Recommendation Letters of Faculty Candidates for Positions in Chemistry and Biochemistry at UA

1
Recommendation Letters of Faculty Candidates for
Positions in Chemistry and Biochemistry at UA

• Vicki Wysocki (vwysocki_at_email.arizona.edu)
• Department of Chemistry
• Department of Biochemistry and Molecular
  Biophysics
• Toni Schmader
• Department of Psychology

2
Inspired by published study

• Exploring the color of glass letters of
• recommendation for female and male
• medical faculty
• FRANCES TRIX AND CAROLYN PSENKA
• WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY
• Discourse and Society, 2004, Vol 14(2) 191220

3
Reason for concern?Chemical Engineering News,
2005, 44, 3839. ( Female Fac in Chemistry)
2000 2005
All Ranks 10 13
Full 6 9
Associate 21 21
Assistant 18 21
4
UA Faculty Search 2003-2004

• Applicants
• Chem Biochem
• Men 236 165 71
• Women 46 25 21
• Percentage 19 15 30
• Women

5
Wysocki Research Group
Nationally (Chemistry) Women Ph.D.
33 M.S. 46
6
Methods

• Letters transcribed and analyzed with LIWC
  (Linguistic Inquiry Word Count) to count the
  number of standard word categories.
• Counts for each applicant were averaged within
  category and across letter writers to create
  aggregate variables. Categories with very low
  frequencies were not included.

7
Categories Examined

• of letters
• Word count
• Achievement words (e.g., try, goal, win)
• Communication words (e.g,, talk, share)
• Positive feelings (e.g., happy, joy)
• Negative emotions (e.g., hate, worthless)
• Tentative words (e.g., maybe, perhaps)
• Certainty words (e.g., always, never)

8
Additional Categories

• Grindstone traits
• hardworking, motivated, effort
• Ability traits
• smart, talented, able
• Standout adjectives
• best, superior, excellent
• Research terms
• experiment, funding, studies
• Teaching terms
• teaching, mentor, educate

9
Differences in Qualifications? No
of publications
of presentations
of fellowships
Yrs in Ph.D.
of postdocs
Yrs in postdocs
Yrs since PhD
US News Rank
NSF Rank
10
Gender differences in and language?

• Chem Biochem
• of letters Yes (3.3/3.8) No
• Length of letters No No
• Achievement No No
• Communication No No
• Positive feelings No No
• Negative feelings No No
• Tentative words No No
• Certainty words No No

11
How do linguistic categories created correlate
with one another?

• more standout words (best, superior, excellent)
• significantly more ability words
• significantly fewer grindstone words
• more language about teaching
• less language about research
• more tentative language (maybe, perhaps)

12
How do linguistic categories created correlate
with one another?

• Among Women
• If more grindstone words (hardworking, effort)
• marginally less language about research
• If more ability words (smart, talented)
• less language about teaching

13
How are qualification variables related to being
interviewed or offered a position?

• None of the qualification variables correlate
  with being invited or offered a job except...
• those who received invitations tended to be out
  of grad school for fewer years
• among men, those who are given job offers have
  significantly more fellowships

14
How are linguistic variables related to the
applicants status?

• those with longer letters of recommendation
  are more likely to be invited for an interview

15
Additional Categories showed difference

• Grindstone traits
• hardworking, motivated, effort
• Ability traits
• smart, talented, able
• Standout adjectives
• best, superior, excellent
• Research terms
• experiment, funding, studies
• Teaching terms
• teaching, mentor, educate

16
Were there gender differences in how letter
writers described candidates?

• Chem Biochem
• Grindstone traits No No
• Ability traits No No
• Standout adj. Yes No
• Research terms No No
• Teaching terms No No
• (excellent, superior, best)

17
Women less likely to be interviewed?

• NO
• if they applied
• consider statistics of small number of
  applicants
• consider that women in department questioned why
  women werent on the interview schedule

18
Conclusions

• Search committees should be aware that letters
  may have differences (male vs female candidates)
  in spite of similar qualifications

19
The Greatest Threat to the Mathematical and
Physical Sciences
Henry Blount, NSF
The Face of American Science
Is Not the Face of America
20
2005 GRC (14F)