Social incentives for gender differences in the propensity to initiate negotiations: Sometimes it does hurt to ask

Gender Differences in Climbing up the Ladder: Why Experience Closes the Ambition Gender Gap

Women are unequally represented in the highest positions in society. Beyond discrimination and bias, women are missing from the top because they are less likely to pursue high-ranking opportunities. We propose that experience is a critical moderator of gender differences in pursuing leadership opportunities, with low-experience women being particularly unlikely to seek higher level positions. We used field analyses of 96 years of U.S. senator and governor elections to examine male and female politicians' propensity to run for higher political offices. As predicted, among those with little political experience, women were less likely than men to run for higher office, but experience closed this gender gap. A preregistered experiment among U.S.-based adults replicated the field findings and revealed that it was the increased self-confidence of experienced women that reduced the gender gap. The findings suggest experience, and the self-confidence that comes with it, is one lever for closing the gender gap in seeking to climb professional hierarchies.

Rooting for Their Own Gender: Preschoolers' Selective Preference for Winners

Children's social preferences are influenced by the relative status of other individuals, but also by their social identity and the degree to which those individuals are like them. Previous studies have investigated these aspects separately and showed that in some circumstances children prefer high-status individuals and own-gender individuals. Gender is a particularly interesting case to study because it is a strong dimension of social identity, but also one of the most prevalent forms of social hierarchy, with males conceptualised as superior to females, by adults and children alike. Here we directly asked how children's social preferences are influenced by status (winner or loser of a zero-sum conflict) and winner gender (female or male) in different scenarios (same or mixed-gender). In Experiment 1, children saw same-gender conflicts between two females or two males and they displayed an overall preference for winners. In Experiment 2, participants watched two mixed-gender conflicts, one where the female prevailed and one where the male prevailed. In this case, children chose the winner, but only when they had the same gender as themselves. Experiment 3 confirmed that children preferred own-gender individuals in the absence of conflict or status. Overall, children are sensitive to the relative status of other individuals and use this information to make social decisions. However, preschoolers do not prefer just any individual who wins access to a resource. They preferred dominant individuals, but only when they were of their own gender. This suggests that children's dominance evaluations are modulated by children's social identity.

Gender and Professional Identities in Businesswomen's Negotiation

Gender roles and expectations for women have been shown to account for why women tend to negotiate ineffectively in business settings. Drawing from the psychological literature on multiple identities, this paper examines how individual differences in perceived compatibility between gender and professional identities-captured by the construct Gender-Professional Identity Integration (G-PII)-shape businesswomen's negotiation behaviors. Two studies examined how G-PII interacts with identity cues and cue valence to influence negotiation outcomes. We found that those who perceived their gender and professional identities as compatible (high G-PII) exhibited an "assimilation" effect-they negotiate more effectively when their professional identity was primed by professional identity cues and when prototypical female traits were positively linked to negotiation success, and negotiated less effectively when their gender identity was primed by gender identity cues and when prototypical female traits were negatively linked to negotiation success. However, businesswomen who perceived their gender and professional identities as incompatible (low G-PII) exhibited the opposite "contrast" effect. These findings suggest that the way women negotiate is influenced in part by individual differences in perceptions of compatibility between multiple identities.

Athletic Trainers' Experiences With and Perceptions of Salary Negotiation Decision-Making During the Hiring Process

CONTEXT

Appropriate salaries for athletic trainers (ATs) have been a contentious topic for decades. Although professional advocacy efforts to increase ATs' salaries have gained traction, little is known about ATs' experiences with negotiation during the hiring process.

OBJECTIVE

To explore the reasons, influences, and factors influencing ATs' negotiation decisions.

DESIGN

Qualitative study.

SETTING

Individual video interviews.

PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS

Twenty-eight ATs who participated in a previous study and indicated a willingness to participate in the qualitative follow-up were interviewed (17 women, 10 men, 1 nonbinary individual; age = 37.8 ± 8.9 years, athletic training experience = 15.1 ± 8.3 years). Of the 28 participants, 18 did negotiate, whereas 10 did not.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

An individual video conference interview was conducted with each participant. After transcription, data were analyzed into themes and categories following the consensual qualitative research tradition. To ensure trustworthiness of the findings, we confirmed accuracy through member checks, triangulated the data using multianalyst research teams, and confirmed representativeness by including an external auditor.

RESULTS

Four parallel themes emerged during data analysis: factors for determining salary negotiation, reasons for negotiating/not negotiating, negotiation influencers/deterrents, and experiences with negotiation/impact of not negotiating.

CONCLUSIONS

Negotiators used a variety of data sources to support their requests, and their decisions were motivated by their own known value, the area's cost of living, and their current financial or employment situations. Negotiators relied on previous experiences to guide negotiations and provided successes and regrets from their negotiation experience. Nonnegotiators also used a variety of data types but were deterred by fear of not knowing how to negotiate, of losing the offer, or of offending those involved. Nonnegotiators highlighted a lack of confidence in their ability to negotiate and provided the financial consequences and personal regrets from not negotiating. More training, education, and publicly available data are needed to assist ATs in future negotiation attempts.

"When" Versus "Whether" Gender/Sex Differences: Insights From Psychological Research on Negotiation, Risk-Taking, and Leadership

We present a conceptual framework of situational moderators of gender/sex effects in negotiation, risk-taking, and leadership-three masculine-stereotypic domains associated with gender/sex gaps in pay and authority. We propose that greater situational ambiguity and higher relevance and salience of gender/sex increase the likelihood of gender/sex-linked behaviors in these domains. We argue that greater ambiguity increases the extent to which actors and audiences must search inwardly (e.g., mental schema, past experience) or outwardly (e.g., social norms) for cues on how to behave or evaluate a situation and thereby widens the door for gender/sex-linked influences. Correspondingly, we propose that gender/sex effects on behavior and evaluations in these domains will be more likely when gender/sex is more relevant and salient to the setting or task. We propose further that these two situational moderators may work jointly or interactively to influence the likelihood of gender/sex effects in negotiation, risk-taking, and leadership. We conclude by discussing applications of our conceptual framework to psychological science and its translation to practice, including directions for future research.

Why We Should Stop Trying to Fix Women: How Context Shapes and Constrains Women's Career Trajectories

In this review we examine two classes of interventions designed to achieve workplace gender equality: (a) those designed to boost motivations and ambition, such as those that aim to attract more women into roles where they are underrepresented; and (b) those that try to provide women with needed abilities to achieve these positions. While such initiatives are generally well meaning, they tend to be based upon (and reinforce) stereotypes of what women lack. Such a deficit model leads to interventions that attempt to "fix" women rather than address the structural factors that are the root of gender inequalities. We provide a critical appraisal of the literature to establish an evidence base for why fixing women is unlikely to be successful. As an alternative, we focus on understanding how organizational context and culture maintain these inequalities by looking at how they shape and constrain (a) women's motivations and ambitions, and (b) the expression and interpretation of their skills and attributes. In doing so, we seek to shift the interventional focus from women themselves to the systems and structures in which they are embedded.

Salary Negotiations: Gender Differences in Attitudes, Priorities, and Behaviors of Ophthalmologists

PURPOSE

To investigate attitudes, priorities, and behaviors of ophthalmologists in salary negotiations.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

METHODS

A Qualtrics survey was disseminated to U.S.-based practicing ophthalmologists between November 1, 2021 and March 31, 2022 and assessed attitudes, behaviors, and priorities surrounding salary negotiation during the respondents' first negotiation as a practicing physician and currently. Optional case-based scenarios were also included.

RESULTS

Of 424 respondents, 155 (36.5%) identified as male (M) and 269 (63.3%) identified as female (F). Men were more likely to negotiate salary for their first position as an independent ophthalmologist (M 78.3%, F 68.2%; P = .04). Respondents of both genders assessed their success similarly; 85.0% of men and 75.7% of women (P = .07) felt that their negotiation was very successful or somewhat successful. Women were more likely to select "flexibility in clinic/OR schedule for personal commitments" as a priority during salary negation for their first position (M 14.8%, F 23.1%; P = .04). Women ophthalmologists reported feeling more uncomfortable (M 36.1%, F 49.1%; P = .01), intimidated (M 20.0%, F 43.5%; P < .01), and were less likely to feel well-trained (M 24.5%, F 13.0%; P < .01). Most respondents never received formal training in negotiation.

CONCLUSIONS

We found significant gender differences among ophthalmologists in attitudes, priorities and behaviors surrounding salary negotiation. There were low reported levels of formal negotiation training, which appears to disadvantage women more than men. These gender disparities suggest that incorporating education about negotiation skills and career development early in training may be impactful.

Why Are There So Few Women Medical School Deans? Debunking the Myth That Shorter Tenures Drive Disparities

PURPOSE

Gender disparities among the senior echelons of academic medicine are striking and persistent. The role of medical school dean has been particularly immune to gender diversity, and limited prior research identified women's shorter decanal tenures as a potential driver. The authors assessed gender differences in tenure length of deanships in the current era to elucidate this finding.

METHOD

From October 2020 to June 2021, the authors collected information about medical school deanships that were held from January 1, 2006, to June 30, 2020. All schools were members of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). The authors collected data from online public records and augmented their findings via direct outreach to medical schools. They used time-to-event analyses before and after adjustment for interim vs permanent status of the initial appointment, school ownership (public/private), and school size to assess for gender differences in length of deanship tenure during the study period. The unit of analysis was deanships, and the primary outcome was length of deanships measured in years.

RESULTS

Authors included data on 528 deanships. Women held 91 (17%) of these terms. Men held the majority of permanent deanships (n = 352 [85%]). A greater percentage of the deanships held by women were interim only (n = 27 [30%]) compared with men (n = 85 [20%]). In unadjusted and adjusted analyses, there were no significant gender differences in length of deanship tenures.

CONCLUSIONS

Analysis of appointments of AAMC-member medical school deans from 2006 to 2020 revealed that women have remained in their deanships as long as their male counterparts. The myth about women deans' shorter longevity should no longer be promulgated. Academic medicine should consider novel solutions to addressing women's persistent underrepresentation in the dean role, including employing the gender proportionality principle used in the business and legal communities.

Are you advocating for me? Social penalties toward teachers that (dis)confirm gender stereotypes during the COVID-19 pandemic

We investigated the effects of gender stereotype violations within the context of teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as whether social penalties for violating gender stereotypes in this domain are moderated by trait levels of gender system justification. Participants (N = 254) rated four hypothetical teaching scenarios where target sex (male or female teacher) and reason for refusal to return to in-person teaching (advocating for one's self vs. advocating for others) were manipulated. Results showed that as predicted, participants with high levels of gender system justification rated self-advocating female teachers least favorably. Unexpectedly, participants with low levels of gender system justification rated self-advocating male teachers least favorably. Implications for gender stereotype violation are discussed as well as implications for those teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Another Day, Another 82 Cents: A National Survey Assessing Gender-based Wage Differences in Board-certified Plastic Surgeons

Background

Of 7461 actively practicing United States American Board of Plastic Surgery certified plastic surgeons, only 17% are women. In relation to this small number, gender inequities within the field have been the source of national discussions. Our study assessed the status of the gender-based wage-gap in plastic surgery and sought to identify possible causes.

Methods

An anonymous 43-question survey was distributed to 2981 members of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons in 2021. Male and female responses were compared; an analysis also considering board-certification year was performed. Chi-square and Fisher exact tests were used for bivariate analysis. Continuous variables were compared with two-sample t tests and Wilcoxon rank sum tests.

Results

Ten percent of contacted American Society of Plastic Surgeons members responded to our survey. Of the 288 respondents, 111 (38.5%) were women, and 177 (61.5%) were men. Men were more likely to have salaries over $400K USD per year (P < 0.0001). Earlier certification year was associated with pay greater than $400K per year (P = 0.0235) but was insignificant once stratified by gender (women: P = 0.2392, men: P = 0.7268). Earlier certification year was associated with production-based and self-determined wages (P = 0.0097), whereas later board-certification year was associated with nonnegotiable salaries (P < 0.0001).

Conclusions

Women are significantly less likely to make salaries comparable to those of male plastic surgeons, related to shorter careers on average. An increase in female representation and career duration within the field is needed to improve the current wage-gap.

Negotiation Practices of Athletic Trainers Employed in the Clinical Setting

CONTEXT

Athletic trainers (ATs) are comparatively underpaid relative to peer health care professionals. Whereas many factors contribute to the salary and benefits of a given employment position, negotiation is a factor of the final salary and benefits package that is achieved. It is unclear to what extent ATs negotiate salary or other terms of employment during the hiring process.

OBJECTIVE

To explore the negotiation practices of ATs during the hiring process.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

SETTING

Web-based survey.

PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS

A total of 587 ATs employed in the clinical setting who previously held at least 1 full-time employment position.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S)

Independent variables were several demographic factors as well as the current salary range. Dependent variables were participants' responses to various survey items focused on experiences with salary and terms-of-employment negotiation. Summary statistics were used to characterize all variables and multiple χ2 analyses (P < .05) were performed to determine the significant influences of independent variables on negotiation practices.

RESULTS

More than half of ATs (57.6%) did not attempt to negotiate their salary, and almost three-quarters of ATs (70.5%) did not negotiate their terms of employment during the hiring process. The most successfully negotiated terms were moving expenses (72.3%) and continuing education funding and reimbursement (62.7%). The influence of demographic factors on negotiation and negotiation success varied, with significant findings for the number of previous full-time employment positions, gender, marital status, salary range, and number of dependents.

CONCLUSIONS

It is alarming that more than half of ATs did not negotiate salary or terms of employment during the hiring process. Whereas widespread training on negotiation practices is warranted, our findings suggest it would be most beneficial for early-career and female ATs. All ATs must become comfortable with negotiating salary and terms of employment to effect change in the average salary and employment status of those in the profession.

Gender Equity in Medicine and Dermatology in the United States: The Long Road Traveled and the Journey ahead

Over the past 50 years there has been an increase in the representation of women in medicine with similar rates of men and women graduating from medical training today. Nevertheless, gender gaps in leadership, research publications, and compensation persist. Herein, we review trends in gender differences among leadership positions in academic medicine with a particular focus on dermatology, evaluate the roles of mentorship, motherhood, and gender bias on gender equity, and discuss constructive solutions for addressing gender inequities that persist in academic medicine today.

Lifting as we climb: Experiences and recommendations from women in neural engineering

Neural engineering is an emerging and multidisciplinary field in which engineering approaches are applied to neuroscience problems. Women are underrepresented in engineering fields, and indeed in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields generally. Underrepresentation of women is particularly notable at later academic career stages, suggesting that even though women are interested in the field, barriers exist that ultimately cause them to leave. Here, we investigate many of the obstacles to women's success in the field of neural engineering and provide recommendations and materials to overcome them. We conducted a review of the literature from the past 15 years regarding the experiences of women in academic careers, as well as reports on the number of women in fields closely related to neural engineering from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). Additionally, we interviewed six women in neural engineering who are involved in initiatives and outreach concerning the inclusion and experiences of women in engineering. Throughout the literature and interviews, we identified common themes spanning the role of identity and confidence, professional relationships, career-related hurdles, and personal and professional expectations. We explore each of these themes in detail and provide resources to support the growth of women as they climb within the field of neural engineering.

Equal Pay for Equal Work in the Dean Suite: Addressing Occupational Gender Segregation and Compensation Inequities Among Medical School Leadership

In 2022, the Association of American Medical Colleges published data from its annual Dean's Office Staff Compensation and Dean's Compensation Surveys in a new report addressing salary equity among medical school leadership. These data, disaggregated by gender and race/ethnicity, represent earnings of the senior most leaders in the dean suite and have historically been shared only with medical school Deans and principal business officers. The report shows that the highest-ranking decanal positions in U.S. medical schools are filled along the lines of traditional gender stereotypes (with men in clinical affairs and research affairs deanships and women in admissions, diversity affairs, faculty affairs, and student affairs deanships) and that the roles held mostly by men carry grander titles (e.g., senior associate dean vs assistant dean) and significantly higher salaries than those typically held by women. Additionally, within the same decanal positions, women earn lower median compensation than men. In this commentary, the authors describe limited advancement and lower compensation as foregone conclusions for women in medicine and science due to a professional model that places a premium on activities traditionally pursued by men. They define and characterize the impact of this occupational gender segregation in the dean suite and offer a roadmap for an alternative value system that recognizes complementary leadership activities across the mission areas of academic medicine and ensures that the contributions of women in the profession are appropriately recognized, valued, and rewarded.

Creating accessibility in academic negotiations

The process of evaluating and negotiating a tenure-track job offer is unstructured and highly variable, making it susceptible to bias and inequitable outcomes. We outline common aspects of and recommendations for negotiating an academic job offer in the life sciences to support equitable recruitment of diverse faculty.

Embracing Complexity: A Review of Negotiation Research

In this review, we identify emerging trends in negotiation scholarship that embrace complexity, finding moderators of effects that were initially described as monolithic, examining the nuances of social interaction, and studying negotiation as it occurs in the real world. We also identify areas in which research is lacking and call for scholarship that offers practical advice. All told, the existing research highlights negotiation as an exciting context for examining human behavior, characterized by features such as strong emotions, an intriguing blend of cooperation and competition, the presence of fundamental issues such as power and group identity, and outcomes that deeply affect the trajectory of people's personal and professional lives.

Are Strategies for Women in Compensation Negotiations More Appealing When It Is Explained How They Are Meant to Impact Negotiation Outcomes?

Women perceive specific strategies developed to support their performance in compensation negotiations as ineffective and are unlikely to use them—suggesting an implementation gap. We examined whether providing theoretical rationales—explaining how specific strategies are meant to work—attenuates this gap. Furthermore, we explored a novel cause of it: women's expectations regarding the perpetuation of gender roles upon using a strategy. In two studies ( N = 1,254), we observed that regardless of the provision of the rationales, women expected all examined specific strategies to be less economically effective and most of them to perpetuate gender roles more than regular assertiveness. Moreover, especially women's expectations regarding economic outcomes decreased their intentions to use most specific strategies. Women also expected most specific strategies to lead to less favorable social evaluations than yielding, which again led to their lower intentions to use them. Altogether, negotiation trainers and educators should consider that explaining how specific strategies are meant to work is not enough to close the implementation gap and to reduce gender inequality in negotiations. To attenuate the implementation gap, they may need to enable women to more fully experience how using specific strategies can improve their negotiation performance. Additional online materials for this article are available on PWQ's website at http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/suppl/10.1177/03616843221128484 .

Our Grandmothers' Legacy: Challenges Faced by Female Ancestors Leave Traces in Modern Women's Same-Sex Relationships

Investigations of women's same-sex relationships present a paradoxical pattern, with women generally disliking competition, yet also exhibiting signs of intrasexual rivalry. The current article leverages the historical challenges faced by female ancestors to understand modern women's same-sex relationships. Across history, women were largely denied independent access to resources, often depending on male partners' provisioning to support themselves and their children. Same-sex peers thus became women's primary romantic rivals in competing to attract and retain relationships with the limited partners able and willing to invest. Modern women show signs of this competition, disliking and aggressing against those who threaten their romantic prospects, targeting especially physically attractive and sexually uninhibited peers. However, women also rely on one another for aid, information, and support. As most social groups were patrilocal across history, upon marriage, women left their families to reside with their husbands. Female ancestors likely used reciprocal altruism or mutualism to facilitate cooperative relationships with nearby unrelated women. To sustain these mutually beneficial cooperative exchange relationships, women may avoid competitive and status-striving peers, instead preferring kind, humble, and loyal allies. Ancestral women who managed to simultaneously compete for romantic partners while forming cooperative female friendships would have been especially successful. Women may therefore have developed strategies to achieve both competitive and cooperative goals, such as guising their intrasexual competition as prosociality or vulnerability. These historical challenges make sense of the seemingly paradoxical pattern of female aversion to competition, relational aggression, and valuation of loyal friends, offering insight into possible opportunities for intervention.

What’s Race Got to Do with It? The Interactive Effect of Race and Gender on Negotiation Offers and Outcomes

Research suggests that women negotiators tend to obtain worse outcomes than men; however, we argue this finding does not apply to all women. Integrating research on social hierarchies, gender in negotiations, and intersectional stereotype content, we develop a theoretical framework that explains the interactive effect of race and gender on offers and outcomes received in distributive negotiations. With a focus on Black and White women and men negotiators, we predicted that stereotypes related to their race and gender lead Black women negotiators to receive more favorable negotiation offers and outcomes than White women and Black men negotiators and this effect is explained by ascriptions of dominance and prestige, respectively. Results of three experimental studies involving diverse samples—online panel participants, individuals selling items on Craigslist, and MBA students—support these predictions. More specifically, we find that Black women negotiators are perceived as more dominant than White women negotiators, and Black women negotiators are ascribed greater prestige than Black men negotiators. These ascriptions allow Black women negotiators to receive more favorable negotiation offers and outcomes compared with White women and Black men. These findings highlight the importance of jointly considering the influence of race and gender in negotiations.

Empowerment Mitigates Gender Differences in Tertius Iungens Brokering

Tertius iungens brokering that brings together people who might not otherwise meet is crucial for organizational effectiveness. But we know little about whether and why women and men differ in their propensity to engage in this brokering. Our paper focuses on the origins and mitigation of gender differences in the propensity to bring people together. In study 1, we showed that the Totterdell et al. [Totterdell P, Holman D, Hukin A (2008) Social networkers: Measuring and examining individual differences in propensity to connect with others. Soc. Networks 30(4):283–296] propensity-to-join-others scale that we used in study 2 and the Obstfeld [Obstfeld D (2005) Social networks, the tertius iungens orientation, and involvement in innovation. Admin. Sci. Quart. 50(1):100–130] tertius iungens scale overlapped not only conceptually, but also empirically, and that these measures of tertius iungens were distinct from mediation- and separation-brokering propensities [Grosser TJ, Obstfeld D, Labianca G, Borgatti SP (2019) Measuring mediation and separation brokerage orientations: A further step toward studying the social network brokerage process. Acad. Management Discoveries 5(2):114–136]. In study 2, we used a natural experiment to examine the tertius iungens brokering propensities of 876 identical and 625 fraternal same-sex twins. We found that brokering propensity was lower for women than for men, although the propensity toward sociability in terms of making friends and acquaintances was lower for men. We also found that for women, relative to men, tertius iungens brokering propensity was largely affected by environmental influences, such as the experience of stereotyping and discrimination, rather than representing an inherited disposition. Moreover, the differences between men and women with respect to brokering were mitigated for empowered samples, such as well-educated or entrepreneurial individuals. Our research asks new questions about how environmental pressures and empowerment affect social networking. Gender differences in brokering may be amenable to mitigation through empowering practices that include education and entrepreneurial experience.

Levers of change: using mathematical models to compare gender equity interventions in universities

Women are under-represented in academic staff in universities worldwide. Our work builds on other studies of 'demographic inertia'. We find that time will not bridge the gender representation gap in academia, and echo others in saying bold actions are required to reach parity. Our work then uses New Zealand's unique system of scoring individual research performance to test empirically which levers universities should pull, and in which combinations. We combine individual research performance scores with 20 years of data from one university to parametrize a rank-structured mathematical model using Leslie matrices. Our model compares three key levers of change at universities' disposal-hiring, promotion and attrition. We apply the model to a bifurcated population of university staff-those with high research activity, and those who are moderately active-based on their national research quality score. We then test levers in various combinations that management could pull to improve gender representation. We find that the solutions are different for the high versus moderate research performers. For individuals with high research activity, universities should concentrate on equitable hiring practices. For those with more moderate research activity, more equitable promotion practices hold the key.

'Faceless monster, secret society': Women's experiences navigating the administrative burden of Australia's National Disability Insurance Scheme

Previous research has indicated that administrative burdens are particularly high in personalised funding schemes such as the Australian National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), because these schemes are predicated on very high levels of self-advocacy. Administrative burdens tend to be inequitably distributed, thereby entrenching existing social inequalities. This is the first study to look at the lived experiences of administrative burden within the NDIS explicitly-and particularly those of women, who are underrepresented within the scheme. The research involved qualitative interviews with 30 women with disability who were either NDIS participants or had considered applying for the NDIS. We argue that like other marginalised groups, women with disability are experiencing significant administrative burdens within the NDIS, which are barriers to obtaining sufficient disability support. Based on this finding, we recommend the NDIS implement a gender strategy, as well as address burdensome administrative processes in general.

Perceived Barriers to Professional Equality Among Women in Gastroenterology

Although significant progress relating to professional equality among men and women in medicine has been made over the past few decades, evidence derived from the medical literature suggests that inequity persists with respect to income, attainment of leadership positions, and professional advancement. These inequities have been observed to be more pronounced in gastroenterology. Literature relating to gender-specific barriers to professional equity in gastroenterology is limited. This qualitative study explored perceived barriers to professional equality among women in gastroenterology in Canada through focus groups using a World Café Approach. Several perceived barriers to professional equality were identified. Identification of barriers to professional equality is an important first step to creating meaningful interventions that address the root causes of gender-related inequity in gastroenterology.

Bringing the Social Back into Sustainability: Why Integrative Negotiation Matters

Although economic and environmental paradigms of sustainability in organizations are highly researched, more work is needed to understand the mechanisms concerning the impact of social factors. Given the importance of social sustainability in current organizational contexts, we explore how gender dimensions (diversity, equality) and social capital dimensions (embeddedness, cohesion) can lead to the betterment of socially driven, sustainable outcomes. Our conceptual framework and propositions are centered on how negotiation—particularly in its integrative form—is likely to promote social sustainability. Our study contributes to the ongoing research on the latest socially driven trends of sustainability in organizations.

It’s a man’s world; right? How women’s opinions about gender inequality affect physiological responses in men

In two experiments, we examined how men respond to women who either challenge or legitimize societal gender inequality, and how gender identification moderates these responses. We hypothesized that men feel less threatened by women who legitimize (vs. challenge) the gender hierarchy, and evaluate these women more positively. To investigate these expectations, we assessed self-reports (Studies 1 and 2) and cardiovascular threat/challenge responses (Study 2). Both studies showed that men experience less negative emotions when presented with a woman who legitimized (vs. challenged) the gender hierarchy. Moreover, among men with a relatively high gender identification, a woman who challenged the gender hierarchy elicited a physiological response pattern indicative of threat, whereas a woman who legitimized the gender hierarchy elicited a pattern indicative of challenge. Results are discussed in terms of social identity theory, status threat, and self-distancing behavior.

Gender, Race, and Network Advantage in Organizations

Universities and colleges often engage in initiatives aimed at enrolling students from diverse demographic groups. Although substantial research has explored the impact of such diversity initiatives, less understood is the extent to which certain application strategies may continue to favor historically privileged groups, especially white men, as they seek admission to selective programs. With this study, I begin to address this gap by investigating the gender and racial implications of application endorsements—a common, often informal, network practice of signaling support for certain applicants that is shown to significantly boost an applicant’s chances of admission. Using unique data on the applicants and matriculants to a full-time MBA program at one elite U.S. business school, I first assess whether the endorsement advantage differs across demographic groups. Building on the social networks, selection, and inequality literatures, I then identify and test three key theoretical mechanisms by which the endorsement process may potentially benefit white men more than women and racial minorities. Although I do not find evidence in the studied program that the application endorsement is valued differently by key admissions officers or that it provides a different quality signal depending on the applicant’s gender or race, I do find that white men are significantly more likely than women and minorities to receive application endorsements. I conclude by discussing the implications of this study for understanding how gender and racial differences in accessing advantageous (often informal) network processes may undermine organizational efforts to achieve demographic equality and diversity.

Addressing Gender-Based Disparities in Earning Potential in Academic Medicine

IMPORTANCE

Gender-based disparities in compensation in academic medicine are recognized, but their estimated impacts on early career earning potential and strategies to mitigate them have not been well studied.

OBJECTIVES

To compare earning potential between female and male academic physicians in the first 10 years of posttraining employment and to evaluate the estimated impact of promotion timing, starting salary, and salary growth rate on earning potential.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

Using publicly available mean debt and compensation data for full-time employed academic physicians in the US from 2019 to 2020, starting salary, salary in year 10 of employment, annual salary growth rate, and overall earning potential in the first 10 years of employment were estimated for each gender by subspecialty. The estimated impacts of promotion timing and potential interventions, including equalizing starting salaries and annual salary growth rates, were modeled. Data analysis was performed from March to May 2021.

EXPOSURES

Gender and subspecialty.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

Starting salary, annual salary growth rate, year-10 salary, and earning potential in first 10 years of employment.

RESULTS

This cross-sectional study included compensation data from 24 593 female and 29 886 male academic physicians across 45 subspecialties. Women had lower starting salaries in 42 of 45 subspecialties (93%), year-10 salaries in 43 of 45 subspecialties (96%), mean annual salary growth rates in 22 of 45 subspecialties (49%), and earning potential in 43 of 45 subspecialties (96%) (median [IQR], $214 440 [$130 423-$384 954], or 10%, less). A 1-year delay in promotion from assistant to associate professor reduced women's earning potential by a median (IQR) of $26 042 ($19 672-$35 671), but failure to be promoted at all reduced it by a median (IQR) of $218 724 ($176 317-$284 466). Equalizing starting salaries could increase women's earning potential by a median (IQR) of $250 075 ($161 299-$381 799) in the subspecialties for which starting salaries for women were lower than those for men. Equalizing annual salary growth rates could increase women's earning potential by a median (IQR) of $53 661 ($24 258-$102 892) in the subspecialties for which mean annual salary growth rates were lower for women than for men.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

The findings of this study suggest that gender-based disparities in starting salary and early career earning potential are pervasive in academic medicine in the US. Equalizing starting salaries would address the majority of the differences in earning potential.

When Gender Matters in Organizational Negotiations

A person's gender is not a reliable predictor of their negotiation behavior or outcomes, because the degree and character of gender dynamics in negotiation vary across situations. Systematic effects of gender on negotiation are best predicted by situational characteristics that cue gendered behavior or increase reliance on gendered standards for agreement. In this review, we illuminate two levers that heighten or constrain the potential for gender effects in organizational negotiations: ( a) the salience and relevance of gender within the negotiating context and ( b) the degree of ambiguity (i.e., lack of objective standards or information) with regard to what is negotiable, how to negotiate, or who the parties are as negotiators. In our summary, we review practical implications of this research for organizational leaders and individuals who are motivated to reduce gender-based inequities in negotiation outcomes. In conclusion, we suggest future directions for research on gender in organizational negotiations.

Creating an inclusive community for BIPOC faculty: women of color in academia

Institutions of higher education are increasingly diverse with more women and people of color hired, but there remains much work to be done to ensure that underrepresented faculty feel supported in their careers, evaluated fairly for tenure and/or promotion, and made to feel appreciated and valued in their institutions. This perspective paper will review how interpersonal and institutional prejudice disadvantage women of color in academia in aspects of their professional responsibilities including teaching, mentoring students, research, and service. The combination of these challenges explains why women of color are not rewarded in the same way and do not advance as quickly in their academic careers compared to white men. After considering the subtle and direct ways that biases cause harm to women of color, we present recommendations to better support women of color in faculty roles with the goal of combating prejudice pertaining to both racial/ethnic and gender biases.

Women's experiences of accessing individualized disability supports: gender inequality and Australia's National Disability Insurance Scheme

BACKGROUND

Care services in industrialized nations are increasingly moving towards individualized funding models, which aim to increase individuals' flexibility, choice and control over their services and supports. Recent research suggests that such schemes have the potential to exacerbate inequalities, however none has explored gendered dimensions of inequality. The Australian National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is a major individualized funding reform, and has a female participation rate of only 37%, despite women and girls making up half of the disability population.

METHODS

The objective of the study is to explore possible gendered barriers to applying for and receiving adequate support through the NDIS, and to suggest directions for future research. We report on semi-structured interviews with 30 women with disability and explore their experiences with the NDIS and their perspectives on challenges associated with being a woman seeking disability support in Australia. We analyse the results using thematic analysis.

RESULTS

Most women in our sample reported differences between the experiences of men and women seeking disability support in Australia. Commonly reported gendered barriers to women being able to access the right supports for their disability involve a) confidence, negotiation and self-advocacy, b) gendered discrimination in diagnosis and the medical system, which has implications for disability support access, and c) support for and recognition of caring roles.

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest that women are not receiving equitable treatment with regard to the NDIS, and that further research and policy reform are needed to ensure that women with disability are not further disadvantaged as a result of the move toward individualized funding models.

One size does not fit all: the role of mentoring context in proactive individuals' scholarly impact

Purpose

Mentoring relationships have been proposed as a potential intervention to alleviate gender disparities in scholarly output. Yet, previous research has not provided a systematic understanding of the relationship between mentoring and scholarly output. The authors propose that individuals with a proactive personality are especially suited to leverage mentoring relationships to enhance scholarly outcomes. Structural features of mentoring relationships – gender composition, mentor supervisory status, and mentoring relationship length – provide cues that encourage the expression of proactive personality and result in higher scholarly impact.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected via surveys from faculty members in a US university and were matched with objective scholarly impact data. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used for hypothesis testing.

Findings

The impact of proactive personality on scholarly impact was more positive for women protégés with women mentors than for all other mentor-protégé pairings. Results also showed support for two hypothesized three-way interactions with mentor status and mentoring relationship length.

Originality/value

This research provides insights into the contexts where mentorship makes the most difference in protégés' scholarly achievement. Gender composition of mentoring dyads and mentor status are important boundary conditions that impact the effect of proactive personality on scholarly output.

Understanding and finding opportunities for inclusive mentorship and sponsorships in vascular surgery

Deliberate efforts are needed to address the lack of diversity in the vascular surgery workforce and to correct the current scarcity of diversity in vascular surgery leadership. Effective mentorship and sponsorship are crucial for success in academic surgery. In the present report, we have explained the importance of mentorship and sponsorship relationships for surgeons historically underrepresented in medicine, discussed the unique challenges faced by them in academic surgery, and provided a practical framework for fostering intentional and thoughtful mentor and sponsor relationships to nurture their careers.

Women in Academic Medicine and Leadership

Women lag in leadership roles in many fields, but in academic medicine, and particularly in Otolaryngology, women are even further behind. Understanding personal and cultural biases, changing institutional and systemic practices that perpetuate the challenges, and developing and supporting individual skills will all be necessary to improve the representation of women leaders in academic medicine.

Inequalities and Institutions that Benefit Good Apples

I describe three types of inequalities that benefit “good apples” and harm women in Academe: inequality of recognition, inequality of effort required, and inequality in societal institutions around home and career. I then describe three hard things that “good apples” can do, focusing on the institutional level: building awareness, changing structures and adapting social norms.

Gender bias in academia: A lifetime problem that needs solutions

Despite increased awareness of the lack of gender equity in academia and a growing number of initiatives to address issues of diversity, change is slow, and inequalities remain. A major source of inequity is gender bias, which has a substantial negative impact on the careers, work-life balance, and mental health of underrepresented groups in science. Here, we argue that gender bias is not a single problem but manifests as a collection of distinct issues that impact researchers' lives. We disentangle these facets and propose concrete solutions that can be adopted by individuals, academic institutions, and society.

Pharmacy students' perceived willingness and ability to negotiate for paid co-operative education positions

Background

Evidence of a gender wage gap has been identified across many professions, with some evidence in pharmacy. Negotiation is one potential strategy to address this gap and it is underutilized, especially among women. No studies to date have examined pharmacy student perceptions of negotiation when applying for co-operative education positions – a potential sign of willingness to negotiate for entry-level positions upon graduation.

Objectives

To examine pharmacy students' comfort with and ability to engage employers in negotiation over wage and other work-related considerations for mandatory and paid co-operative education work terms at the University of Waterloo (Waterloo, Ontario, Canada).

Methods

Two focus groups, one for female and one for male students, were performed with students who had completed at least one co-operative education placement. Focus groups aimed to elucidate students perceived ability to negotiate with potential employers, to identify strategies that educators can employ to better support students through the hiring and negotiation process, and to elicit student perceptions on the gender wage gap in pharmacy. Focus groups were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim, and data were coded inductively by two independent reviewers, employing thematic analysis.

Results

Three major and two minor themes were identified: Preservation of the relationship; Power differential and perceived ability to negotiate; Institutional support and training; Negative experience with negotiation and wage gaps; and the presence of a gendered approach to negotiation. Pharmacy students rarely engage in negotiation during co-operative hiring processes at the University of Waterloo, with some female students expressing hesitation to negotiate due to concerns about being perceived as “bossy”. Students of both genders felt poorly equipped to engage in negotiation with a potential employer, and lacked confidence in initiating such a conversation.

Conclusions

Students identified a number of factors which influence their ability and desire to negotiate wages during co-op placement, including the requirements and logistics of placements, the perceived power imbalance between students and potential employers, and a concern that any wage negotiation may overshadow the value placed by students on the opportunities to provide patient care. Educators can play a role in equipping students, especially female students, with tools to enter into conversations on wages with potential employers.

Children Show a Gender Gap in Negotiation

In the United States, there is an unfortunate yet pervasive gender gap in wages: Women tend to make less than men for doing the same work. One prominent account for why this wage gap exists is that women and men negotiate differently. However, we currently do not know whether differences in negotiation are a product of extensive experience or are deeply rooted in development. Here, we brought data from children to bear on this important question. We gave 240 children between the ages of 4 and 9 years old a chance to negotiate for a bonus with a female or a male evaluator. Boys asked for the same bonus from a male and a female evaluator. Older girls, in contrast, asked for a smaller bonus from a male than a female evaluator. Our findings suggest that a gender gap in negotiation emerges surprisingly early in development, highlighting childhood as a key period for interventions.

Gender Disparity and Potential Strategies for Improvement in Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology

Discrimination in the workplace when documented is illegal but is seen to still exist in some forms whether based on culture, race, or gender. Each of these disparities warrants further discussion and study because of their significant impacts on hiring decisions, career advancement, and compensation. In this article, the authors have focused their attention on gender disparity in the fields of neurology and clinical neurophysiology and shared the data currently available to them. At a time when the field of clinical neurophysiology has seen enormous growth, gender disparity in leadership and compensation remain. Despite the increasing number of women entering the fields of neurology and clinical neurophysiology, women remain underrepresented in national leadership positions. Many women physicians report experiencing gender discrimination despite increasing efforts by universities and medical centers to improve inclusivity and diversity. Equity and inclusivity are not the same and there is a disconnect between the increased numbers of women and their shared experiences in the workplace. Implicit bias undermines the ability of women to advance in their careers. For neurologists, data indicate that the latest gender pay gap is $56,000 (24%), increased from $37,000 in 2015, and is one of the largest pay gaps in any medical specialty. One third of the top 12 medical schools in the United States require that maternity leave be taken through disability coverage and/or sick benefits, and most family leave policies constrain benefits to the discretion of departmental leadership. The authors recommend strategies to improve gender disparity include institutional training to Identify and overcome biases, changes to professional organizations and national scientific meeting structure, transparency in academic hiring, promotion and compensation, and mentorship and sponsorship programs.