving up their rights to a family."

"I think that getting the discussion going on a Europe-wide level is certainly a good thing, but there are dangers as well. Raising questions and encouraging women to achieve more in the sciences brings with it the risk of reverse discrimination. I can't imagine feeling a great deal of satisfaction knowing that I obtained my job just because I'm a woman. We need a level playing field, not unfair advantages. In some situations women may indeed be less able to perform, because of the physical demands, for example, in a menial job. In such cases, norms should be established based on the job requirements and anyone who is qualified or unqualified, man or woman, should be treated accordingly."