Inclusion Really Does Matter: Improving Reactions to Gender Equality Initiatives Amongst Academics in Engineering and Physical Sciences

包容性确实很重要：提高工程和物理科学界学者对性别平等倡议的反应

• 批准号: EP/S011919/1
• 负责人: Su Taylor
• 金额: $ 66.84万
• 依托单位: Queen's University Belfast
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2018 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FS011919%2F1
• 关键词: Inclusion; Really; Does; Matter; Improving

Across engineering and physical sciences (EPS) departments in UK Universities, there have been concerted efforts to address gender imbalances. Notably, numerous departments have participated successfully in the Athena SWAN award scheme set up by the Equality Challenge Unit, the aim of which is to promote gender equality. These departments have all implemented wide-ranging plans to address gender imbalances. Despite this, many STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) domains remain predominantly masculine. Fewer than 10% percent of the UK's engineers are women, the lowest percentage in Europe, and the proportion of women studying engineering and physics has remained virtually static since 2012. Importantly, these gender gaps deepen as women advance in their academic careers: only around 15% of professors in STEM subjects are female. This situation is problematic because it means that university departments, as well as STEM employers, are not drawing from the full talent pool that is potentially available to them. Moreover, research shows that, under certain conditions, groups and institutions that are diverse tend to perform better.Why is it that gender equality initiatives are widespread but progress remains slow? We propose that one of the reasons that these initiatives have had limited effectiveness is that they are sometimes met with negative attitudes that can range from indifference to hostility. Moreover, gender equality work can be seen as of low status and can burden female academics even further, as they undertake additional work to the detriment of their academic careers. How can reactions to gender equality initiatives be improved? We propose that the first step is to understand, using scientific methods, when and why these initiatives can lead to negative reactions. This project aims to reach such an understanding by carrying out research specifically with EPS academics, who themselves are a distinctive population due to their level of education, scientific training, and experience. We will test whether academics, due to their scientific training, need to be persuaded of the need for gender equality initiatives by robust empirical evidence or whether methods that encourage empathy and perspective-taking with female academics can also be effective. We will also examine whether these initiatives lead to negative reactions because academics do not feel self-efficacious in bringing about change, due to a lack of understanding of how they can personally tackle inequality. The empirical research will also examine whether the prospect of increasing the number of women in STEM feels threatening to some men, by challenging the male prototypicality of this domain. We will test nine factors that might impact on the effectiveness of gender equality initiatives through a set of experiments conducted with academics across different areas within EPS, at three universities. We will use the knowledge we generate from these studies to design resources for EPS departments. The first will be a resource package (video, brochure, questionnaire) for gender equality committees that provides them with evidence-based advice on how best to design and implement gender equality initiatives so that they are met with positive reactions. The second will be a training tool in three formats (a Virtual Reality toolkit, an online multimedia training, and an app). These tools can be used by EPS departments to train staff on gender equality issues, while ensuring positive attitudes towards and engagement in gender equality initiatives. These tools will be tested across different departments and universities, and refined as necessary. Finally, in order to increase the effectiveness of gender equality initiatives nationally, we will share the knowledge and tools we have developed with universities across the UK via a workshop, a dedicated website, and high-profile interdisciplinary publications.

在英国大学的工程和物理科学（EPS）部门，一直在共同努力解决性别失衡问题。值得注意的是，许多部门都成功地参加了由平等挑战股设立的雅典娜天鹅奖计划，其目的是促进两性平等。这些部门都实施了广泛的计划，以解决性别不平衡问题。尽管如此，许多STEM（科学、技术、工程和数学）领域仍然以男性为主。英国工程师中女性比例不到10%，是欧洲最低的，自2012年以来，学习工程和物理的女性比例几乎保持不变。重要的是，这些性别差距随着女性在学术生涯中的进步而加深：只有大约15%的STEM学科教授是女性。这种情况是有问题的，因为这意味着大学部门以及STEM雇主没有从他们潜在的完整人才库中提取。此外，研究表明，在某些条件下，多样化的团体和机构往往表现得更好，为什么两性平等倡议广泛而进展缓慢？我们认为，这些倡议成效有限的原因之一是，它们有时会遇到从漠不关心到敌视的消极态度。此外，性别平等工作可能被视为地位较低的工作，并可能进一步加重女学者的负担，因为她们承担额外的工作，不利于她们的学术生涯。如何改进对两性平等倡议的反应？我们建议，第一步是使用科学方法了解这些举措何时以及为何会导致负面反应。该项目旨在通过专门与EPS学者进行研究来达成这样的理解，EPS学者本身由于其教育水平，科学培训和经验而成为一个独特的群体。我们将测试学者们是否需要通过强有力的经验证据来说服他们，因为他们接受过科学训练，因此需要采取性别平等举措，或者鼓励女性学者同理心和观点采择的方法是否也有效。我们还将研究这些举措是否会导致负面反应，因为学者们对如何亲自解决不平等问题缺乏了解，因此在带来变革方面没有自我效能感。实证研究还将通过挑战这一领域的男性典型性，研究增加STEM领域女性人数的前景是否会对一些男性造成威胁。我们将测试九个因素，可能会影响性别平等举措的有效性，通过一组实验进行了跨EPS内不同领域的学者，在三所大学。我们将使用我们从这些研究中获得的知识为EPS部门设计资源。第一个是为两性平等委员会制作的资源包（录像、小册子、调查问卷），就如何最好地设计和执行两性平等倡议向它们提供基于证据的建议，以便它们作出积极反应。第二个将是三种格式的培训工具（虚拟现实工具包，在线多媒体培训和应用程序）。公共服务部门可利用这些工具对工作人员进行两性平等问题培训，同时确保对两性平等倡议采取积极态度并参与其中。这些工具将在不同的部门和大学进行测试，并在必要时进行完善。最后，为了在全国范围内提高性别平等举措的有效性，我们将通过研讨会，专门的网站和高知名度的跨学科出版物与英国各地的大学分享我们开发的知识和工具。

项目成果

When You Put It that Way: Framing Gender Equality Initiatives to Improve Engagement among STEM Academics

当你这样说时：制定性别平等举措以提高 STEM 学者的参与度

• DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biaa136
• 发表时间: 2021
• 期刊: BioScience
• 影响因子: 10.1
• 作者: Farrell L