Gender Bias in der Wissenschaft
Resources For Reducing Gender Bias
We cannot eliminate implicit bias ultimately, but under certain conditions, people can be sensitized to relevant issues so that, for example, gender bias is reduced. Support from an organization's management level is necessary to recognize and anchor the topic as a task and challenge for the entire organization. In addition, structural measures are required at various levels, which must be accompanied by constant monitoring.
The following videos, guides, checklists, and practical handouts provide initial orientation on gender bias in academia and research. The links will take you to the respective pages if the videos are not embedded directly on our site. In addition to introductory materials that contribute to the general understanding of (gender) bias and focus on the topic of bias in academia and research, specific materials on awareness raising, recruitment and selection processes, and materials for gender-sensitive teaching are available.
Introductory videos
The following videos are introductions to bias in academia and research: They provide an overview of bias, how it is researched, and the specific issues in academia and research that need to be addressed to identify and reduce bias. The videos vary in length from a few minutes to hour-long lectures.
The Academy of Science, The Royal Society, released the informative animated video Understanding unconscious bias, which explains bias in basic terms. An accompanying handout with basics, counter strategies, and action orientations is available here. [2:59 min]
- In its toolbox, Freie Universität zu Berlin provides an introductory video by Dr. Sara-Jane Finlay on "Unconscious bias and its impact on equal opportunities“
- The WEPAN Women in Engineering ProActive Network research network provides two videos and an online course that explain the topic Unintended Bias in Engineering Education. As an introduction, they are suitable for interested parties outside of engineering education.
- The UCLA University of California Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion website provides numerous videos introducing the topic of implicit bias. The videos include animations and short lectures to highlight basic bias reduction studies and strategies. The following links will take you to the individual pages of each of the three- to five-minute videos:
Preface: Biases and Heuristics
Lesson 2: Attitudes and Stereotypes
Lesson 4: Explicit v. Implicit Bias
Lesson 6: Countermeasures
This video is also suitable for training managers on bias reduction measures in recruitment and appointment procedures.
Lesson 1: Schemas
Lesson 3: Real World Consequences
Lesson 5: The IAT
Hidden Injustice: Bias on the Bench
In addition, there are now countless presentations by experts and interviews with scientists on the topic of gender bias. A selection is available under the following links:
Dr. Julia Sperling, neuroscientist and partner at McKinsey & Company, explains in her speech “Unconscious Bias and Ingrained Beliefs“ how bias arises and can be influenced. She addresses aspects of female leadership and the mini-me effect. [5:59 min]
In the Immaculate Perception presentation, Jerry Kang, Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at UCLA University of California, demonstrates the connection of automatic perception patterns to Explicit and Implicit Bias. The presentation slides and selected research examples illustrate the procedures of bias research. [13:58 min]
Caroline Simard provides an introductory and a summary of key study findings on bias in science in the Implicit Bias in Science interview with the Berkeley Lab research facility. [16:22 min]
The Creating a Level Playing Field lecture from the Michelle Online Feminism Conference. R. Clayman Institute for Gender Research at Stanford University presents essential aspects of gender bias and individual counterstrategies of each interviewee. [25:04 min]
Facebook Learning & Development's Managing unconscious bias workshop video is available in individual video modules. It includes short presentations on different types of bias and highlights counterstrategies in the work context that should lead to more successful collaboration. [1:05:16 std]
At the 2012 Annual Meeting of the LCLD Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, Jerry Kang's speech highlights bias in the organisational context and among lawyers* using classic studies. The lecture is available in individual short video excerpts. In the Nice Ladies video excerpt, Kang discusses gender bias in performance evaluations of women and men. In Emily vs. Lakisha, Kang highlights bias toward female applicants based on their names. He presents his findings on bias against white and Asian female lawyers in Are Ideal Litigators White?
Awareness videos
One strategy to identify and reduce (gender) bias is to make it visible and raise awareness among scholars and individuals who belong to black and minority ethnic groups. The following materials highlight forms of sensitization and visibility:
Drawing on the voting patterns for the U.S. election of Clinton and Trump, the panel organized by Roosevelt House at the City University of New York discusses How Did Clinton Lose? How Do Women Win? bias researchers Rudman and Moss-Racusin gender bias, sexism, and leadership positions, among others, using recent research on gender bias. [1:29:34 hrs]
Practical recommendations for personnel recruitment
In university personnel recruitment, bias can arise in performance evaluations and application interviews. To identify and reduce these, institutes and initiatives have also published manuals and checklists and numerous videos.
- The Equal Opportunities Office at Heidelberg University provides online tutorials on gender bias in the appointment process. Module 2 includes explicit information on performance evaluation criteria and bias patterns, as well as recommendations on how to avoid gender bias in performance evaluation. In addition to the three modules, the associated PDF is available from the home page. [14:39 min]
- A handout for commissions and panels on science careers and gender bias from the University of Vienna describes gender bias in subject cultures and in networks, publications, selection procedures and promotion, compatibility, and mobility.
- The University of Nebraska-Lincoln provides a compact handout and examples of formal and informal solicitations in the Best Practices Recruiting Guide for UNL.
- In STRIDE Faculty Search Resources: Conducting an Equitable Faculty Search the ADVANCE Office of Faculty Development at Northeastern University explains the individual steps of the search process. In Guidance for Conducting Interviews in Faculty Searches the spectrum of legally permissible questions for job interviews is shown in tabular form.
- In the booklet published by WISELI (Women in Science & Engineering Leadership Institute University of Wisconsin-Madison) Reviewing Applicants. Research on Bias and Assumptions, there are both examples of bias in job application reviews and recommendations to reduce it. In addition to this compact version, the detailed manual version Searching for Excellence & Diversity is also available.
- The detailed manual Searching For Excellence. Evidence-Based Strategies for Equitable and Inclusive Faculty Hiring from UCLA University of California provides nine chapters on the selection process, from assembling the selection committee to welcoming the new colleague(s).
- For business and academia, the Anti-Bias platform uses a checklist to show criteria for implementing an anonymous application process at the institutional level. Regarding the individual level, the platform provides for members of selection committees a collection of study results on bias during the selection interview as well as counter strategies.
Recruitment videos
Some institutes and initiatives have published videos to identify and reduce gender bias in recruitment. They are available via the following links and can be used in gender equality work:
The Bureau de l'égalité of L'Université de Lausanne shows in the animated film Eviter les biais de genre lors de nominations professorales (French; English subtitles) where gender bias is present in the selection process and how it can be avoided in this process. [04:15 min]
In the video Recruitment Bias in Research Institutes of the Institució CERCA (Catalan Research Centres Institute), individual intervention possibilities are presented by means of a role play in order to disclose and reduce occurring bias in the selection process. [07:59 min]
The role-play Interrupting Bias in the Faculty Search Process at the University of Washington presents possible interventions in bias situations in the selection process. The four selection committee members discuss applicants' qualifications for an advertised position in the video. Individual free activation via the website is required to view the short film. The accompanying handout explains various forms of bias occurrence, such as cloning or negative/positive stereotypes. [06:04 min]
Materials for managers and selection committees
The following guides help avoid gender bias in selection processes:
- The project "GEECCO Gender Equality in Engineering through Communication and Commitment", completed in 2021, provides a guide for jury members, reviewers, and employees of research funding organizations in their project report.
- Glaß and Mörth (2020) provide theoretical as well as practical approaches in their handout "Gender- und Diversitysensible Gestaltung von (Studien-) Angeboten wissenschaftlicher Weiterbildung".
- In 2018, the Institute for Social Research L&R in Vienna published the booklet "Gremien, Jurys, Beiräte und Gender - Sammlung von Beispielen für eine (gender-)gerechtere Vergabe" (committees, juries, advisory boards and gender - collection of examples for a (gender-)fairer awarding) to offer an overview of the topic from a gender perspective on the one hand; and to present practical examples on the other hand.
Materials for gender-sensitive teaching
Gender bias exists not only in academia and research but can also affect teaching. Gender-sensitive teaching can reduce or avoid gender bias in teaching.
The materials listed here can help:
- American Psychological Association published a "Bias-free-language" manual.
- American Psychological Association also published a "Bias-free-language gender" guide.
- American Psychological Association provides different "Inclusive-language guidelines" on their website.
- A toolbox of the Humboldt-University of Berlin provides practical hints for teaching.
- A guide for gender-sensitive teaching from the University of Münster
- A guideline for gender-sensitive teaching of the Georg-August-University Göttingen
- Publication of the State Conference of Hessian University Women's Representatives (LaKoF) "Genderkompetent: Gender in der Lehre hessischer Hochschulen Beispiele – Handlungsfelder – Perspektiven"
The videos can be viewed in full screen mode. To do so, start the video and then click on the full screen icon in the lower right corner of the video player.
