You have to be brilliant to do that! Cultures of Brilliance and Academic Gender Gaps

Many academic fields, including engineering and computer science, have persistent gender gaps despite attempts to encourage women’s participation. While this is often characterized as a problem faced by STEM fields, some humanities disciplines such as philosophy face precisely the same challenges, while some STEM disciplines such as molecular biology are far more gender-balanced. Are there any isolable factors that predict the occurrence of gender gaps across the entire academic spectrum? This talk presents data suggesting that one such factor may be academics' beliefs about what is required for success in their discipline. In some fields, success is viewed primarily as a matter of hard work and dedication -- but in others, success is seen as requiring a special, unteachable spark of brilliance. Cultural stereotypes strongly associate this sort of raw genius with men rather than women -- where are the female Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Houses, or Will Huntings? -- meaning that women may be discouraged from pursuing careers in such fields. These findings point to new strategies for increasing women’s participation in STEM, and indicate concrete measures that might be implemented in SEAS classrooms to better include and encourage women students.