Assessing Gender Bias in Particle Physics and Social Science Recommendations for Academic Jobs

Robert H. Bernstein, Michael W. Macy, Wendy M. Williams, Christopher J. Cameron, Sterling Chance Williams-Ceci and Stephen J. Ceci
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Robert H. Bernstein: Particle Physics Division, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, P.O. Box 500, Batavia, IL 60510, USA
Michael W. Macy: Department of Sociology, Uris Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
Wendy M. Williams: Department of Psychology, Martha Van Rensselaer Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
Christopher J. Cameron: Department of Sociology, Uris Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
Sterling Chance Williams-Ceci: Department of Information Science, Gates Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
Stephen J. Ceci: Department of Psychology, Martha Van Rensselaer Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA

Social Sciences, 2022, vol. 11, issue 2, 1-29

Abstract: We investigated gender bias in letters of recommendation as a possible cause of the under-representation of women in Experimental Particle Physics (EPP), where about 15% of faculty are female—well below the 60% level in psychology and sociology. We analyzed 2206 letters in EPP and these two social sciences using standard lexical measures as well as two new measures: author status and an open-ended search for gendered language. In contrast to former studies, women were not depicted as more communal, less agentic, or less standout. Lexical measures revealed few gender differences in either discipline. The open-ended analysis revealed disparities favoring women in social science and men in EPP. However, female EPP candidates were characterized as “brilliant” in nearly three times as many letters as were men.

Keywords: underrepresentation of women; gender bias in science; letters of recommendation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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