What exactly are the "supplementary payments for professors" listed in this week's Cambridge University Reporter ? The scheme was set up by former vice-chancellor Sir Alec Broers to recruit, reward and retain academic staff. But they do seem to be for the gents rather than the ladies. A noticeably higher proportion of the professors who put their names forward were male. Perhaps the discrepancy is explained by looking at applicant success rates. Just one woman was awarded a fatter pay packet (a seventh of the applicants) while one in three men was successful.