Help! I'm Sexist!

The research studies I posted last Friday about the role gender plays in the STEM workplace paint a consistent picture: women face significant discrimination. Women are paid (and hired, and tenured) less than men with the same qualifications, and these gender differences are particularly large for parents. While women are often encouraged to address the existing disparities by advocating for themselves (e.g., by being assertive, negotiating, or encouraging diversity), research shows this type of behavior typically incurs a further penalty.

Instead, gender disparities in the STEM workplace are a problem that the entire community must address. Hiring managers need to hire more women. Managers need to promote more women. And peers need to accept diverse communication styles without the lens of gender.

Importantly, however, this does not just mean that MEN need to hire (and promote, and accept) more. Because the other consistent picture that arose from the studies I posted on Friday is that both men AND WOMEN discriminate against women. We all have deep seated biases that contribute to the problem.

Research about Gender in the STEM Workplace

Science Faculty’s Subtle Gender Biases Favor Male Students by Corinne A. Moss-Racusina et al.
In a study with 127 science faculty at research-intensive universities, candidates with identical resumes were more likely to be offered a job and paid more if their name was "John" instead of "Jennifer." The gender of the faculty participating did not impact the outcome.

How Stereotypes Impair Women’s Careers in Science by Ernesto Reuben et al.
Men are much more likely than women to be hired for a math task, even when equally qualified. This happens regardless of the gender of the hiring manager.

Measuring the Glass Ceiling Effect: An Assessment of Discrimination in Academia by Katherine Weisshaar
In computer science, men are significantly more likely to earn tenure than women with the same research productivity. [From a summary]

Evidence from Behavior

 



Doug Oard at the Information School at the University of Maryland is teaching an open online course on information retrieval this fall (INST 734). Above is the brief cameo lecture I recorded using Office Mix for the segment on Evidence from Behavior.

The #GreatWalk Recap

Cale and I completed our 100 mile #GreatWalk from Bellevue, WA to Great Wolf Lodge. We live-blogged on Twitter as we walked, and I have recorded our tweets on this blog in chronological order to make them easy to read. Thanks for sharing our journey with us!

• Day 1: We depart!
• Day 2: A long walk to the airport
• Day 3: Getting tired and frustrated
• Day 4: A candy discovery
• Day 5: Skirting the military base
• Day 6: A wet and rainy day
• Day 7: Into the wilderness
• Day 8: We arrive at Great Wolf!
• Day 9: A day of rest
• Day 10: The trip home

Some interesting external links about the adventure:

• Amazing photographs by Great Wolf photographer Shanna Paxton
• An article about the walk in the Bellevue Reporter
• Reflections on the walk on the Great Wolf Lodge blog
• A blog post by Dad Logic
• Weekly search challenge for the #GreatWalk by Dan Russell

#GreatWalk: Day 10

[This post includes my tweets (@jteevan) from the tenth day (July 27, 2014) of Cale and my 100 mile walk to Great Wolf!]

#GreatWalk: Day 9

[This post includes my tweets (@jteevan) from the ninth day (July 26, 2014) of Cale and my 100 mile walk to Great Wolf!]

#GreatWalk: Day 8

[This post includes my tweets (@jteevan) from the eighth day (July 25, 2014) of Cale and my 100 mile walk to Great Wolf!]

#GreatWalk: Day 7

[This post includes my tweets (@jteevan) from the seventh day (July 24, 2014) of Cale and my 100 mile walk to Great Wolf!]

#GreatWalk: Day 6

[This post includes my tweets (@jteevan) from the sixth day (July 23, 2014) of Cale and my 100 mile walk to Great Wolf!]

#GreatWalk: Day 5

[This post includes my tweets (@jteevan) from the fifth day (July 22, 2014) of Cale and my 100 mile walk to Great Wolf!]