Bias in the Study of Gender Inequality in Science
A new article on CNN by two psychologists claims that even though women are under-represented in science, they are not disadvantaged through the hiring process. The researchers claim that bias actually lies in women’s favour. This story has generated intense media buzz, even though the study on which this is based is fundamentally flawed. I show why the experiment, based on impressions from a short narrative, has zero relation to the way in which hiring committees make decisions. I also show that the study fails to account for intersectional issues, such as the fact that minority women scientists face not just gender inequality, but also racism, transphobia and other forms of discrimination. The fact that the study is headed by two White professors is one example of how bias influences the types of inequities we choose to see.
We must not accept populist notions that we live and work in a so-called post-feminist, post-racial world. The evidence does not support such White patriarchal fantasies.
Read more on my blog: http://buff.ly/1ax0c2P #sociology #stemwomen
The Other Sociologist 