Examining men’s responses to witnessing subtle gender bias against women in STEM – UROP Spring Symposium 2022

Examining men’s responses to witnessing subtle gender bias against women in STEM

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Sofia Tosi

Pronouns: She/her

Research Mentor(s): Desiree Aleibar
Co-Presenter: Bryson, Addison
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Psychology / LSA
Presentation Date: April 20
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: Session 2 – 11am – 11:50am
Room: League Ballroom
Authors: Sofia Tosi, Addison Bryson, Desiree Aleibar
Presenter: 39

Abstract

Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) frequently encounter gender bias (e.g., questioning of their STEM ability, assignment to secretarial roles). Given the subtle and ambiguous nature of contemporary sexism, people vary in their likelihood of recognizing subtly sexist interactions. Past research demonstrates that women are more sensitive to gender bias and more likely to perceive it. However, there remains a dearth of research related to men’s experiences in witnessing bias. In the present research, we ask: what are the (1) affective, (2) cognitive, and (3) behavioral consequences of men perceiving subtle gender bias during group tasks? And (4) do such outcomes differ depending on the gender-composition of the group? STEM-identified men read a fake transcript depicting a conversation between 3 STEM-identified college students (1 woman, 2 men OR 2 women, 1 man). After reading the transcript, participants completed measures related to their affect (state and collective), their impressions of the interaction and members of the group (open and closed-ended), behavioral measures related to the students in the transcript, and exploratory individual difference measures (e.g., personal attitudes related to sexism). Open-ended responses were coded to determine recognition of bias. Findings and implications for this work are discussed.

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Interdisciplinary, Social Sciences

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