By THERESA HOGUE
Gazette-Times reporter | Posted: Thursday, January 25, 2007 12:00 am
Since 1969, scholar Bernice Sandler has been studying the climate for women in many areas of life, from the workplace to the classroom. She helped coin the phrase "chilly climate" when referring to the atmosphere for women in academia, and during a talk at Oregon State University on Wednesday said that large disparities still exist between the treatment of male and female faculty at universities.
"It still hurts to be a woman in labor," she joked, referring to the workplace climate for women.
Sandler is known as the "Godmother of Title IX" for her role in helping develop and establish legislation that prohibits federally funded institutions from discriminating based on sex. She is a senior scholar at the Women's Research and Education Institute in Washington, D.C., and an adjunct associate professor at Drexel University College of Medicine.
"Men and women faculty have very different experiences" in the classroom, Sandler said, ranging from how they're treated by colleagues to how they're viewed by students.
For instance, research shows that the credentials of female faculty are often challenged by students, while male faculty members are rarely questioned. In a show of hands during her talk, a number of female faculty members confirmed that students had asked them during class if they had a degree.
"It doesn't occur every time and in every class, but it occurs again and again, sending the message that women are outsiders in the academic community," Sandler said.
Women are more likely to be subject to sexual advances or innuendo by male students, or to be evaluated for their appearance and attractiveness than their male counterparts.
Women are stuck in a difficult position as professors, Sandler said. On one hand, some students expect them to be motherly and understanding, and on the other, they're seen as weak if they act in a feminine or nurturing way.
However, if they are rigid or authoritarian, they're seen as tyrants, whereas men are seen as good leaders when they act in a similar manner.
Students might expect a female professor to be more understanding of tardiness or late papers, and become offended if the professor does not accept their excuses.
"They become angry because their mothers would not treat them that way," Sandler said.
"No matter how women act, someone will feel their behavior is not quite right."
The problem is not that female professors must be liked by their students, but that students consistently review female professors more negatively than their male counterparts in anonymous teaching evaluations, which end up in the faculty member's file. Those teaching evaluations are part of the faculty member's record, and are used as part of the tenure process.
As well, students tend to be more skeptical of comments women faculty members make during class, or more likely to challenge the authority of a female professor. Women who do not smile in class were likely to be rated lower, but women who dressed in a feminine manner were considered weak.
It all adds up to a general devaluation of women's work and ability.
"Men's success is attributed to talent, women's to affirmative action or luck," Sanders said.
The bias doesn't end with students, either. In one study, an identical resume was sent out to the psychology departments of a number of different universities. Half of the resumes had a woman's name, half had a man's name. The departments were asked to answer a number of questions based on the resume, and whether the applicant could be hired by the department.
The male "applicant" was considered employable by twice as many departments as the female.
"These are not Neanderthal men who hate women," Sanders said. Often, women participated in the decision-making process. In some cases, the resume with the female name came back with criticisms written on it, including one department that questioned if the female applicant had received a grant on her own merit.
Colleagues as well as students are more likely to refer to female faculty members as "Ms." or "Mrs." or by the professor's first name, rather than using "Dr." or "Professor." At the same time, male faculty members are more often forgiven for unprofessional behavior or dress, considered eccentric rather than sloppy.
There are a number of ways, outside of institutional change, that Sandler said women faculty members could handle situations where they were being devalued. She told female professors to keep talking when students interrupt, or confront them if they continue the behavior. If students frown or turn away during a lecture, she said, professors should confront it openly and discuss it with students.
Sexist comments can be addressed several ways, from staring in displeasure to pretending not to understand and forcing the student to explain their comments. Sandler also said female professors should be up-front about their accomplishments from the start of class, to eliminate any questioning of their credentials.
"Are we doomed to wait until sexism just fades away?" she asked. "I don't want to wait that long."