Gender Gap Persists in Academia - Abysmal in Philosophy, Economics, and Math
80 replies, posted
[url]http://www.salon.com/2013/07/23/women_scholars_remain_underpublished_partner/[/url]
[quote]The browser is part of a larger study whose findings are to be published in a paper titled “The Role of Gender in Scholarly Authorship” by Jevin D. West, Carl T. Bergstrom, Jennifer Jacquet, Michael Brooks, and Cecilia Aragon. Their research suggests that the gender gap in academic publishing, though historically significant, is very slowly shrinking. And the gender browser, developed under the Eigenfactor Project at the University of Washington in collaboration with JSTOR, provides a visualized snapshot of this bleak data landscape. In analyzing the data at JSTOR — a digital repository containing more than 1,900 academic journal titles in more than 50 disciplines — the authors were able to deduce that some progress has been made, but not as much as you might think.
The paper’s abstract provides a useful summary of the impetus for this analysis:[/quote]
[quote]Gender disparities appear to be decreasing in academia according to a number of metrics, such as grant funding, hiring, acceptance at scholarly journals, and productivity, and it might be tempting to think that gender inequity will soon be a problem of the past. However, a large-scale analysis based on over eight million papers across the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities re- reveals a number of understated and persistent ways in which gender inequities remain. For instance, even where raw publication counts seem to be equal between genders, close inspection reveals that, in certain fields, men predominate in the prestigious first and last author positions. Moreover, women are significantly underrepresented as authors of single-authored papers. Academics should be aware of the subtle ways that gender disparities can appear in scholarly authorship.[/quote]
[quote]Some categories are more likely to have a higher percentage — though not overwhelmingly so — of female authors. The fields with greater parity across the whole historical range (1665–2011) tend to be those related to education, sociology, and the family:
Society and Fertility – 46.8% female authors
Education – 46.3% female
Demography – 41.9% female
Childhood Exposure to Pesticides – 41.1% female
Then there are the few female “dominated” fields (1665–2011), which include:
Division of Housework (Sociology) – 68.4%
Nineteenth Century Literature (History) – 65.5%
Adolescent Sexuality (Society and Fertility) – 65.3%
Abortion (Society and Fertility) – 63.6%
Language Use (Education) – 59.8%
Effects of Family (Education) – 59.1%
Aging Parents (Sociology) – 59.0%
Feminist History – 58.1%
Non-resident Fathers (Sociology) – 55.9%
Family Size and Structure – 54.0%
British Cabinet (History) – 54.1%
Cohabitation (Sociology) – 53.9%
Sex-Role Attitudes (Sociology) – 53.9%
Reading Behavior (Education) – 52.7%
Pregnancy Outcomes (Pollution and Occupational Health) – 50.8%
Continental Feminism – 50.2%
Sociology of the Family – 50.1%[/quote]
And here's a list of the extremely male-dominated fields:
[quote]mathemathics (6.6% female, 1665–2011; 10.7% female, 1990–2011)
philosphy (9.4% female, 1665–2011; 12.0% female, 1990–2011)
economics (13.2% female, 1665–2011; 13.7% female, 1990–2011)
and law (13.2% female, 1665–2011; 24.2%, 1990–2011)[/quote]
I'm very surprised that law is so low. I'm a poli sci minor, and there seems to be a pretty fair mix of both genders within political science. But then again, I imagine most women specifically go to law school - not the academic side of law.
I don't think this helps either: [url]http://www.guardian.co.uk/higher-education-network/blog/2012/may/24/why-women-leave-academia[/url]
My sister is currently thinking about dropping out of her engineering phd, she just says its quite a toxic environment, but her tutor is actually really nice and supporting and said she should take three months paid leave.
[quote]Then there are the few female “dominated” fields (1665–2011), which include:
Feminist History – 58.1%
[/quote]
who would have thought??
[QUOTE=NoDachi;41577246]I don't think this helps either: [url]http://www.guardian.co.uk/higher-education-network/blog/2012/may/24/why-women-leave-academia[/url]
My sister is currently thinking about dropping out of her engineering phd, she just says its quite a toxic environment at all, but her tutor is actually really nice and supporting and said she should take three months paid leave.[/QUOTE]
I've actually heard similar problems about engineering from my own University. I know the STEM sciences - especially Comp Sci and Engineering - seem to host a lot of misogynistic students and MRA students here. I got to know one of my roommate's friends during my Freshman year, and she was an engineering/comp-sci student who identified herself as a Men's Rights Activist.
:suicide:
[editline]24th July 2013[/editline]
[QUOTE=Latias;41577288]who would have thought??[/QUOTE]
Actually, 42% males is pretty shocking. Unless that 42% includes trans* individuals or non-binary individuals, but I highly doubt it does.
My sister spent about 2 semesters with her Computer Science second major. She said it was the most toxic environment she has ever worked in.
[QUOTE=person11;41577359]My sister spent about 2 semesters with her Computer Science second major. She said it was the most toxic environment she has ever worked in.[/QUOTE]
That's awful, especially because Comp Sci is neither an easy field nor a dying one. I feel like a lot of similar cases push out women from creating a career in the field.
[QUOTE=Reimu;41577185]
I'm very surprised that law is so low. I'm a poli sci minor, and there seems to be a pretty fair mix of both genders within political science. But then again, I imagine most women specifically go to law school - not the academic side of law.[/QUOTE]
This study is about published papers, which is done by those who have the degree and then have a career in that field.
There can be tons of women getting the degrees, but few who go into the career for it, and thus write a paper or two for publication.
This is about gender gaps with careers in the field, not gender gap in studies.
I've always thought that it's interesting how Philosophy is so skewed towards men.
Why is that?
oh god i sound like a philosophy major
[QUOTE=.Isak.;41577485]I've always thought that it's interesting how Philosophy is so skewed towards men.
Why is that?
oh god i sound like a philosophy major[/QUOTE]
Getting a job with a philosophy major is rather difficult, I'm wondering if that has an impact on it.
[QUOTE=RenegadeCop;41577479]What do you mean by toxic? I'm interested to know.[/QUOTE]
the field in general can be a very negative place for women, it's an unsafe environment a lot of the time
and no, by unsafe i do not mean physically. it's just hard for women to pursuit a career in CS.
Who the fuck studies feminism and pregnancy. That's so damn try-hard. Maybe the gender gap is purely due to stupidity?
[QUOTE=voltlight;41577522]Who the fuck studies feminism and pregnancy. That's so damn try-hard.[/QUOTE]
Who the fuck studies anything? Oh yeah, people who have legit interest in it.
[QUOTE=.Isak.;41577485]I've always thought that it's interesting how Philosophy is so skewed towards men.
Why is that?
oh god i sound like a philosophy major[/QUOTE]
I tried giving you an answer without the word circlejerk but I failed
[QUOTE=voltlight;41577522]Who the fuck studies feminism and pregnancy. That's so damn try-hard. Maybe the gender gap is purely due to stupidity?[/QUOTE]
yep who gives a fuck about equality studies lol :)
[quote]Continental Feminism – 50.2%[/quote]
What the hell is this? Is this feminism riddled with dialetics or nihilism?
why would you even complain about studying pregnancy, it's like the key to the continuation of human life
[QUOTE=RenegadeCop;41577479]What do you mean by toxic? I'm interested to know.
Also "Sociology of the Family – 50.1%" Female dominated, by .1 percent.[/QUOTE]
She was one of the best students in the class, but every time she made a mistake, one of the students or the teacher would be like "obviously YOU'D make this mistake". More examples include tons of micro-aggressions like that. She could not learn without being reminded of who she was and why she should not be there.
All the high level academics in maths and philosphy are batshit fucking insane tho so it's not something to really strive for. :v:
I am in for bachelors in Robotics and Cybernetics in the Czech Republic and I would say that probably about 90% of the students are male. It sorta sucks.
[QUOTE=.Isak.;41577485]I've always thought that it's interesting how Philosophy is so skewed towards men.
Why is that?
oh god i sound like a philosophy major[/QUOTE]
Personally, I think it's because philosophy often deals with theoretical theories and abstract beliefs on the nature of humanity and the world. Whereas that might be interesting to a privileged person (such as a man), women might be more likely to follow pursuits based on social justice issues and studies based on gender studies theories. In other words, gender studies issues are much more pressing to someone who lives an oppressed life, so women are much more likely to study for a degree which focuses on oppression.
This explains a lot of the reason why the above are "female dominated," but it's not anything based on scientific proof. Just my personal opinion :v:.
[QUOTE=person11;41577557]She was one of the best students in the class, but every time she made a mistake, one of the students or the teacher would be like "obviously YOU'D make this mistake". More examples include tons of micro-aggressions like that. She could not learn without being reminded of who she was and why she should not be there.[/QUOTE]
Pretty much similar with my sister.
She said astrophysics wasn't so bad and she wished she stayed with that, but when she jumped into engineering it was full of fedora tipping.
Can someone explain to me what you guys mean by toxic environment? Are you complaining about the male aggression and competitiveness of these environments?
[QUOTE=person11;41577557]She was one of the best students in the class, but every time she made a mistake, one of the students or the teacher would be like "obviously YOU'D make this mistake". More examples include tons of micro-aggressions like that. She could not learn without being reminded of who she was and why she should not be there.[/QUOTE]
Wow really? That's clear harassment and discrimination.
If you don't mind me asking, what college did she go to? I'm at Rutgers University here, and I think a similar mindset persists throughout the science campuses. Although the professors sound much more level-headed and gender-sensitive.
It is not competition: it is harassment.
I can't say I'm surprised, but I'm disappointed it's still an issue in 2013.
[QUOTE=Reimu;41577639]Wow really? That's clear harassment and discrimination.
If you don't mind me asking, what college did she go to? I'm at Rutgers University here, and I think a similar mindset persists throughout the science campuses. Although the professors sound much more level-headed and gender-sensitive.[/QUOTE]
LMU, but I do not think the college makes too huge a difference. I think there are certain subjects that, no matter where, will hate women.
[QUOTE=Reimu;41577611]This explains a lot of the reason why the above are "female dominated," but it's not anything based on scientific proof. Just my personal opinion :v:.[/QUOTE]
Personally I'd prefer finding out the real reason.
ive heard a lot about the toxicity in stuff like CS courses
which is fun because im leaning towards that path
[QUOTE=person11;41577657]LMU, but I do not think the college makes too huge a difference. I think there are certain subjects that, no matter where, will hate women.[/QUOTE]
Very true. Each major has its own generalizations that, although not always true (ex.: I actually know some feminist engineering/comp sci students), seem to run throughout the US.
[QUOTE=Emperorconor;41577660]Personally I'd prefer finding out the real reason.[/QUOTE]
You are more than welcome to do the research yourself.
[QUOTE=Vasili;41577629]Can someone explain to me what you guys mean by toxic environment? Are you complaining about the male aggression and competitiveness of these environments?[/QUOTE]
Mostly what person11 said. Micro-aggression, misogynistic outbursts, harassment (both sexual and gender-based), etc.
There are many oppressive voices and opinions in every Major, but some are better than others. I'm an English major for example, and many English professors and students have social justice leanings. Or the professors themselves might be feminists/pro-feminist. So, the environment isn't toxic per say, because the students and teachers attempt to create a safe environment.
Whereas in some fields - such as engineering or comp sci - you have a situation where misogynistic comments and beliefs run rampant. Students might be very regressive thinkers. They might be vocal MRAs who don't know how to respect women, as in person11's case.
[QUOTE=voltlight;41577522]Who the fuck studies feminism and pregnancy. That's so damn try-hard. Maybe the gender gap is purely due to stupidity?[/QUOTE]
'i don't have an interest in this topic so no-one can, those who do are obviously mentally deficient'
[QUOTE=Farrelm;41577697]ive heard a lot about the toxicity in stuff like CS courses
which is fun because im leaning towards that path[/QUOTE]
Keep in mind that it depends on where you go to, too.
I'm at a Northeastern University (Rutgers), and a lot of women do take CS courses. While there might be a toxic environment, if some of these women are facing harassment they can create a sort of friendship/support group among each other. And they can always go to the University with evidence of discrimination in the classroom.
Either way, it's ridiculous and stupid and the toxic environment should not exist in the first place.
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