Gender-based Bias Research Articles

Gender Influence on Career Preferences in STEM: Unraveling Stereotypes and Fostering Diversity

This research investigates the influential role of gender in shaping career preferences within the fields of science and technology (STEM). The study explores the extent to which gender-related factors impact career aspirations and the potential implications for gender diversity in STEM industries. Through a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative interviews and quantitative surveys, data were collected from a diverse sample of individuals across various age groups and educational backgrounds. The research sought to identify patterns and trends in career preferences, particularly in relation to STEM disciplines. The findings of this study reveal significant disparities in career preferences between males and females. Gender stereotypes, societal expectations, and early educational experiences were identified as key determinants in driving these disparities. Women often reported feeling constrained by stereotypes associated with certain STEM fields, while men tended to gravitate toward traditionally "masculine" STEM careers. Education emerged as a crucial factor in influencing career choices. Exposure to inclusive and diverse STEM education environments was found to challenge gender-based biases and encourage individuals to explore a broader range of STEM opportunities. The implications of these findings extend beyond academia. Achieving gender equality in STEM is recognized as both a societal imperative and a catalyst for innovation. The research emphasizes the importance of implementing strategies such as mentorship, social support, and inclusive educational practices to bridge the gender gap in STEM. In conclusion, this research underscores the need for continued efforts to understand and address the complex interplay between gender and career choices in STEM. By fostering inclusivity and dismantling gender stereotypes, we can create a future where STEM fields are enriched by a diverse array of talents, enabling greater progress and innovation in science and technology

Exploring the Potential of mHealth to Improve Maternal Health in Rural Bihar

In India women suffer from poor maternal health sometime leading to maternal death. The condition is severe in Empowered Action Group states like Bihar. Caste and gender-based biases are responsible for it. Health informatics tools like mHealth is essential for disseminating useful maternal health-related information among rural women since its affordable and portable. A household survey was conducted in Malpur village, Dalsinghsarai block, Samastipur district, Bihar. Purposive random sampling was conducted. Mixed method was used for data collection and analysis. Results show that rural women have severe dependence on their immediate family members for information related to maternal health. ASHAs/AWWs too fail to generate information to lower caste women. Thus, mHealth becomes instrumental in generating maternal health education. The study contends that mHealth is promising in propagating need-based information to women in their own language, thereby becoming a harbinger of health promotion.

Gender equality and artificial intelligence in Europe. Addressing direct and indirect impacts of algorithms on gender-based discrimination

This article assesses whether current European law sufficiently captures gender-based biases and algorithmic discrimination in the context of artificial intelligence (AI) and provides a short analysis of a draft EU legislative proposal, the Artificial Intelligence Act. To this end, current trends and uses of algorithms with potential impacts on gender will be analysed through the lens of direct and indirect impacts for gender equality law, highlighting the implications for European gender equality enforcement. This article concludes that legislative and accompanying policy measures are necessary to ensure an effective gender equality policy and to avoid algorithmic discrimination.

Understanding the Effect of Bias on the Experience of Women Surgeons: A Qualitative Study.

Exploring the lived experiences of surgeons is necessary to understand the changing culture of surgery and the unique challenges of being a woman in surgery. Surgeons have significant experiences and observations best discovered through qualitative study. The purpose of this study is to identify the similarities and differences between the experiences of men and women surgeons after initiation of mandatory microaggression training. Qualitative semi-structured interviews with female and male surgeons and residents were done following a year-long series of training sessions on the detrimental effects of microaggression. Participants were selected using a convenience sampling method. MAXQDA coding software (Verbi) was used to evaluate interview transcripts with thematic analysis. Nineteen surgeons and surgical residents were interviewed. The participants were of equal gender identification, with the majority being attending surgeons. Multiple themes highlighted similarities and differences between male and female participants. Differences were noted in identification of a sensitive personality, family planning considerations, and experiences of bias. Similarities were related to the personality traits required to be successful in surgery, the sacrifice inherent to a surgical career, and the war rhetoric used to describe the comradery of residency. The challenges and rewards of surgery are similar for women and men, but women have additional stressors, including gender-based bias, microaggression, and family planning. These stressors take up energy, decreasing the mental space available for additional roles and affecting the work environment. Microaggression education can incite necessary discussions of bias and provide women with an opportunity to reflect on and share their experiences.

Biased in favour.

Biased in favour.

Blinded intraoperative skill evaluations avoid gender-based bias.

Gender bias has been identified consistently in written performance evaluations. Qualitative tools may provide a standardized way to evaluate surgical skill and minimize gender bias. We hypothesized that there is no difference in operative time or GEARS scores in robotic hysterectomy for men vs women surgeons. Patients undergoing robotic hysterectomies performed between June 2019 and March 2020 at 8 hospitals within the same hospital system were captured into a prospective database. GEARS scores were assigned by crowd-sourced evaluators by a third party blinded to any surgeon- or patient-identifying information. One-way ANOVA was used to compare the mean operative time and GEARS scores for each group, and significant variables were included in a one-way ANCOVA to control for confounders. Two-tailed p-value < 0.05 was considered significant. Seventeen women and 13 men performed a total of 188 hysterectomies; women performed 34 (18%) and men performed 153 (81%). Women surgeons had a higher mean operative time (133 ± 58 vs 86.3 ± 46min, p = 0.024); after adjustment, there were no significant differences in operative time (p = 0.607). There was no significant difference between the genders in total GEARS score (20.0 ± 0.77 vs 20.2 ± 0.70, p = 0.415) or GEARS subcomponent scores: bimanual dexterity (3.98 ± 0.03 vs 4.00 ± 0.03, p = 0.705); depth perception (4.04 ± 0.04 vs 4.05 ± 0.02, p = 0.799); efficiency (3.79 ± 0.02 vs 3.82 ± 0.02, p = 0.437); force sensitivity (4.01 ± 0.04 vs 4.05 ± 0.05, p = 0.533); or robotic control (4.16 ± 0.03 vs 4.26 ± 0.01, p = 0.079). There was no difference in GEARS score between men vs womensurgeons performing robotic hysterectomies. Video-based blinded assessment of skills may minimize gender biases when evaluating surgical skill for competency evaluation and credentialing.

WOMEN’S PLACE IS BEYOND THE GLASS CEILING: THE GENDER GAP IN ACADEMIC PSYCHIATRY PUBLICATIONS IN TURKEY

In terms of academic positions and activities, women seem to be disadvantaged in various aspects all over the world. Our study aims to investigate the representation of male and female genders in academic psychiatry journals in Turkey. We included the publications in the academic psychiatry journals indexed in The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey, Turkish Academic Network and Information Center, which were published between 2011 and 2020.12 journals were grouped as SCI-E/SSCI (n=4), ESCI (n=4), and other international indexes (n=4). A total of 5179 articles were reviewed. The ratios of female authors per article, female first author, female correspondence author, and female last author were found to be lower in the SCI-E/SSCI and ESCI groups compared to the other international index groups (p<0.05). In all article types, the rate of women as the last author was lower than the rate of women as the first author (p<0.05). The paucity of the female authors in the last authorship position and the editorial articles can be interpreted as the glass ceiling effect. To ensure gender equality in academic publications, universities and the editorial boards of journals should fight against gender-based bias and discrimination.

Gender Bias in Judging Frailty and Fitness for Lung Surgery

BackgroundDisparities in surgical care for lung cancer have been well documented, and unconscious bias may be a source of inequity. We assessed whether gender biases exist when nonclinical decision makers render decisions about major lung surgery. MethodsAmazon Mechanical Turk workers, remotely located "crowdworkers" readily available for hire to perform discrete on-demand tasks on the Amazon Mechanical Turk platform, were each shown 4 videos of different standardized patients (SPs) in a clinic setting, 1 video in each energy level (vigorous or frail) and race category (White or Black), randomized to male or female. Workers scored video characteristics and whether they would support the SP’s decision to undergo a major lung operation. ResultsA total of 855 workers were recruited. The frail White male SP was more likely to have support to undergo lung surgery than the frail White female SP, while the frail Black male SP was much less likely to have support to undergo lung surgery than the frail Black female SP. There were no significant differences in support for surgery between the vigorous male and female SPs and ratings by male and female workers in their recommendations. ConclusionsBiases related to patient gender exist in the general population and affect views on surgery, particularly in the setting of frailty. Understanding such differences may aid in educational efforts directed at reducing gender-based biases in treatment recommendations.

The Roots of America’s Anti-Asian Violence

Hate crimes against Asian Americans have risen sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic. A historical perspective shows that Asians have faced intertwined racial and gender-based biases in the United States since the first anti-immigration backlashes against their presence in the nineteenth century.

Predictors of community-based employment for young adults with intellectual disability and co-occurring mental health conditions

Purpose To identify predictors of community-based employment and employment quality for young adults ages 23–30 with intellectual disability and co-occurring mental health conditions (YA-ID-MH). Methods We conducted secondary analysis of the 2017–2018 National Core Indicators® (NCI®) In-Person Survey. The NCI® survey was conducted in 35 states and Washington DC. Participants: YA with ID, ages 23–30 who had complete data. We conducted multiple regression analyses to examine demographic and environmental predictors of community-based employment, in addition to employment quality indicators: hourly wages, hours worked, and job duration. We also descriptively examined job satisfaction. Results YA-ID-MH were somewhat less likely to be employed per record review and self-report than YA with ID only, but these findings did not reach statistical significance. On average, YA with ID only had higher hourly wages and worked more hours than those with ID-MH, but there were no significant differences in job duration. For YA-ID-MH, predictors of employment included gender, race, level of ID, and residential setting. Multiple demographic and environmental factors predicted employment quality. Conclusions YA-ID-MH experience employment disparities compared to YA with ID only. Service providers should specifically attend to those at the highest risk of unemployment/low quality employment. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION Young adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities and co-occurring mental health conditions (ID-MH) experience employment disparities. Young adults with ID-MH who are non-white and female may have particularly low employment rates and employment quality. Societal-level interventions to address racial and gender-based bias may support individuals with ID-MH to acquire and maintain jobs by addressing disparities in social networks/social capital and ensuring equitable service provision and supports for those at the highest risk for unemployment. Policy makers should consider additional funding for employment services for transition-age youth with ID-MH, particularly those from marginalized populations.

An assessment of race and gender-based biases among readmission predicting tools (HOSPITAL, LACE, and RAHF) in heart failure population.

The objective of our study is to retrospectively investigate if the HOSPITAL score, LACE index, and RAHF scale exhibit any bias based on gender and race in heart failure readmissions. This is a retrospective cohort study with alladult medical patients discharged with congestive heart failure from 2016 to 2018fromSouthern Illinois University School of Medicine Hospitalist service.The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was constructed comparing prediction tools (HOSPITAL score, LACE index, and RAHF scale) performance based on gender and raceby measuring the area under the curve (AUC). Absolute Between-ROC Area (ABROCA) values were calculated.All statistical analyses were performed using R version 3.6.2. The performance of the HOSPITAL score in the majority and minority population showed a statistically significant difference between AUCs (0.714 and 0.633, p=0.029) and an ABROCA of 0.081 indicating superior performance in predicting hospital readmissions in the majority group vs. the minority.The performance of RAHF score in females and males showed statistically significant differences between AUCs (0.567 and 0.527, p=0.04) and an ABROCA of 0.04 indicating the superior performance of the RAHF scorein females compared with males. Our study demonstrated that the HOSPITAL score and the RAHF scale showed significant differencesinpredicting 30-day readmissions riskbased onrace and gender, respectively, in heart failure patients,whereasthe LACEindex did not show any significant difference.

Gender-Specific Factors Influencing Gastroenterologists to Pursue Careers in Advanced Endoscopy: Perceptions vs Reality.

In 2020, only 19% of 63 matched advanced endoscopy (AE) fellows were women. This study evaluates the gender-specific factors that influence gastroenterologists to pursue careers in AE. An anonymous survey was distributed to gastroenterology fellows and attendings through various gastroenterology society online forums. Data were collected on demographics, training, mentorship, current practice, family planning, and career satisfaction. Women comprised 71.1% of the 332 respondents. 24.7% of female fellows plan to pursue an AE career compared with 37.5% of male fellows (P = 0.195). The main motivating factor for both genders was interest in the subject area. Interest in another subspecialty was the main deterring factor for both genders. Women were more deterred by absence of same-sex mentors (P < 0.001), perception of gender-based bias in the workplace (P = 0.009), family planning (P = 0.018), fertility/pregnancy risks from radiation (P < 0.001), and lack of ergonomic equipment (P = 0.003). AE gastroenterologists of both genders were satisfied with their career decision and would recommend the field to any fellow. Most respondents (64%) believed that more female role models/mentors would improve representation of women in AE. There are multiple gender-specific factors that deter women from pursuing AE. Increasing the number of female role models is strongly perceived to improve representation of women in AE. Most AE attendings are satisfied with their career and would recommend it to fellows of any gender. Thus, early targeted mentorship of female trainees has potential to improve recruitment of women to the field.

Exploring female lawyers’ competence in Ghanaian law firms: clients’ perspective

ABSTRACT This paper aims to explore how clients perceive the competence of female lawyers in Ghanaian law firms. As an exploratory qualitative study, thematic analytic approach was used to analyse the interview data gathered from 15 clients of law firms. The findings reveal that clients consider the gender of lawyers when making hiring decisions and determining competence. The findings also suggest that clients consider legal expertise, professionalism, knowledgeability, gender attributes, and social interaction as critical determinants of female lawyers’ competence in law firms. We suggest that managers of law firms should understand and consider the role of clients in competence development. Managers of law firms could also manage gender-based competence biases of clients and improve practice management by implementing effective gender policies and client–lawyer relationship management strategies. The wider implication for the gender schema theory is that gender schemas of clients affect competency measurement and assessment. The current competence-based theorizations in management science could consider client perspective.

For Girls, “Just” Just Isn’t Scientific

We ask questions of students in order to probe their understanding. We design our questions in such a way that we can assess a student’s progress towards an accurate worldview. However, there is a consensus that a performance gap exists in many physics assessments, where male students outperform their female peers. While early work in this area considered the overall performance gap on testing instruments, in recent years the focus has shifted to item-level gaps. If the reason(s) that performance gaps arise in questions can be identified, then assessment can be designed to reduce or eliminate gender-based biases.

Musa’s Predicament and the MBA Capstone Project Team

The case is focused on the difficult challenges faced by a second-year MBA Capstone Project Team at the Suleman Dawood School of Business, Lahore University of Management Sciences in Pakistan. The project deadline is closing in; however, the team is facing serious work-related and interpersonal issues with detrimental consequences for the team dynamics and ultimate success of the project. As one of the founding members of the team, Musa is perplexed and confused about how to resolve the conflicts in the team, which has divided into two factions due to the mishandling of the situation by another team member, Elias. The faculty advisor to the team has called an emergency meeting, and Musa wants to find a way out of the current crisis to complete the project successfully. The case also illustrates gender-based biases that may surface in specific cultural contexts.

Women on Corporate Boards as Symbolic Management

The paper tests for the presence of symbolic management in the appointment of female board directors. We focus on the length of board service of male versus female directors, and make use of the impact of the Davies Review (Davies, 2011) to facilitate identification. The data are based on FTSE All-Share companies between 1996 and 2017. Following the Davies Review in 2011, there is now sufficient data on male and female director boardroom careers from both the pre- and post- 2011 period to conduct a `difference-in- differences' causal analysis. While the Davies Review has triggered a rise in the number of female non-executive director appointments, these women continue to experience a disproportionate exit rate around nine-years of tenure. The results support a symbolic management interpretation of female non-executive director appointments. The study is limited by right censoring. There are directors appointed post-2011 who have yet to complete their careers or cross the nine-year threshold. Our econometric analysis adjusts for this, but it remains a limitation that must be borne in mind. The discretion afforded by existing corporate governance guidelines can have the unintended consequence of accommodating the continued unequal treatment of female directors in the boardroom. The study exposes gender-based biases that persist in a high profile area (the boardroom). The Davies Review has certainly increased female representation in the boardroom but more remains to be done in terms of securing equal treatment for female directors once in post. The evidence presented here supports the view that female director appointments continue to be made for symbolic rather than substantive motives.

Recruitment in Surgery and Interventional Radiology: Factors in Female Trainees’ Specialty Decisions

This study aims to identify factors influencing female medical students' decision-making about specialties, specifically surgery and interventional radiology (IR), in an effort to inform future recruitment and professional development strategies. An electronic survey was created to assess both qualitative and quantitative data. The survey was sent prior to a symposium for trainees interested in pursuing IR or surgery, held at University of Chicago (Chicago, IL) in February 2019. The 90 female trainees who registered were sent the survey, and 48 (53%) responded voluntarily. All respondents were female, 46% planned to pursue surgery or IR. Students pursuing surgery/IR were less concerned about being valued by their colleagues (p = 0.0073), being in charge of patients' lives (p = 0.0017), radiation exposure (p = 0.0171), chemical exposure (p = 0.0223), emotional stress (p = 0.0244), or shift work (p = 0.0045), compared to the nonsurgery/IR students. No differences were found in ranking of motivating factors, personal strengths or weaknesses, deciding factors, areas for seeking mentorship, or gender diversity. Top motivations among all respondents were intellectual rigor of medicine and becoming a mentor, while concerns were personal physical health, managing a career, pay equity, and gender-based biases. Students most often sought mentors and clerkship experience for making specialty decisions. They reported greatest strengths in empathy and resilience, and weaknesses in negotiating and public speaking. Female medical students planning to pursue surgery/IR expressed greater confidence in their contributions to patient care and lower concerns about workplace hazards. Regardless of specialty intent, female students shared scholarship motivations for a career in medicine, valued the role of mentorship, and expressed persistent concerns about gender discrimination, personal health, and skills-based weaknesses. Identifying factors influential in career decision-making is important in order to recruit and retain a more gender-diverse physician workforce.

What are Women Being Advised by Mentors When Applying to Surgery?

Despite an increase in percentage of women entering the surgical field, women tend to favor certain surgical subspecialties. The purpose of this study was to investigate how surgeons advise trainees in pursuit of a surgical career. An 18-question survey was administered to members of the American College of Surgeons through their monthly newsletter NewScope. Respondents were asked to identify subspecialties that they would consider to be most receptive to men or women and how they would advise men and women pursuing a surgical specialty. There were 663 respondents, of which the majority (n = 465, 70.99%) were male. When asked if participants had a role model in medical school, 61.10 per cent had male role models/mentors, whereas only 7.96 per cent had female role models/mentors. Among the 23 surgical subspecialties listed, the top five specialties viewed as receptive for women were breast surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, plastic surgery, ophthalmology, and GS. Surgical specialty and gender of the respondent played a role in how surgeons advised men and women trainees, especially in specialties that traditionally have less female representation. There is inherent gender-based bias in advisement of trainees that may affect surgical specialty choice. Surgeon gender, age, and surgical specialty could be predictors as to how trainees are advised.

A139 CANADIAN GASTROENTEROLOGY CAREER PATHWAY EXPERIENCES: A GENDER DIVIDE UNDER EXAMINATION

Abstract Background The number of Canadian gastroenterologists has been on the rise in the last 20 years but female representation has stayed disproportionately low (30%). Gastroenterology has remained a male dominated subspecialty despite research showing as early as 1990’s that systemic gender-based barriers exist. Aims To determine whether GI career profiles differ between male and female gastroenterologists and understand barriers to career advancement related to gender in order to help shape future interventions to counteract these issues. Methods A 51-question survey was disseminated to gastroenterologists practicing in Canada. Using provincial College of Physicians and Surgeons websites, an electronic survey was sent to GIs with email addresses and a paper copy to those with fax numbers. The Canadian Association of Gastroenterology sent our survey link in their September 2019 membership email. The survey included questions pertaining to personal, professional, financial and practice characteristics of participants. Data was analyzed using SAS statistical program, and descriptive analysis with 95% confidence intervals was used to compare proportions of men and women. Nonparametric tests were used for continuous data. Qualitative thematic analysis was applied for short answer responses. Results Total 98 responses received (14.7% response rate) with 35% female respondents. Majority had adult, urban practices (86%) but males reported significantly more endoscopy time (42% v. 30%) vs. females who spent more time on research (23% v. 10%). Men were more likely to be married and have children than females. Women were more likely to not only have to choose between their marriage and their career, but more chose marriage compared to men specifically taking time off for maternity or childcare needs. Men were more likely to leave childcare predominantly to their spouse whereas women were more likely to share responsibility of childcare with spouse and hired help. Even after adjusting for age, males earned a significantly higher income than females (&amp;gt;$100,000 difference). 40% of men reported a salary over $600,000, compared to only 4% of women. Several gender-based biases were cited by females during their staff GI career: receiving less recognition for their work, challenging relationships with senior colleagues and support staff, inferior promotion opportunity, more difficulty publishing research and having their competency challenged by peers. Conclusions This survey shows that there are still many differences in the Canadian GI career pathway experience based on gender. Female GIs are disproportionately negatively affected in their clinical and academic practices, renumeration and work-life balance. Understanding these disparities is the first step towards remedying gender inequality in GI workplace culture. Funding Agencies None

"Yes, I'm the Doctor": One Department's Approach to Assessing and Addressing Gender-Based Discrimination in the Modern Medical Training Era.

While gender-based bias and discrimination (GBD) is known to exist in medical training, there is limited guidance for training programs on how to understand and combat this issue locally. The Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Surgery established the Gender Equity Task Force (GETF) to address GBD in the local training environment. In 2017, members of the GETF surveyed residents in surgery, anesthesia, and internal medicine at 2 academic hospitals to better understand perceived sources, frequency, forms, and effects of GBD. Overall, 371 residents completed the survey (60% response rate, 197 women). Women trainees were more likely to endorse personal experience of GBD and sexual harassment than men (P < .0001), with no effect of specialty on rates of GBD or sexual harassment. Patients and nursing staff were the most frequently identified groups as sources of GBD. While an overwhelming majority of both men (86%) and women (96%) respondents either experienced or observed GBD in the training environment, less than 5% of respondents formally reported such experiences, most frequently citing a belief that nothing would happen. Survey results served as the basis for a variety of interventions addressing nursing staff and patients as sources of GBD, low confidence in formal reporting mechanisms, and the pervasiveness of GBD, including sexual harassment, across specialties. These results reproduce other studies' findings that GBD and sexual harassment disproportionately affect women trainees while demonstrating how individual training programs can incorporate local GBD data when planning interventions to address GBD.