New study by UC Hastings College of Law: double jeopardy discrimination for women of color in STEM

New study by UC Hastings College of Law: double jeopardy discrimination for women of color in STEM

The study is unique in that it attempts to combine experiments by social scientists with actual workplace experience. For instance, in a well known social science experiment, a double-blind randomized study found that, “both male and female faculty rated the male applicant as significantly more competent and hirable than the female with identical application materials.”

The UC Hasting study differs in that it actually consulted women already working in the field to see where they felt the most pressure. The results highlight how stereotypes and gender bias permeate these scientist’s lives. Although 100% of respondents reported encountering bias, what sort of bias they suffered depended on their ethnicity.

For instance, nearly three-quarters of women felt the need to constantly re-prove their competence in the field. However, this prove-it-again issue affected black women disproportionately (76.9% black women reported experiencing this compared to 64.5% for Asian Americans, 63.6% for Latinas and 62.7% for white women).

Other interracial stereotypes, like Asians being ‘good at science’ were pointed out to have helped students but not colleagues. And Asian American women reported that they faced increase pressure to act feminine in the workplace with 40% saying they felt pressured into traditional gender roles. This compares notably to the lack of this expectation for black women, where only 8% responded they felt this increased pressure.

More:

http://www.care2.com/go/z/e/AldsF/zPTC/cgXN8