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Underrepresentation of Women in the Senior Levels of Brazilian Science
PeerJ
Abstract
Despite significant progress, there is still a gender gap in science all over the world, especially at senior levels. Some progressive countries are recognizing the need to address barriers to gender equality in order to retain their best scientists and innovators, and ensure research excellence and social and economic returns on the investment made by taxpayers each year on training women scientists. We investigated the gender distribution of: (i) the productivity scholarship (PS) holders of the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, CNPq, N= 13,625), (ii) the members of the Brazilian Academy of Science (Academia Brasileira de Ciências, ABC, N= 899), and (iii) the amount of funding awarded for top quality research (“Universal” Call of CNPq, N= 3,836), between the years of 2013 and 2014. Our findings show evidence for gender imbalances in all the studied indicators of Brazilian science. We found that female scientists were more often represented among PS holders at the lower levels of the research ranking system (2). By contrast, male scientists were more often found at higher levels (1A and 1B) of PS holders, indicating the top scientific achievement, both in “Engineering, Exact Sciences, Earth Sciences”, and “Life Sciences”. This imbalance was not found in Humanities and Social Sciences. Only 14% of the ABC members were women. Humanities and Applied Social Sciences had a relatively low representation of women in the Academy (3.7%) compared to Engineering, Exact and Earth Sciences: 54.9% and Life Sciences: 41.4%. Finally, female scientists obtained significantly more funding at the lower level of the research ranking system (2), whereas male scientists obtained significantly more funding at the higher levels (1A and 1B). Our results show strong evidence of a gender imbalance in Brazilian science. We hope that our findings will be used to stimulate reforms that will result in greater equality in Brazilian science, and elsewhere.
Supplementary resources (8)
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... A desigualdade de gênero na ciência, portanto, assumiu um lugar de destaque nas discussões feministas e nas análises de gênero e suas abordagens são as mais diversas, tanto na literatura nacional (GUEDES et al., 2015;LETA, 2014;LIMA et al., 2015;NAIDEK et al., 2020;VALENTOVA et al., 2017), quanto internacional (BAUTISTA-PUIG et al., 2019;FULWEILER et al., 2021;LAWSON et al., 2021;NIELSEN, 2016; VAN DER LEE;ELLEMERS, 2015). ...
... Fonte: Elaboração própria (2022) a partir de dados coletados por Naidek et al. (2020) Um estudo, conduzido por Jaroslava Valentova et al. (2017) ...
Apesar de participarem das várias ciências, as mulheres continuam minoritárias em posições de poder e reconhecimento, em qualquer que seja a área em que atuam. Dessa forma, o objetivo deste ensaio é apresentar um panorama da participação das mulheres em algumas posições nas áreas de matemática, física e química, no mundo e no Brasil, além de reflexões sobre os desafios enfrentados por elas ao longo das suas carreiras científicas.
... A desigualdade de gênero na ciência é uma realidade mundial e nacional. Em relação às pesquisadoras brasileiras, tem-se uma difícil realidade, uma vez que elas a) são menos contempladas do que os homens com bolsas de pesquisa pelas agências financiadoras (Valentova et al., 2017); b) têm maior probabilidade de sofrer impactos em decorrência da maternidade e/ou das relações conjugais do que seus colegas pesquisadores (Staniscuaski et al., 2020); c) estão concentradas em áreas do conhecimento associadas a profissões "essencialmente" femininas (Olinto, 2012); d) estão mais vulneráveis a discursos que inferiorizam a capacidade intelectual feminina, bem como a assédios (morais e/ ou sexuais) nas instituições universitárias e de pesquisa (Rosa et al., 2020); e) sofrem mais impactos na saúde em decorrência da sobrecarga do trabalho acadêmico (Borsoi & Pereira, 2013); e f) ocupam posições mais baixas na hierarquia da política de Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação (CT&I) do País (Barros & Mourão, 2019). ...
... Assim, na medida em que as cientistas não conseguem manter o ritmo anterior de submissão e publicação, poderão ter mais dificuldades para acessar recursos financeiros para pesquisa científica e renovar a bolsa PQ. De acordo com diversos estudos, esse cenário incide diretamente em suas carreiras e em suas aspirações por promoção, remuneração e reconhecimento, ampliando as desvantagens já enfrentadas pelas cientistas na carreira científica brasileira (Staniscuaski et al., 2020;Valentova et al., 2017). ...
Objetivamos discutir o recrudescimento das desigualdades de gênero e hierarquias de classe/raça na ciência brasileira a partir da realidade de bolsistas PQ/CNPq da Psicologia, tomando em consideração os efeitos da pandemia do Sars-COV-2 no Brasil. Participaram 85 das 204 pesquisadoras da área. Adotou-se uma abordagem mista com a aplicação de formulário eletrônico e realização de entrevistas remotas semiestruturadas. Observamos duas forças distintas em operação: a invisibilidade das desigualdades de gênero na ciência permanece escamoteada na racionalidade neoliberal de mulher empreendedora que tenta se superar a todo custo, tanto quanto as desigualdades raciais entre as mulheres brancas e não-brancas. Por outro lado, nota-se um deslocamento nas concepções que naturalizam as disparidades entre homens e mulheres e entre as diversas mulheres. Concluímos que as pesquisadoras enfrentam um tensionamento de forças que reposicionam seu lugar subjetivo em direção ao questionamento das desigualdades de gênero, classe e raça na Psicologia.
... This homogeneity can also be understood as a lack of diversity, which in turn ends up limiting the stimulus to creativity and innovation. The challenges faced by women in order to reach leadership positions in academic settings are complex and have been researched from different perspectives in different areas of knowledge (ARÊAS et al., 2020(ARÊAS et al., , 2021ARÊAS et al., 2023;BEATTIE, 2018;FERRARI et al., 2018;HILL et al., 2016;LIMA, 2017;MOSCHKOVICH;ALMEIDA, 2015;SHEPHERD, 2017;VALENTOVA et al., 2017;WALDMAN et al., 2018). ...
... Women are also more often represented among CNPq's Research Scholarship (PQ) holders at the lowest levels of the research classification system. In contrast, men scientists were more often found at higher levels of PQ holders (VALENTOVA et al., 2017;BEIGEL et al., 2023). ...
Women are underrepresented in positions of power and leadership in higher education and the challenges faced by women in order to reach these senior positions in academia are complex and have received considerable attention in recent years. In this work, we quantify gender diversity in Brazilian academia using three types of indicators: production of knowledge, temporal evolution in the career, and training of human resources to study in detail the profile of the Deans of Research and Graduate Studies in 215 Higher Education Institutions in the year of 2019. Our analysis shows that around only 36% of positions were occupied by women, a percentage that is not consistent with the number of women professors in Brazilian higher education. Using the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) Lattes’ Platform databank, we show that men and women in dean positions publish roughly the same number of paper/scientific articles per year and present almost the same time elapsed in the career path, while women produce more human resources. The fact that women occupy only 1/3 of the positions of dean of research and graduation reveals that for women to reach the top, it is necessary that they adapt to the same metric intended for men while facing additional challenges indicating a persistent glass ceiling.
... Jaroslava Valentova et al. [2017] demonstram que, em termos de produção científica, as mulheres estão praticamente em paridade com os homens no Brasil, mas se tornam minoria nos patamares prestigiados, que envolvem recebimento de fomento, premiações, cargos em Universidades e centros de pesquisa etc. Um indicador de distinção na carreira são as bolsas PQ do CNPq, outorgadas em diferentes estratos, 1 que representam maiores exigências e maior reconhecimento entre pares. ...
... acadêmica, formação, área de atuação e distribuição de bolsas por categoria e por gênero. Guedes et al. [2015] [Lima et al., 2015;Valentova et al., 2017]. ...
Esta pesquisa, qualitativa do tipo documental, analisou o perfil das bolsistas de Produtividade em Pesquisa do Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), no Brasil, em Divulgação Científica. Os dados foram constituídos pelos editais (2013 a 2021) e Currículos “Lattes”. Os resultados apontaram que as mulheres são maioria entre bolsistas; a maior parte possui bolsa PQ-2; estão concentradas no Sudeste; e têm formações diversas. O campo não segue a tendência do sistema PQ, revelando uma situação paritária em termos de gênero, com uma pequena vantagem feminina, o que não significa uma posição favorável para as pesquisadoras devido aos preconceitos.
... Brazil is a diverse country with a population composed of different ethnic and racial groups. Like in many other countries, women, Black and Indigenous people are largely underrepresented, especially in leadership and decision-making positions within the Brazilian academic community (Valentova et al., 2017;Morcelle et al., 2019;Areas et al., 2020). Brazil's HE system comprises both publicly and privately funded institutions, with 88% of HEIs being private, encompassing both profit and non-profit entities. ...
... Interestingly, affirmative actions based on gender are not common. Compared to students and graduates, as women progress towards academic staff and researcher roles, the proportion of women is decreasing (British Council, 2019;Valentova et al., 2017;Areas et al., 2020). ...
Purpose
Internationalisation in higher education (HE) has always been romanticised and idealised but there has been limited focus on the internationalisation of gender equality and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) certification and the role of international partnerships. Certification and Award Schemes (CAS), such as the Athena Swan Charter, can promote gender equality, best practices exchanges and foster institutional changes. Nevertheless, simply transferring strategies or frameworks without careful consideration of the nuances of the destination context can inadvertently lead to the perpetuation or exacerbation of gender inequalities and reproduce hierarchical relations between the Global South and North. Brazil's cultural and political context highlights the need for adapting the CAS framework to align with the unique conditions of the country, as well as institutional transformations in order to accommodate such a framework. This study aims to critically explore how gender equality and EDI certification can be internationalised in the Global South and how international partnerships can play a role in this process.
Design/methodology/approach
Building on a collaborative UK–Brazil funded project on advancing gender equality in Brazilian academia, we critically reflect on the assumptions of the funding call for operationalising international collaborations, and how we built solidarity – informed by our positionalities – against underlying colonial patterns. As part of our partnership, we were consulted to provide feedback on the introduction of an Athena SWAN framework in Brazil. We reflect on how the Athena Swan framework was “internationalised” in Brazil, especially in relation to its focus, the challenges of implementing gender equality and EDI efforts and the conditions required for such efforts to be meaningful in the Brazilian context. Thus, we assess and critically reflect on the current situation in Brazil, the role that certification can play for EDI and which conditions are required to enact change. In addition, we reflect on our positionalities and working practices as part of this collaboration as feminist researchers from different disciplinary and geographical backgrounds.
Findings
We trace colonial logics in the operationalisation of the funding scheme on setting international collaborations valorising the UK system and reinforcing geopolitical production of knowledge hierarchies between the Global North and Global South. Furthermore, reflecting on the Brazilian political, cultural context with a focus on HE we find similar challenges – to the UK – in implementing gender and EDI efforts. However, there are particular nuances in the Brazilian context that exacerbate these obstacles and make the implementation of an EDI certification framework in Brazil particularly challenging. Overcoming these barriers requires a collective effort from government, funding bodies, scientific associations and HE institutions, for the implementation of impactful and sustainable initiatives beyond mere rhetoric. Finally, while we had a positive collaboration, we felt ambivalent towards certain dimensions of the way the partnerships and the EDI internationalisation were operationalised.
Practical implications
We provide insights and practical recommendations that enhance the understanding of the issues surrounding the implementation of EDI efforts internationally such as CAS in the Brazilian context.
Social implications
Reflecting on the internationalisation of EDI can lead to more tailored context-sensitive frameworks and activities that have the potential to influence societal attitudes and expectations towards gender roles and inclusivity, contributing to a more equitable and just society at large. It also touches upon the dynamics of international partnerships and collaborations across different contexts that can have implications for how such partnerships should be developed and funded beyond a mainstream colonial approach of “mentoring less advanced institutions”.
Originality/value
We reflect and critically discuss the internationalisation of EDI certification in HE and the role of international collaborations towards this process, a topic that has not been often examined within the literature on the internationalisation of HE as a romanticised and positive discourse. From our experience, we explore how such efforts can bring up ambivalence in the way they are operationalised and have the potential to both reinforce and disrupt colonial hierarchies.
... Esses números são exemplos de um fenômeno já demonstrado no Brasil e no mundo, o chamado "efeito tesoura" na carreira acadêmica (Rossiter et al., 1982;Arêas et al., 2020), segundo o qual mulheres são maioria no ensino superior mas há um decréscimo desproporcional ao longo da carreira acadêmicadiscentes na pós-graduação, docentes nas Instituições de pesquisa/Universidades, bolsistas de produtividade do CNPq. Essa desproporção é mais chocante em posições de gestão e poder, como membros de conselho científico do CNPq, presidentes de sociedades científicas e agências de financiamento, ministros da Educação e ministros da Ciência e Tecnologia no Brasil (Valentova et al., 2017;Arêas et al., 2020). Além da sub-representação, as mulheres também sofrem um processo de usurpação, como o famoso caso de Rosalind Franklin, e a invisibilização dos seus trabalhos científicos (Maisel;Smart, 1997). ...
A Neurociência é uma área que envolve múltiplas especialidades, com um grande potencial para desenvolvimento científico, tecnológico, de saúde e social. Essa interdisciplinaridade, apesar de extremamente importante para o avanço das pesquisas, torna difícil um mapeamento realista de como questões sociais como diversidade e inclusão se refletem entre pesquisadores da área. Um levantamento feito com dados da Sociedade Brasileira de Neurociências e Comportamento, principal sociedade de Neurociências brasileira, revelou uma disparidade de gênero alarmante entre os membros da diretoria e participantes dos eventos promovidos por ela. Nesse trabalho, estendemos esse mapeamento para outros contextos da Neurociência no Brasil. Levantamos dados sobre os programas de pós-graduação em Neurociência, analisando as disparidades de gênero na universidade. Também analisamos dados da escola latino-americana de Neurociência Computacional Escola Latino-Americana de Neurociência Computacional e de pesquisadores em Neurociência Computacional Neuro-comp-br, fazendo um recorte da Neurociência nas Ciências Exatas. Em geral, verificamos uma baixa representatividade feminina em posições de liderança, mesmo quando o número de estudantes mulheres é maior que o de homens. Destacamos a importância de uma maior transparência nas características do corpo docente e discente dos programas de pós-graduação, incluindo questões como gênero e raça. Finalmente, discutimos uma série de ações e políticas públicas que poderiam ser aplicadas para criar uma ciência mais inclusiva, diversa e justa.
Introduction
This research explores how various characteristics influence supervisors’ research output and engagement. It focuses on undergraduate research (UR) programs at a Brazilian federal educational institution. The study examines academic curricula, including the number of publications and the impact of their productions, and looks for possible academic inequalities. Accordingly, it analyzes the influence of sex-related, academic path, and subject areas on the productivity of UR supervisors in this institution.
Methods
A case study approach was employed, utilizing quantitative methods for data collection. Data was collected on diverse variables, such as education, academic trajectory, publications, patents, and supervisory roles, by examining the administrative records and the data registered in the Lattes Curriculum platform. Descriptive and inferential statistics, including non-parametric tests and correlation analyses, were employed for data analysis, offering insights into the characteristics and contributions of UR supervisors at the undergraduate level.
Results
The study included 307 supervisors (59.0% of men), primarily in the Agrarian Sciences (51.5%), aged 37–46 years, and holding doctorate degrees (78.8%). Notably, supervisors in the Agrarian Sciences area had the highest mean experience in UR supervision (51.5%). Statistical analyses revealed significant differences among supervisors based on their research area and between supervisory activities, more prominently in research outputs and impact measures (p < 0.001) for master’s studies supervisions. On average, supervisors had 2.19 articles per year, with higher productivity in the Health Sciences followed by the Biological Sciences field. A positive difference (18.0%) in supervisor participation was found between males and females, with men having a higher rate (14.7%), consistent with previous studies.
Conclusion
The investigation emphasizes addressing sex disparities and promoting scientific research to enhance academic output indicators through public policies. This analysis provides valuable insights for fostering public policies directed toward educational institutions.
Ethics and disclosure
The Research Ethics Committee approved the study, ensuring the confidentiality of participant data and compliance with ethical standards.
A pesar de los esfuerzos por lograr paridad de género en múltiples ámbitos organizacionales, las mujeres siguen subrepresentadas en los puestos de liderazgo, incluso en el ámbito científico. El objetivo del trabajo fue analizar la representación de género en los cuerpos editoriales de revistas indexadas en la base de datos Scopus, en relación con los cargos que ocupan, para evidenciar eventuales desigualdades. Para ello, se realizó una investigación documental, utilizando fuentes secundarias de información: revisión de artículos, base de datos y páginas web de las revistas. La información del universo de revistas para análisis fue recopilada desde la base Scopus el día 16 de marzo de 2022, obteniéndose 27.060 registros. Posteriormente se aplicó un filtro para seleccionar las revistas donde, a lo menos, uno de sus idiomas de publicación era el español (n=824), independiente de su país de origen. Los resultados mostraron que un poco más del cuarto de las revistas que poseen el cargo de director(a) tenían un liderazgo femenino en dicha responsabilidad, y que todos los otros cargos identificados, con excepción del de secretaria(o) y asistente editorial, son masculinizados. En las principales áreas temáticas de Scopus, se encontró una predominancia masculina del 65,2% en el cargo de director(a) y/o editor(a), siendo la más notoria la de ciencias físicas. Cuando se analizaron los cuerpos colegiados, se encontró que más del 85% de ellos tienen conformación mixta, no obstante, no fue factible encontrar paridad de género en su composición. Los resultados evidencian la falta de diversidad en los cuerpos editoriales. Se recomienda la implementación de acciones que promuevan la igualdad de género y que aumenten la visibilidad del trabajo de las mujeres en el ámbito científico.
The research portfolio, (dis-)similarity, and collaboration pattern of leading research institutions condition a country’s ability to create new knowledge and promote socioeconomic development. However, little is known about the research diversity and (dis-)similarity of the publication outputs of leading research institutions in Brazil. With the objective of constructing and comparing research portfolios and analyzing the collaboration patterns of over 200 Brazilian research institutions from 2000 to 2017, we use a large dataset from the Lattes Platform on individual research outputs, along with metrics such as DIV, DIV*, and others from scientometrics. Research diversity is associated with the number of postgraduate programs and has increased over time. Prominent public universities such as the University of São Paulo (USP), State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), and Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) lead the diversity rankings and show similar research portfolios. However, also clusters of specialized research institutions can be observed, such as institutions focusing on medicine or agricultural research. Collaboration patterns appear to be mainly driven by geographic proximity. Our results imply that beyond internal diversity also dissimilarity and collaboration patterns across universities should be considered by STI policies. To the best of our knowledge, this study represents one of the pioneering works addressing the theme of diversity in Brazilian universities.
Este é um estudo descritivo da desigualdade de gênero na pós-graduação em Filosofia em perspectiva comparada com outras áreas no Brasil. DAdos do Catálogo de Teses e Dissertaçoes de 1991 a 2021 foram analisados segundo três indicadores: orientadoras, autoras e relação orientadora-autora. Avaliou-se as Grandes Áreas, as Ciências Humanas e as dez áreas com menor presença de autoras. Os resultados mostram que todas as áreas de maioria feminina entre os concluintes apresentam mulheres orientando, pelo menos, 50% a mais de mulheres que de homens. Não se verifica que homens orientem mais mulheres do que homens sem que tal padrão seja o caso, e ele está ausente nas dez áreas mais desiguais. Na Filosofia, os homens orientaram mais que o dobro e as mulheres quase o dobro de homens que mulheres.
OBJETIVO: Analisar o perfil e a produção científica de pesquisadores da área da Pediatria contemplados com bolsas de produtividade em pesquisa pelo Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico. MÉTODOS: Foram analisados os currículos Lattes de 47 pesquisadores da Pediatria, com bolsas ativas no triênio 2010-2012. As variáveis analisadas foram: gênero, categoria do bolsista, instituição de origem, artigos nacionais e internacionais com o respectivo Qualis, publicações de livros e capítulos de livros, orientações de iniciação científica, mestrado e doutorado e produção de patente. RESULTADOS: Houve predominância do gênero masculino (66%) e de bolsistas na categoria 2 (51%) entre os pesquisadores da área da Pediatria. Os Estados de São Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul e Minas Gerais foram responsáveis por aproximadamente 90% dos pesquisadores. Os bolsistas em Pediatria publicaram no triênio estudado 1.174 artigos, sendo que 274 foram veiculados em periódicos com classificação Qualis B2. CONCLUSÕES: Os pesquisadores na área da Pediatria apresentam produção científica relevante do ponto de vista quantitativo. Entretanto, novos estudos são necessários para dimensionar o impacto do aumento da produção científica na área de Pediatria no País.
Respondents at an Internet site completed over 600,000 tasks between October 1998 and April 2000 measuring attitudes toward and stereotypes of social groups. Their responses demonstrated, on average, implicit preference for White over Black and young over old and stereotypic associations linking male terms with science and career and female terms with liberal arts and family. The main purpose was to provide a demonstration site at which respondents could experience their implicit attitudes and stereotypes toward social groups. Nevertheless, the data collected are rich in information regarding the operation of attitudes and stereotypes, most notably the strength of implicit attitudes, the association and dissociation between implicit and explicit attitudes, and the effects of group membership on attitudes and stereotypes.
Individual variation in sexually dimorphic cognitive capacities for understanding people (empathizing) and things (systemizing) is related to career choice: individuals in careers dominated by women tend to exhibit higher empathy than individuals in male-dominated careers, who tend to score higher in systemizing. We tested this pattern in a Brazilian population. In Study I, using University public data (1980–2015), we found that exact sciences attracted significantly more males, whereas humanities and bio-sciences attracted more females throughout the 35-year period. Further, during the time period studied, there was a consistent growth of interest in both men and women in studying both exact sciences and humanities. In Study II, using the GLM analysis of an undergraduate sample of 248 men and 325 women, we replicated the sex differences in empathizing and systemizing, and found that, regardless of sex, individuals in humanities and bio-sciences score higher on empathizing and lower on systemizing than those in exact sciences. These results corroborate the sexually dimorphic pattern in career choice and in empathizing-systemizing, and show the importance of cognitive style as one of the factors related to university majors.
UK data hold lessons for how to close the gender gap in bioscience grant applications, success and size, argue Paul Boyle and colleagues.
The Lattes Platform, an information system maintained by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq), is the main source of information on Brazilian researchers. This paper presents a scientific output profile of the CNPq Productivity Research Fellows in the Chemistry area based on the information extracted automatically from Lattes curricula in the 2002-2011 period using the language "LattesMiner". This paper also provides a comparison with the results of Santos et al. (2010). The findings confirmed that the majority of the researchers are male (67.9%), classified as category 2 (63.2%) and working in the Southeast region (60.7%).
Recently, the quantum molecular science world was in uproar [1], [2]. The preliminary list of approximately 25 speakers for the International Congress of Quantum Chemistry (ICQC) was published online, with no women speakers listed. One reaction to this list was to set up a petition to “condemn gender-biased discriminatory practices of which ICQC-2015 is the most recent example” [3]. This resulted in an apology and a new speaker list with six women speakers [4].
Sadly though, this is not an isolated incident: men-only invited conference speaker lists are all too common [5].
How can we get gender balance right? To begin with, it's worth reminding ourselves why gender balance is important.
First, it's critical for the future of science that young women and men can see real evidence that scientists can succeed regardless of gender. So, if we are going to encourage women into careers in science we need also to provide role models for them to aspire to. We need to show that being a woman and being a successful scientist are not mutually exclusive. One way of doing that is to give women scientists a platform to present their research. If we don't address gender balance in speaker programs, we will continue to normalise a gendered stereotype of scientific leadership. Then when crunch time comes, women will continue to leave in far greater numbers than men [6]–[9] in part because they see no path ahead for themselves. And that means scientific research potentially loses half of its brightest talent.
Moreover, a speaking invitation contributes enormously to the profile of a researcher. By extending more invitations to women and other under-represented sections of the academic community, we provide a boost to their visibility and their track record. This will help them to progress by raising their national and international profile and help support their applications for grants, academic positions, and fellowships.
Finally, conferences and symposia are great ways of generating new collaborations, new ideas, and new directions in science. If we keep inviting the same people, and the same types of people, over and over again, we limit the diversity of thought and, potentially, the opportunities for innovation.
So, here are ten simple rules to achieve conference speaker gender balance.
This engaging text presents the latest scientific findings on gender differences, similarities, and variations--in sexuality, cognitive abilities, occupational preferences, personality, and social behaviors. The impact of nature and nurture on gender is examined from the perspectives of genetics, molecular biology, evolutionary theory, neuroanatomy, sociology, and psychology. The result is a balanced, fair-minded synthesis of diverse points of view. Dr. Lippa’s text sympathetically summarizes each side of the nature-nurture debate, and in a witty imagined conversation between a personified “nature” and “nurture,” he identifies weaknesses in the arguments offered by both sides. His review defines gender, summarizes research on gender differences, examines the nature of masculinity and femininity, describes theories of gender, and presents a “cascade model,” which argues that nature and nurture weave together to form the complex tapestry known as gender. Gender, Nature, and Nurture, Second Edition features: *new research on sex differences in personality, moral thought, coping styles, sexual and antisocial behavior, and psychological adjustment; *the results of a new meta-analysis of sex differences in real-life measures of aggression; *new sections on non-hormonal direct genetic effects on sexual differentiation; hormones and maternal behavior; and on gender, work, and pay; and *expanded accounts of sex differences in children's play and activity levels; social learning theories of gender, and social constructionist views of gender. This lively “primer” is an ideal book for courses on gender studies, the psychology of women, or of men, and gender roles. Its wealth of updated information will stimulate the professional reader, and its accessible style will captivate the student and general reader.
Gender disparities in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, including the geosciences, are well documented and widely discussed. In the geosciences, despite receiving 40% of doctoral degrees, women hold less than 10% of full professorial positions. A significant leak in the pipeline occurs during postdoctoral years, so biases embedded in postdoctoral processes, such as biases in recommendation letters, may be deterrents to careers in geoscience for women. Here we present an analysis of an international data set of 1,224 recommendation letters, submitted by recommenders from 54 countries, for postdoctoral fellowships in the geosciences over the period 2007-2012. We examine the relationship between applicant gender and two outcomes of interest: letter length and letter tone. Our results reveal that female applicants are only half as likely to receive excellent letters versus good letters compared to male applicants. We also find no evidence that male and female recommenders differ in their likelihood to write stronger letters for male applicants over female applicants. Our analysis also reveals significant regional differences in letter length, with letters from the Americas being significantly longer than any other region, whereas letter tone appears to be distributed equivalently across all world regions. These results suggest that women are significantly less likely to receive excellent recommendation letters than their male counterparts at a critical juncture in their career. © 2016 Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature. All rights reserved.