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Research Article

Science faculty’s subtle gender biases favor male students

Corinne A. Moss-Racusin, John F. Dovidio, Victoria L. Brescoll, Mark J. Graham, and Jo Handelsman
  1. aDepartment of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology,
  2. bDepartment of Psychology,
  3. cSchool of Management, and
  4. dDepartment of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520

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PNAS October 9, 2012 109 (41) 16474-16479; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1211286109
Corinne A. Moss-Racusin
aDepartment of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology,
bDepartment of Psychology,
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John F. Dovidio
bDepartment of Psychology,
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Victoria L. Brescoll
dDepartment of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520
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Mark J. Graham
aDepartment of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology,
cSchool of Management, and
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Jo Handelsman
aDepartment of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology,
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  • For correspondence: jo.handelsman@yale.edu
  1. Edited* by Shirley Tilghman, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, and approved August 21, 2012 (received for review July 2, 2012)

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Abstract

Despite efforts to recruit and retain more women, a stark gender disparity persists within academic science. Abundant research has demonstrated gender bias in many demographic groups, but has yet to experimentally investigate whether science faculty exhibit a bias against female students that could contribute to the gender disparity in academic science. In a randomized double-blind study (n = 127), science faculty from research-intensive universities rated the application materials of a student—who was randomly assigned either a male or female name—for a laboratory manager position. Faculty participants rated the male applicant as significantly more competent and hireable than the (identical) female applicant. These participants also selected a higher starting salary and offered more career mentoring to the male applicant. The gender of the faculty participants did not affect responses, such that female and male faculty were equally likely to exhibit bias against the female student. Mediation analyses indicated that the female student was less likely to be hired because she was viewed as less competent. We also assessed faculty participants’ preexisting subtle bias against women using a standard instrument and found that preexisting subtle bias against women played a moderating role, such that subtle bias against women was associated with less support for the female student, but was unrelated to reactions to the male student. These results suggest that interventions addressing faculty gender bias might advance the goal of increasing the participation of women in science.

  • diversity
  • lifestyle choices
  • science education
  • science workforce

Footnotes

  • ↵1To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: jo.handelsman{at}yale.edu.
  • Author contributions: C.A.M.-R., J.F.D., V.L.B., M.J.G., and J.H. designed research; C.A.M.-R. performed research; C.A.M.-R. analyzed data; and C.A.M.-R., J.F.D., V.L.B., M.J.G., and J.H. wrote the paper.

  • The authors declare no conflict of interest.

  • ↵*This Direct Submission article had a prearranged editor.

  • This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1073/pnas.1211286109/-/DCSupplemental.

Freely available online through the PNAS open access option.

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Faculty's subtle gender biases favor male students
Corinne A. Moss-Racusin, John F. Dovidio, Victoria L. Brescoll, Mark J. Graham, Jo Handelsman
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Oct 2012, 109 (41) 16474-16479; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1211286109

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Faculty's subtle gender biases favor male students
Corinne A. Moss-Racusin, John F. Dovidio, Victoria L. Brescoll, Mark J. Graham, Jo Handelsman
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Oct 2012, 109 (41) 16474-16479; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1211286109
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