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  • Item type:Publication,
    A “scientific diversity” intervention to reduce gender bias in a sample of life scientists Open PDF 
    (American Society for Cell Biology, 2016)
    Moss-Racusin, C.A.
    ;
    van der Toorn, J.
    ;
    Dovidio, J.F.
    ;
    Brescoll, V.L.
    ;
    Graham, M.J.
    Mounting experimental evidence suggests that subtle gender biases favoring men contribute to the underrepresentation of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), including many subfields of the life sciences. However, there are relatively few evaluations of diversity interventions designed to reduce gender biases within the STEM community. Because gender biases distort the meritocratic evaluation and advancement of students, interventions targeting instructors’ biases are particularly needed. We evaluated one such intervention, a workshop called “Scientific Diversity” that was consistent with an established framework guiding the development of diversity interventions designed to reduce biases and was administered to a sample of life science instructors (N=126) at several sessions of the National Academies Summer Institute for Undergraduate Education held nationwide. Evidence emerged indicating the efficacy of the “Scientific Diversity” work-shop, such that participants were more aware of gender bias, expressed less gender bias, and were more willing to engage in actions to reduce gender bias 2 weeks after participating in the intervention compared with 2 weeks before the intervention. Implications for diversity interventions aimed at reducing gender bias and broadening the participation of women in the life sciences are discussed. © 2016 C. A. Moss-Racusin et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education.
  • Item type:Publication,
    A bibliometric study of women researchers in early organizational structures of exact sciences and engineering in Mexico from 1900 to 2000 Open PDF 
    (2018)
    Morales, M.E.L.
    ;
    Morales, E.L.
    The scientific production of Mexico registered in Web of Science from 1900-2000 in the areas of Exact Sciences and Engineering is analyzed to describe the way in which female researchers are integrated in the development of these fields of study. The paper employs a quantitative bibliometric method, applying indicators of gender, scientific output and impact, and analysis of bibliometric networks of co-authorship. In Mexico, researchers in exact sciences and engineering published their first papers in the first half of the 20th century, but female researchers working in Syn-tex laboratories did not publish until the 1940s. As more women joined faculties in higher education and research centers in the 60s and 70s, publication by female researchers began to increase accordingly. This growth also appears to be associated with changes in career choice by women. While the contributions of this work represent an advantage for the scientific community itself, they also are useful for organizations that promote gender equity and institutions that integrate female researchers in this field of study. © 2018, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. All rights reserved.
  • Item type:Publication,
    A case study on gender gap in Massachusetts maritime academy
    (American Society for Engineering Education, 2017)
    Maleki, F.S.
    ;
    Stephens, G.M.
    It has been hypothesized and research has shown that diversity in the workforce can enhance creativity, improve problem solving, and ultimately improve a company's bottom line. Historically women have been underrepresented in engineering and more specifically in marine engineering and maritime industries. In this paper we will explore some of the possible reasons behind the considerable gender gap between male and female engineering enrollments at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy (MMA); including, but not limited to a lack of role models, especially in key positions; cultural stereotypes; impediments perceived or actual to careers in maritime or engineering industries, and media bias. This research will investigate a simple question across all MMA engineering majors: why are so few female students interested in becoming engineers at MMA. MMA's enrollment data and growth rate of female cadets over the last decade have been studied. Important parameters associated with this growth have been investigated. By the use of statistical analysis, SAT scores of the target demographic have been analyzed. The results of this analysis was used to find any meaningful deviation between male and female applicants. Additionally, through the use of a survey the priorities of target population in college selection and anticipated major has been assessed. Results of an analysis of SAT scores showed that female engineers score 12.6% higher than female non-engineers on the Math SAT and 9.7% higher in the composite score. The survey results revealed that while media bias and cultural stereotypes had minimal influence on female student's decision to apply to MMA, role models were an important motivational factor. Also, more than 77% learned of opportunities at the Academy through their family member rather than usual college inquiry and selection process. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2017.
  • Item type:Publication,
    A phenomenological study of factors influencing the gender gap in physics and other STEM-related fields
    (American Society for Engineering Education, 2014)
    Larkin, T.L.
    ;
    Vogel, T.
    Current reports on the gender gap in STEM suggest factors influencing career choice between the sexes are not inevitable. Recent decades have documented a clear change in the gender makeup of some STEM disciplines. However, in many areas, the gap has persisted with little or no change in the number of women choosing to pursue a career in a STEM-related field such as Physics. According to recent AIP reports1, 2, women comprise 21% of undergraduate, 21% of graduate, and 19% of doctoral degrees in Physics. Many factors have been studied by scholars as contributing to the dearth of women in Physics and STEM3-8. Factors including the lack of role models, discouragement from the media, sex difference in cognitive skill, and unpleasant experiences related to gender-bias in the classroom have all been suggested as potential reasons why women tend not to pursue a career in Physics or other STEM field. Suggestions from some scholars also indicate that women often tend to seek out careers in which they feel they can make a difference. Unfortunately, the size of the gap in many areas has reached a plateau that hasn't appeared to shift significantly over time. This phenomenological study will look at how individual perceptions of STEM (with an emphasis on Physics) as a career option may influence academic and professional pursuits. To that end, formal interviews with practicing professionals and college students from a range of disciplines will be used as a primary data collection tool. This paper will provide a synthesis of the empirical data collected through these formal interviews. Factors that emerge from this synthesis as having a significant influence on one's perception of STEM as a career choice will be further examined and discussed. By focusing on individual perceptions, this study aims to contribute to the existing empirical database of factors that influence career choice and perpetuate the gender gap in STEMrelated fields such as Physics. The themes that emerge may stimulate further research on this topic and provide suggestions for best practices that may contribute to closing the gap. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2014.
  • Item type:Publication,
    Participation of women in doctorate, research, innovation, and management activities at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid: analysis of the decade 2006–2016 Open PDF 
    (2019)
    Hernández-Martín, E.
    ;
    Calle, F.
    ;
    Dueñas, J.C.
    ;
    Holgado, M.
    ;
    Gómez-Pérez, A.
    This article studies the participation of women in doctorate, lecturing and research, innovation, and management activities at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), the most important and largest university in Spain devoted to engineering and architecture. The analyses revealed significant differences in the ratio of male (76%) and female (24%) lecturing and research staff. This unequal ratio conducted to women underrepresentation in other actions such as coordination of international projects, decision-making designations, patenting and software licensing, collaboration with companies, and PhD supervision. PhD enrolment and PhD defence data, disaggregated by gender and by technological area, were also analysed as they are the starting point of the academic career, and showed a widespread male prevalence over women (ca. 70% men vs. 30% women). The aim of this paper is to present actual, accurate, objective, and gender-segregated information extracted from UPM databases, to carry out a qualitative study drawing on an opinion survey and a “gap” analysis, and to undertake a critical examination of the historic, political, sociocultural and personal factors affecting gender inequalities in academia. Policy recommendations to improve the situation of women and to achieve gender balance in the disciplines of engineering and architecture are also provided. © 2019, Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, Hungary.
  • Item type:Publication,
    Quality of evidence revealing subtle gender biases in science is in the eye of the beholder Open PDF 
    (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2015)
    Handley, Ian M.
    ;
    Brown, Elizabeth R.
    ;
    Moss-Racusin, Corinne A.
    ;
    Smith, Jessi L.
    Scientists are trained to evaluate and interpret evidence without bias or subjectivity. Thus, growing evidence revealing a gender bias against women—or favoring men—within science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) settings is provocative and raises questions about the extent to which gender bias may contribute to women’s underrepresentation within STEM fields. To the extent that research illustrating gender bias in STEM is viewed as convincing, the culture of science can begin to address the bias. However, are men and women equally receptive to this type of experimental evidence? This question was tested with three randomized, double-blind experiments—two involving samples from the general public (n = 205 and 303, respectively) and one involving a sample of university STEM and non-STEM faculty (n = 205). In all experiments, participants read an actual journal abstract reporting gender bias in a STEM context (or an altered abstract reporting no gender bias in experiment 3) and evaluated the overall quality of the research. Results across experiments showed that men evaluate the gender-bias research less favorably than women, and, of concern, this gender difference was especially prominent among STEM faculty (experiment 2). These results suggest a relative reluctance among men, especially faculty men within STEM, to accept evidence of gender biases in STEM. This finding is problematic because broadening the participation of underrepresented people in STEM, including women, necessarily requires a widespread willingness (particularly by those in the majority) to acknowledge that bias exists before transformation is possible.
  • Item type:Publication,
    Bibliometric studies on gender disparities in science
    (2019)
    Halevi, G.
    Understanding gender related disparities in science is an essential step in tackling these issues. Through the years, bibliometric studies have designed several methodologies to analyze scholarly output and demonstrate that there are significant gaps between men and women in the scientific arena. However, gender identification in itself is an enormous challenge, since bibliographic data does not reveal it. These bibliometric studies not only focused on publication output and impact, but also on cross-referencing output, promotions and tenure data, and other related curriculum vitae (CV) information. This chapter discusses the challenges of tracking gender disparities in science through bibliometrics and reviews the various approaches taken by bibliometricians to identify gender and analyze the bibliographic data in order to point to gender disparities in science. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019.
  • Item type:Publication,
    Eliminating Gender Inequality in Engineering, Industry, and Academia
    (2019)
    Grimson, J.
    ;
    Grimson, W.
    ;
    Christensen, S.H., Delahousse, B., Didier, C., Meganck, M., Murphy, M.
    Gender equality in the workplace with its many facets is a current topic of great interest in many societies and across virtually all sectors. Women are seriously under-represented in senior positions within organizations and there is evidence of a continuing pay gap between women and men. Industry, commerce, business, law, medicine, engineering, academia all have responded to or are responding to the challenges of eliminating gender inequality. There are three specific reasons for this. The first is based on the principle that there is or should be a prevailing environment guaranteeing social justice and human rights for all. The second is in effect a question of parsimony by which talent should not be wasted. Finally, and the imperative for the elimination of gender inequality which is receiving the most attention today, is that of diversity. The diversity argument adds to the ‘not being wasteful’ by virtue of the range of different skills, perspectives and experiences that are brought to bear on whatever challenge is being faced. Tackling gender equality is a complex task requiring many interventions but what is clear is that there is broad agreement across the different sectors, including engineering, as to what is required. The key interventions include committed and determined leadership from the top of the organization over a sustained period of time, supports to ensure better work-life balance, developing future women leaders, and tackling unconscious bias. The evidence is unequivocal – gender balance will not be achieved automatically without a range of such interventions and failure to take action will have a major impact on the engineering profession’s ability to meet the needs of society today and tomorrow. © 2019, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
  • Item type:Publication,
    Participation of women in software engineering publications Open PDF 
    (2012)
    Vela, B.
    ;
    Cáceres, P.
    ;
    Cavero, J.M.
    To the best of our knowledge, no works analyzing the participation of women as authors and editors in software engineering research publications currently exist. We have therefore followed a well-defined procedure in order to conduct an empirical study of female participation in 12 leading software engineering journals. We have analyzed the gender of the authors, editorial board members, associate editors and editors-in-chief over a two-year period in order to analyze, on the one hand, the rate of participation of women as authors and as editors in software engineering publications, and on the other, whether women are underrepresented. We have also analyzed the female distribution of authors and editors according to the geographical location of their institutions. This was done by first selecting the journals to be used as the population for data collection which then allowed us to identify female authors of papers and female editors, including the country in which their institutions are located. This eventually led to an analysis of female participation in order to understand representation rates. We analyzed 3,546 authors of 1,266 papers in 61 different countries, and 363 members of editorial boards in 30 different countries. The results of this analysis provide quantitative data concerning the participation of women as authors and editors in major software engineering journals including their distribution per country, in which important differences have been found. The results obtained were first used to compare the participation of women as authors and editors and were then used to carry out a series of simulations in order to be able to statistically confirm whether women are underrepresented. The study shows, amongst other things, that women are not underrepresented as editorial boards members and as editors-in-chief of the journals studied, although their representation as editors-in-chief is low. © 2012 Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, Hungary.
  • Item type:Publication,