A new University of Washington-led study finds that male students in biology so consistently overrate the performance of fellow male students compared to equally performing female students that it amounts to what researchers believe is clear, consistent gender bias. Asked about the performance of other students, the male students taking part in a survey overestimated other males' grade point averages by nearly a full point; female students in the 1,700 person survey showed no real gender bias in their assessments.
Sarah Eddy, a University of Texas researcher who helped lead the study while a UW postdoctoral biology researcher, said in a UW press release that the results are troubling in light of the considerably higher rate at which women students drop out of science, technology, engineering and math degree programs. She said, “To stay in STEM you have to believe you can do it, and one of the things that can convince you of that is your peers saying you can do it. Helping students find peers who believe in them is really important, especially for women, because they’re not likely to get that from males in their class.”
The lead author was Dan Grunspan, a doctoral candidate in the UW Department of Anthropology. The study's authors are doing research that they hope will help instructors create more inclusive practices. More details are here.
