Diversity and Your Department

Eddy, S. L., Brownell, S. E., & Wenderoth, M. P. (2014). Gender Gaps in Achievement and Participation in Multiple Introductory Biology Classrooms. Cbe-Life Sciences Education, 13(3), 478–492. (PDF)

Although enrollment in undergraduate biology courses are mostly even in regards to gender, this study finds that women underperform in discussion and test scores, which they argue is evidence of gender bias still being in play, in subtler ways. This article is good for professors who want to think deeply about the dynamics at play within their classrooms.

Kerr-Berry, J., Clemente, K., & Risner, D. (2008). The Politics of Gender in Dance Pedagogy. Journal of Dance Education, 8(3), 94-101. (PDF)

In Risner's short article, he focuses on how his own gendered identity affects the classroom environment in his dance classes. He proposes methods of student-directed teaching that decenter his own primacy in the classroom; these pedagogies are similar to conference-based classes that Reed espouses.

Polasek, K. M., & Roper, E. A. (2011). Negotiating the Gay Male Stereotype in Ballet and Modern Dance. Research in Dance Education, 12(2), 173-193. (PDF)

This study interviews several male dancers in order to understand constructions of masculinity in the contemporary dance world and examine the pervasive homophobia that still exists therein. This study is helpful to anyone interested in masculinity studies, especially in a field traditionally thought of as feminine.

Jensen, Elizabeth J. and Ann L. Owen. "Pedagogy, Gender, and Interest in Economics." The Journal of Economic Education 32, Issue 4 (2001): 323­-343.  (PDF)

This study looked at the variables that influence women undergraduate students interest in taking economics course and in choosing economics as a major. Of particular interest is the authors' investigation into "how students' characteristics and attitudes interact with the instructor's pedagogy and certain departmental and college-level characteristics to influence students' decisions about pursuing economics."

Diekman, A. B., Weisgram, E. S., & Belanger, A. L. (2015). New Routes to Recruiting and Retaining Women in STEM: Policy Implications of a Communal Goal Congruity Perspective. Social Issues and Policy Review, 9(1), 52–88. (PDF)

This study examines the gender disparity in STEM fields through the context that STEM often values individual over communal achievement. The study argues that women value community-oriented goals, and STEM education can better include women by reorienting towards communal goals.

Lauer, S., Momsen, J., Offerdahl, E., Kryjevskaia, M., Christensen, W., & Montplaisir, L. (2013). Stereotyped: Investigating Gender in Introductory Science Courses. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 12(1), 30–38. (PDF)

This study examines introductory science courses, specifically courses in biochemistry and biology, which it argues are examined less than physics in terms of gender. Through experimentation, the researchers found that there is no significant achievement gaps between genders in introductory courses, and more research needs to be done to understand why women leave the field at a much higher rate than men.

Prime, D. R., Bernstein, B. L., Wilkins, K. G., & Bekki, J. M. (2015). Measuring the Advising Alliance for Female Graduate Students in Science and Engineering: An Emerging Structure. Journal of Career Assessment, 23(1), 64–78. (PDF)

This study finds that one way to retain women STEM students is through strong relationships with advisors. A strong bond with an instructor can allow the student to express whether or not they are getting the instrumental support and instruction they need. This study is helpful because it focuses on advising, an integral collegiate experience, rather than teaching.

Reuben, E., Sapienza, P., & Zingales, L. (2014). How Stereotypes Impair Women's Careers in Science. PNAS, 111(12), 4403-4408. (PDF)

In this study, an experiment is designed that shows that women face significant discrimination when they apply to jobs in math and science fields. This report verifies the assumption that there is discrimination against women working in these fields.

Townsend, Robert B. "Clio's Charm Holding Fast? History Major Numbers Continue to Rise at Most Institutions." Perspectives on History: The Newsmagazine of the American Historical Association (Oct. 2012). https://www.historians.org/publications-and-directories/perspectives-on-history/october-2012/clios-charm-holding-fast

Compares the popularity of history to other majors, concluding that the popularity of the degree generally is increasing. However, while academia generally is now "significantly more diverse," within the history department women and racial/ethnic minorities remain under­represented when compared with their involvement in BA programs generally.

Linguistic Society of America. (1996, 1996). The LSA Guidelines for Nonsexist Usage. LSA Bulletin. Retrieved April 15, 2015, from https://www.linguisticsociety.org/resource/lsa-guidelines-nonsexist-usage

In this article, the LSA outlines specific rules for how to avoid the use of sexist language. While this is specifically aimed at the examples used by linguistics professors in class, these rules could find usage in the general classroom and the greater world as well. The guidelines are older than most articles included in this bibliography, but they are still used by the society and therefore remain pertinent. This is recommended for all professors.

Tags: Gender
Teaching

Linguistic Society of America. (2015). Status of Women in Linguistics (COSWL). Retrieved April 15, 2015, from https://www.linguisticsociety.org/about/who-we-are/committees/status-women-linguistics

This webpage details the work that the COSWL does to increase the presence of females in linguistics. It is a good place to go if you are looking for contacts (it lists all of the committee members) and ideas for projects that would increase diversity.

Macaulay, M., & Brice, C. (1997). Don't Touch My Projectile: Gender Bias and Stereotyping in Syntactic Examples. Language, 73, 798-825. (PDF)

This study largely verifies the necessity of the LSA Guidelines for Nonsexist Usage by examining syntax textbooks and showing that examples are overwhelmingly male and haven't improved in the past twenty five years. This article would be primarily useful to professors that need to see specific and thorough examples of how sexist language permeates into the classroom and textbook.

Carlin, D. (2011). The Intersectional Potential of Queer Theory: An Example from a General Education Course in English. In M. L. Ouellett (Ed.), An Integrative Analysis Approach to Diversity in the College Classroom (pp. 55-64). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. (PDF)

This article is primarily helpful because it shows how to design a class focusing on queer theory and literature step by step. This should be read by any professor interested in discussing queerness in their classroom.

Charleston, L. J., George, P. L., Jackson, J. F. L., Berhanu, J., & Amechi, M. H. (2014). Navigating underrepresented STEM spaces: Experiences of Black women in U.S. computing science higher education programs who actualize success. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 7(3), 166–176. (PDF)

This article focuses on the intersectionality of race and gender in the computing field. Charleston et al. argue that both instructors and students must constantly examine and reconfigure their own prejudices.

Fitzpatrick, K. R., Henninger, J. C., & Taylor, D. M. (2014). Access and Retention of Marginalized Populations within Undergraduate Music Education Degree Programs. Journal of Research in Music Education, 62(2), 105-127. (PDF)

This study interviews several intersectional minority students in collegiate music programs in order to discover what challenges they have faced in order to be a part of these programs. This essay is of general interest; it speaks to the challenges of marginalized groups in academia as a whole.

Antony, L. (2012). Different voices or perfect storm: Why are there so few women in philosophy? Journal of Social Philosophy, 43(3), 227-255. (PDF)

In this essay, Antony examines two different models that could be used to describe why there is a stark lack of women in philosophy. She argues against the "Different Voices" model, which proposes that there are less women in the field because it is a male-driven field and most of the ethical and moral concerns of philosophy derive from that worldview, a worldview that women find fundamentally incompatible with themselves. Instead, Antony advocates for a "Perfect Storm" model, which holds that a unique combination of specific and general gender discriminations come together in philosophy to shut women out. This article offers a sophisticated examination of the discrimination problem still present in the field.

Norlock, K. J. (2012). Gender perception as a habit of moral perception: Implications for philosophical methodology and introductory curriculum. Journal of Social Philosophy, 43, 347-362. (PDF)

Norlock ponders why so many female-gendered people drop out of philosophy courses after introductory courses, as opposed to farther down the pipeline. One common reason that inclusivity activists cite is that there is a lack of women on the syllabus for these intro courses. Norlock is remarkably even-handed in her analysis of these issues, humanizing both the advocates for inclusivity and their opponents. This is recommended for intro course instructors.

Paxton, M., Figdor, C., & Tiberius, V. (2012). Quantifying the gender gap: An empirical study of the underrepresentation of women in philosophy. Hypatia, 27, 949–957. (PDF)

The goal of this study is to provide purely empirical data on the gender breakdown of philosophy departments, based on surveys sent to U.S. institutions. In their findings, we see that there is a steady drop in female philosophers from intro courses to faculty positions. They also find a positive correlation between number of female faculty members and retention of female students in these departments. This is a good article to refer to if you need straight facts and data.

Danielsson, A. T. (2012). Exploring woman university physics students "doing gender" and "doing physics." Gender and Education, 24(1), 25–39. (PDF)

This exploration of gender in the field of physics tries to differentiate itself from other studies of similar topics by focusing not on the differences between male and female students but on personal interviews with female physics students that get at the nuances of the experience. This article is very personable and serves to remind the reader that the individual people and their experiences are not just vehicles for statistics.

Garmon, S. Sexual and Gender Diversity in Physics | Prettyqueer.Com. Retrieved from https://prettyqueer.com/2012/12/04/sexual-and-gender-diversity-in-physics/

This article is a personal narrative by a trans woman, describing her self-discovery while becoming a physicist. This article would be great to circulate to non-binary students that have doubts about the compatibility of their futures and their identities.

Tags: Trans
Gender
Careers

Götschel, H. (2014). No Space for Girliness in Physics: Understanding and Overcoming the Masculinity of Physics. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 9(2), 531–537. (PDF)

In this study, Götschel shifts attention from the struggle of women in physics to the struggle of the feminine in physics. She argues that in order to 'pass' in the world of physics, women (and feminine boys) must deny their girliness, and she argues that physics needs to work towards a greater acceptance of "the other," and not an assimilation thereof. This is a nuanced view, and recommended for all instructors.

Kirkpatrick, J. (2014, November 26). Women In Astronomy: On Planck's Law, Blackbodies and the Physics of Diversity. Retrieved from https://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/2014/11/on-plancks-law-blackbodies-and-physics.html

This is a basic explanation, through the use of metaphor, of how intersectionality affects the experience of being a researcher and scientist. This is a good place to start if you are unfamiliar with the ideas of intersectionality and would like an explanation in understandable language.

Kreutzer, K., & Boudreaux, A. (2012). Preliminary Investigation of Instructor Effects on Gender Gap in Introductory Physics. Physical Review Special Topics - Physics Education Research, 8(1). (PDF)

This study examines the gender inequity inside a physics classroom to discover why men typically do better than females. This article is primarily valuable because it offers a succinct list of five things that any professor can do to increase gender equity in their classroom, including "cultivate optimistic student-teacher relationships" and "practice nonjudgmental responsiveness."

Bos, Angela L., Erin C. Cassese, and Lauren E. Duncan. "Integrating Gender into the Political Science Core Curriculum." PS: Political Science & Politics 45, Issue 2 (April 2012): 238 - 243. (PDF)

The authors recommend "gender mainstreaming"–including gender politics within and throughout "mainstream" courses–so that all students can gain exposure without taking special courses, and conversely cannot choose to avoid diversity exposure. Gender mainstreaming could also encourage women to pursue political science as a major, where they currently make up less than half of the total number of students. Also discusses the ways in which gender­ based studies can serve as useful analytic tools, even where gender is not an immediately apparent factor. Includes a "mainstreaming strategies" section.

Bos, Angela L. and Erin C. Cassese. "A Hidden Curriculum? Examining the Gender Content in Introductory­ Level Political Science Textbooks." Politics & Gender 9, Issue 2 (June 2013):214-223. (PDF)

This article presents a thorough analysis of the gendered content in introductory political science textbooks. The findings show that women are more represented in sections on civil rights and there is little content addressing women's political behavior and involvement.

LePeau, L. (2007). Queer(y)ing Religion and Spirituality: Reflections from Difficult Dialogues Exploring Religion, Spirituality, and Homosexuality. College Student Affairs Journal, 26(2), 186-192. (PDF)

In this piece, LePeau examines the results of combining religion and sexuality in a highly personal classroom atmosphere. LePeau offers up several practical suggestions for how to deal with these sensitive topics within an emotionally fraught college classroom; this article is primarily helpful for any professor finding themselves navigating a similar atmosphere.

Locklin, R. B., Tiemeier, T., & Vento, J. M. (2012). Teaching World Religions without Teaching "World Religions". Teaching Theology & Religion, 15(2), 159-181. (PDF)

This work offers three separate essays that attempt to show how a professor can go about teaching a pluralistic religion class without falling into the problematic pratfalls of "world religions" courses that critics have recently lambasted. This work is helpful for any religion professor who is looking for tips on how to remain sensitive to how their classroom is run.

League of Professional Theatre Women. (2014). Women Count. from https://theatrewomen.org/women-count/

This resource counts the number of women employed Off-Broadway over the last four theatrical seasons. This data is useful to empirically examine the state of professional theatre for women who may be about to enter that industry.