Algorithmic sifting on the anonymous online ranking system RateMyProfessors.com has revealed some slightly sad news when it comes to gender bias.
It was found that the term “genius” was applied to male professors at least three times as many times as it was for women, depending on the discipline.
More than 3 million students thought that “brilliance” was delivered more often in the lectures of male teachers. Not to mention, when it comes to the right side of the brain, male professors are seven times more likely than female professors to be considered talented performers in the music realm.
What else do the male professors have over the ladies? Apparently they’re more knowledgeable, smarter, handsome, cute, charming, funny, and sensitive (um, where are they hiding?)
On the other end of the spectrum, the female professors aren’t so well received. They’re often described as bossy, aggressive, shrill, rude, condescending, and feisty. It sounds like a dysfunctional relationship to us.
The study did find that, despite this, women are seen as nicer than they’re male counterparts.
The findings were the result of an interactive chart that groups results from about 14 million reviews over a couple of months from RateMyProfessors.com. The graphing of pronoun-filled language reveals that gender is constructed by language used to describe traits and behaviours.
What’s worse, such stereotypes and bias came straight from the typing fingers of the next generation of the workplace.
Of course, it also highlights the challenges faces by females in the academic world –an industry typically dominated by men.
Check out the chart for yourself: all you do is enter any other word (or two-word phrase) into a box to see how it is split across gender and discipline.
#NOTABLE
Want more updates on the most Notable things happening so you know before your colleagues do? Get our exclusive newsletter here and follow us on Twitter for all the latest.