How Research, Teaching, and Leadership Roles are Recommended to Male and Female Engineering Faculty Differently

Abstract

Across disciplines, male faculty spend more time on research than female faculty. Yet, women tend to teach and mentor students more hours than men (Misra et al. in Glob J Eng Educ 14(1):119-131, 2011). These disparities play pivotal roles in tenure and promotion decisions wherein research and leadership roles are most valued (Green in J Soc Work Educ 44(2):117-128, 2008). There is considerable evidence suggesting that implicit biases underpin some of these faculty roles differences, particularly in male-dominated disciplines, such as engineering. At the same time, there is limited evidence that, once aware of gender inequity, individuals will engage in bias correction in order to rectify prejudice. This study was designed to evaluate if implicit bias or bias correction could be detected when faculty considered the most appropriate roles for other faculty. Faculty from 50 colleges of engineering completed an activity wherein they assigned five fictitious engineering faculty characters to five assignments (one research, one leadership, and three teaching/ advising roles). One version of the activity contained only male names; the other version was identical except for the change of the middle character's name from male (Charlie) to female (Cathy). Results indicated that both men and women were significantly more likely to select Cathy for both the leadership and research positions over Charlie. Regression analysis of the Cathy Group data indicated respondents' gender did not predict selection of Cathy to the leadership role; however, women were significantly more likely than men to select Cathy to do research.

Leadership development programming in higher education: an exploration of perceptions of transformational leadership across gender and role types

“…Factors such as socialized gender roles, gendered tasks, societal expectations, and challenges females face in leadership and promotion processes (Ayman & Korabik, 2010 ; Badura et al, 2018 ; Baker et al, 2019 ; Bass, 1999 ; Eagly & Karau, 1991 ; Judson et al, 2019 ; Nica, 2013 ) could possibly affect the decrease in female perceptions of their transformational leadership capacity, but more research should be done to gain a better understanding of the source of change and should include other factors such as organizational aspects. Also in future studies, inviting subordinate and/or superiors to rate their perception of leaders’ behavior could offset the biases and limitations self-reporting can create.…”

“…Despite observable shifts of gender representation within the workforce, recent research still indicates persistent differences between genders (Badura et al, 2018 ). In higher education, women remain underrepresented in leadership roles (Anim & Shotte, 2020 ; Nica, 2013 ) despite making up nearly half of all faculty roles and obtaining more than half of the undergraduate degrees earned in the U.S. (Judson et al, 2019 ). These trends are represented in countries outside the U.S. as well (e.g.…”

Academics’ Attitudes Toward Engaging in Public Discussions: Experimental Evidence on the Impact of Engagement Conditions

“…These have rarely been used for investigations covering academics thus far. Exceptions include primarily survey experiments using hypothetical scenarios such as curricula vitae (see, for instance, Carlsson et al, 2021 ; Ceci, 2018 ; see also Judson et al, 2019 ) or publication lists (see Powdthavee et al, 2018 ) that are varied systematically. Going beyond this approach, we show that using treatments inducing framing effects to gather insights into the relevance of specific considerations works with highly educated individuals in scientific fields.…”

How a STEM Faculty Member’s Gender Affects Career Guidance from Others: Comparing Engineering to Biology and Physics

“…However, it is critical to acknowledge that it is a faculty member's research achievement and leadership record that count most when promotion and tenure decisions are made [3]. Therefore, dedicating disproportionate time to teaching, advising, and little acknowledged service, can be harmful to a career [4], [5].…”

“…In this ASEE presentation, we cull together findings from two separate but related studies we conducted. The first study, completed in 2018, examined how engineering faculty members from 50 research-focused universities recommended a male faculty member (Carl) and an equally qualified female faculty member (Cathy) to roles of research, leadership, and teaching/advising [4], [8]. The second study, completed in 2019, followed a similar pattern and examined recommendations from biology and physics faculty members from 81 U.S. research-focused universities.…”