Gender in Engineering Departments

Are There Gender Differences in Interruptions of Academic Job Talks

Bibliographic Data

ID5936062
AuthorsM Blair-Loy (0000-0002-3447-9924, University of California San Diego, corresponding author), Laura E Rogers (University of California San Diego), Laura Rogers (0000-0002-0579-8491), Daniela Glaser (University of Southern California), Y Wong (0000-0002-1326-828X), Yan Ling Anne Wong (University of California, Santa Barbara), Danielle Abraham, Danielle S Abraham (Lindamood-Bell), Pamela Cosman (0000-0002-4012-0176, University of California San Diego)
Year2017
Volume6
Issue1
Pages29
Publication date2017-03-14
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocial Sciences (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2076-0760 • E-ISSN: 2076-0760
PublisherMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/socsci6010029
OpenAlexW2595243234
LanguageEN
Citations received13
References cited43

We use a case study of job talks in five engineering departments to analyze the under-studied area of gendered barriers to finalists for faculty positions. We focus on one segment of the interview day of short-listed candidates invited to campus: the "job talk", when candidates present their original research to the academic department. We analyze video recordings of 119 job talks across five engineering departments at two Research 1 universities. Specifically, we analyze whether there are differences by gender or by years of post-Ph.D. experience in the number of interruptions, follow-up questions, and total questions that job candidates receive. We find that, compared to men, women receive more follow-up questions and more total questions. Moreover, a higher proportion of women's talk time is taken up by the audience asking questions. Further, the number of questions is correlated with the job candidate's statements and actions that reveal he or she is rushing to present their slides and complete the talk. We argue that women candidates face more interruptions and often have less time to bring their talk to a compelling conclusion, which is connected to the phenomenon of "stricter standards" of competence demanded by evaluators of short-listed women applying for a masculine-typed job. We conclude with policy recommendations

Employability · Medical education · Pedagogy · Applied Psychology · Gender Diversity and Inequality · Higher Education Research Studies · Medicine · Mentoring and Academic Development · Psychology

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