A new survey of 557 female scientists found widespread experiences of discrimination and alienation in the workforce that varied in interesting ways by race.
While all types of women reported experiencing these forms of discrimination in large numbers — and 100% of a sub-sample of 60 interviewed for the study reported at least one — the race differences are interesting:
- Black women were especially likely to need to prove and re-prove competence.
- Asian and white women, especially, received pressure to withdraw from the workplace after having children.
- Asian women were most likely to be pushed to perform a stereotypically feminine role in the office, followed by white and then Latina women. Black women rarely reported this.
- Latina and white women were most likely to feel supported by other women in the workforce; Black women the least.
- And almost half of Black and Latina women had been mistaken for janitors or administrative assistants, compared to a third of white women and a quarter of Asian women.
The study, by law professor Joan Williams and two colleagues, can be found here.
Lisa Wade, PhD is an Associate Professor at Tulane University. She is the author of American Hookup, a book about college sexual culture; a textbook about gender; and a forthcoming introductory text: Terrible Magnificent Sociology. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
Comments 7
Weekend reading | Of Means and Ends — July 4, 2015
[…] Nearly half of black and Latina scientists mistaken for janitors or assistants. […]
Shades of Milk & Linkspam (6 July 2015) | Geek Feminism Blog — July 7, 2015
[…] Nearly Half of Black and Latina Scientists Mistaken for Janitors or Assistants | Sociological Images: “A new survey of 557 female scientists found widespread experiences of discrimination and alienation in the workforce that varied in interesting ways by race.” […]
Interesting Read: Half of Black, Latina Scientists Mistaken For Janitors, Assistants | Now I ain't saying she a GoalDigger — July 7, 2015
[…] Approximately half of Black and Latina women in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields say they have been mistaken for janitors and administrative staff, according to a new study. […]
CanuckAmuck — July 9, 2015
But...but how can this be? Both Fox news and various internet intellectuals say that there's no racism in the U.S.!
[/sarcasm]
Nearly Half of Black and Latina Female Scientistz Report Being Mistaken for Janitorz or Assistantz | Moorbey'z Blog — July 18, 2015
[…] post originally appeared on Sociological Images, a Pacific Standard partner site, as “Nearly Half of […]
O — October 28, 2020
I've been trying to track this study down, but the link to the study leads to a "not found" page at the UC Hastings website. Was this study retracted, or is it still available somewhere?
daniyal abbas — May 3, 2021
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