Swimming against the tide: Gender bias in the physics classroom

TL;DR

This study reveals gender biases in physics student evaluations, showing male students favor male professors and female students exhibit mixed biases, highlighting the need for bias awareness in physics education and faculty mentoring.

Contribution

It provides empirical evidence of gender bias in physics student evaluations, emphasizing the importance of addressing stereotypes to improve gender equity in science education.

Findings

Male students rate male professors more positively.

Female students evaluate female professors' interpersonal skills more positively.

Both male and female students rate male professors' scientific skills higher.

Abstract

This study examines physics students' evaluations of identical, video-recorded lectures performed by female and male actors playing the role of professors. The results indicate that evaluations by male students show statistically significant overall biases with male professors rated more positively than female professors. Female students tended to be egalitarian, except in two areas. Female students evaluated female professors' interpersonal/communicative skills more positively than male professors'. They evaluated female professors' scientific knowledge and skills less positively than that of male professors just as male students did. These findings are relevant to two areas of research on bias in evaluation: rater-ratee similarity bias and stereotype confirmation bias. Results from this study have important implications for efforts focused on educating students and mentoring faculty members in order to increase the representation of women in the physical sciences.