The Gender Challenge at The Academy
 Is there a challenge?
 Should we do something about it?
“The scissors diagram”, Israel, 1995
90
80
70
60
50
40
w 1995
m 1995
30
20
10
14 years (lecturer / senior lecturer to assoc. prof: 16/11.5 years)
From 1995 to 2009
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
w 2009
m 2009
w 1995
m 1995
20
10
14 years (lecturer / senior lecturer to assoc. prof: 16/11.5 years)
“The scissors diagram”, Israel, 2009
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
w 2009
m 2009
We want gender equality:
1. Pure economical justification, exploiting the human asset.
2. Equality, especially in the academia.
3. Heterogeneity, and especially women, lead to a better
working environment.
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
women
men
Cognitive differences???
US department of education, 2007 :National math exams
Pro-women acts did make a difference:
undergraduate
master
phd
Proportion of women graduating in Israel
Why so few?
1. Postdoc as a significant barrier.
2. Traditional roles in the family, overlap between the
first years of an academic career and of motherhood,
different “priorities in life”, expectations of the
society.
3. Viewing the academia as a
cold and competitive place.
4. (Some fields, mainly natural sciences): masculine image.
5. Stereotypical thinking, preference of the like in
situations of uncertainty, lack of
women in “the corridor culture”.
Why so few?
√
√
1. Postdoc as a significant barrier.
2. Traditional roles in the family, overlap between the
first years of an academic career and of motherhood,
different “priorities in life”, expectations of the
society.
√ 3. Viewing the academia as a
cold and competitive place.
√ 4. (Some fields, mainly natural sciences): masculine image.
5. Stereotypical thinking, preference of the like in
situations of uncertainty, lack of
women in “the corridor culture”.
Why so few?
Gender bias!
Exists, indeed, also in our own backyard.
5. Stereotypical thinking, preference of the like in
situations of uncertainty, lack of women in “the
corridor culture”.
John and Joan 1968/1986
1: good
5: bad
The effect of switching to blind reviews:
Competence score (“grade the applicant”) vs. scientific
productivity (publications, citations)
ISF success rate in grant proposals:
men success rate
women success rate
(5-10% out of ~35%, thus 15-30%)
More:
-Analysis of recommendation letters (312
letters to leading medicine schools in US):
significant disparity in superlatives,
confidence in the recommendation, length,
technical details,…
-Adding a curtain in orchestra auditions
increased the number of women by 30%-60%.
-…
“after some periods of drought, she seems to find her place…”,
“…took her a long time to found a lab”, “… little participation in
international meetings…”
Lack of awareness…
Gender bias: intentional or subconscious?
Subconscious, and the stronger is the claim to control
the subconscious, the stronger the bias is.
Harvard Implicit Association test
Category
Items
Male
Man, Boy, Father, Male, Grandpa, Husband, Son, Uncle
Female
Girl, Female, Aunt, Daughter, Wife, Woman, Mother, Grandma
Science
Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Math, Geology, Astronomy, Engineering
Liberal Arts
Philosophy, Humanities, Arts, Literature, English, Music, History
Male
Female
Wife
Harvard Implicit Association test
Category
Items
Male
Man, Boy, Father, Male, Grandpa, Husband, Son, Uncle
Female
Girl, Female, Aunt, Daughter, Wife, Woman, Mother, Grandma
Science
Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Math, Geology, Astronomy, Engineering
Liberal Arts
Philosophy, Humanities, Arts, Literature, English, Music, History
Science
Liberal Arts
Math
Harvard Implicit Association test
Category
Items
Male
Man, Boy, Father, Male, Grandpa, Husband, Son, Uncle
Female
Girl, Female, Aunt, Daughter, Wife, Woman, Mother, Grandma
Science
Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Math, Geology, Astronomy, Engineering
Liberal Arts
Philosophy, Humanities, Arts, Literature, English, Music, History
Science
or Male
Liberal arts
or Female
Boy
Harvard Implicit Association test
Category
Items
Male
Man, Boy, Father, Male, Grandpa, Husband, Son, Uncle
Female
Girl, Female, Aunt, Daughter, Wife, Woman, Mother, Grandma
Science
Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Math, Geology, Astronomy, Engineering
Liberal Arts
Philosophy, Humanities, Arts, Literature, English, Music, History
Science
or Male
Liberal arts
or Female
Physics
Harvard Implicit Association test
Category
Items
Male
Man, Boy, Father, Male, Grandpa, Husband, Son, Uncle
Female
Girl, Female, Aunt, Daughter, Wife, Woman, Mother, Grandma
Science
Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Math, Geology, Astronomy, Engineering
Liberal Arts
Philosophy, Humanities, Arts, Literature, English, Music, History
Science or
Female
Liberal arts
or Male
History
We got the position, now what?
Leadership: who leads the discussion?
We got the position, now what?
Personality: who is nice?
Penalties for success: reaction to women who succeed in men gender-typed tasks (2004)
Why so few?
1. Postdoc.
2. Motherhood.
3. Atmosphere.
4. Masculine fields.
5. Gender bias.
What can we do?
1. Postdoc.
2. Motherhood.
3. Atmosphere.
4. Masculine fields.
5. Gender bias.
Note, beware, remember:
• Barriers that money can solve / involve an academic compromise.
• We don’t want to perpetuate the traditional roles in the family.
• We want parents to enjoy their kids (and vice versa).
• Kids grow up, faculty members are here for many years.
Be aware. Make other aware.