Research on Bias in Hiring Information for Deans, Chairs, and Recruiting Committees

1
Research on Bias in HiringInformation for
Deans, Chairs, and Recruiting Committees
2
Research on Bias in Hiring

• This presentation summarizes information from
  the University of Pittsburgh as well as NSF
  funded Advance Projects at the University of
  Michigan and the University of Wisconsin.

3
Women as a Percent of all Rank Faculty at AAU
Publics, 1998
4
Women as a Percent of all Rank Faculty at AAU
Publics, 2003
5
Distribution of Departments by Women as a Percent
of T/TS
6
Berkeley
Next
7
Assumptions and Bias

• Evaluators overestimate the heights of men and
  underestimate heights of women.
• Evaluators rate verbal skills lower if told an
  African American provided samples than if told a
  white person provided them.
• Evaluators more frequently attributed success of
  men to skill and success of women to luck.
• Biernat, Manis, Nelson, (1991) Journal of
  Personality and Social Psychology, 66, 5-20

8
Assumptions and Bias

• Psychology professors, both men and women, prefer
  to hire Brian over Karen, even when the
  application packages are identical. Steinpreis,
  Anders Ritzke (1999) Sex Roles, 41, 509
• Blind auditions increased the percentage of
  women winning orchestral jobs by 25-46. Goldin
  Rouse, (2000) The American Economic Review, 90,
  4, 715-741

9
Assumptions and Bias

• Recommendation letters for women hired as faculty
  at a large US medical school differed
  systematically from those for men.
• Trix Psenka (2003) Discourse Society,
  Vol. 14(2)191-220, 2003

10
Assumptions and Bias

• Women applying for a postdoctoral fellowship
  needed substantially more publications to achieve
  same rating as men. Wenneras Wold, (1997)
  Nature, 387, 341

11
Gender Bias in Funding Postdoctoral Fellowships
Men
Women
One Impact Point one paper in a journal with
an impact factor of one
12
Potential Influence on Search

• Women and minorities may be subject to higher
  expectations wrt number and quality of research
  publications, grants, etc.
• Work, ideas, and findings of women and minorities
  may be undervalued or unfairly attributed to
  others or to luck
• Letters of reference may reflect unconscious
  biases