Sexism in Science

Society has made a lot of progress in the last hundred years when it comes to womens
rights. However, there is still at least one area where women are at a serious
disadvantage, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). I am a female
student working toward, eventually, a PhD in Physics so this is very important to me. I
plan on becoming a professor in Physics and really want the female students I mentor to
feel like they are as capable of succeeding in STEM as their male counterparts. In order
to reduce the gender bias in STEM, it is first important to acknowledge its existence and
then come up with a reasonable plan of attack. In this report, I will present data from
one of the few studies that has quantitatively assessed gender bias in STEM, provide
statistics regarding women in STEM, and present ideas for reducing gender bias in
STEM.

Women fill almost half of the jobs in the U.S. economy yet they fill less than 25 percent
of STEM
1
. Furthermore, women with STEM degrees are less likely than men with STEM
degrees to hold a job in STEM, they tend to go into education or medicine. There is no
good reason for women to not enter STEM fields, in fact women in STEM make more
than women in non-STEM related fields, earning a median of at least $6000 more per
year. Aside from the obvious facts, its hard to identify and prove sexism in science, it
can be suspected, but proving this and addressing the issue is difficult.

A randomized controlled experiment done by Moss-Racusin and her colleagues published
in PNAS, investigated gender bias in science
2
. For this study, the group presented an
application from a student applying for a position as lab manager, the applications were
identical except for the fact that half were given an application with a typically male
name and half had a typically female name. The results of this study quantitatively show
the bias that exists regarding gender in science. The female students ranked significantly
lower in competence, hireability, and mentoring. In addition to being ranked lower across
all criteria, the starting salaries were also significantly lower for the female students.

Being in science, being in various research settings, I have observed that a lot of the
sexism isnt intentional or conscious, but the result of sub-conscious prejudices regarding
womens competency in science. The study by Moss-Racusin et al is important because it
brings to light the fact that discrimination does exist against females in science and being
aware of an issue is the first step in overcoming the bias. A fair amount of blatant sexism
exists in science, but the majority that I have come to face is subtle, it is the result of the
cultural influences we experience growing up when were told that boys are better at
science than girls.

In addition to overcoming the initial barrier of getting women into STEM, we have to
manage to keep them. 70 percent of females in graduate school start off planning on
going into research, but only 37 percent still have that goal by the third year, whereas the
interests of the male students does not significantly change
3
. Three of the solutions that
would help improve the retention rate for women in STEM would be to help prepare
students for life after graduate school; address the un-spoken biases that prevent the
progress of women; and encourage students to change the programs at universities so that
they are more flexible for male and female students.

With proper mentoring and good role models, more women would see that it is possible
to succeed in STEM and have a life; its just about learning to maintain a work-life
balance. It can be hard to find role models and mentors, this is why the Lifelong and
Equal Academic Futures (LEAF) Website exists. LEAF strives to connect graduate
students with suitable mentors (post docs and professors) so they can have individual
meetings in which they address career decisions, managing a successful career and a life,
as well as other obstacles graduate students face. In addition to mentoring for specific
career decisions, help with things like scientific writing could help increase success of
graduate students so that they feel more competent and prepared for the world they are
facing. LEAF is a website in its beginning stages, but it certainly has the potential to
become a very useful tool for graduate students across the nation, ideally the world. In
addition to mentoring for career preparation, addressing the biases that exist in STEM is
crucial in retention of women and helping females thrive in STEM.

Many of the biases that exist in our society are subconscious and are the result of
socialization during formative years
4
. The majority of STEM programs include an ethics
course into which equality training could be included. Many people who have these
subconscious biases dont realize they exist and if this could be brought to light,
inequality would be reduced. Overall, reducing gender inequality in STEM is about
getting women into the field by reducing the early socialization that occurs which results
in women avoiding STEM, increasing education so that people are aware of the issue,
and providing resources for graduate students in STEM to help them successfully
transition from school to the workplace.



Reference:
1. Economics and Statistics Administration." Women in STEM: A Gender Gap to
Innovation. Economics and Statistics Administration, 3 Aug. 2011. Web. 19 Oct. 2014.

2. Moss-Racusin, Corinne A., John F. Dovidio, Victoria L. Brescoli, Mark J. Graham,
and Jo Handelsman. "Science Facultys Subtle Gender Biases Favor Male
Students." Ed. Shirley Tilghman. Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences of the United States of America 109.41 (2012): n. pag. Web.
3. "Change of Heart." Royal Society of Chemistry (2009): n. pag. Web.

4. Laurie A. Rudman et al., Reactions to Counterstereotypic Behavior: The Role of
Backlash in Cultural Stereotype Maintenance, 87(2) J. Personality & Soc.
Psychol. 157-76 (2004).
5. Laurie A. Rudman, Self-Promotion as a Risk Factor for Women: The Costs and
Benefits of Counterstereotypical Impression Management, 74(3) J. Personality
& Soc. Psychol. 629-45 (1998).