Old, White and Male? Documenting Exclusionary Networks in the Profession

Session Submission Type: Virtual Roundtable

Session Description

This roundtable discusses how network effects in political science perpetuate exclusion but can also lead to inclusion, including networks that shape name recognition, social media promotion, mentorship, co-authorship, publication, collaboration, speaker series invitations, and broader professional development opportunities. While many are aware of the disadvantages women face when it comes to citation, co-authorship, or publications, this roundtable explore other important factors that might explain gender gaps in professional advancement. Past scholarship has shown that networks leading to professional advancement are homophilous, i.e., that they tend to include individuals perceived as similar and exclude those perceived as different. In light of these findings, this roundtable considers the role of formal and informal professional networks that shape the opportunities for women, women of color, and people of color.

This roundtable discusses how professional networks in political science perpetuate exclusion but can also lead to inclusion, including networks that shape name recognition, social media promotion, mentorship, co-authorship, publication, collaboration, speaker series invitation, and broader professional development opportunities. Xydias, Atchison, and Och will discuss their findings from research conducted at the APSA 2019 annual meeting in Washington, D.C., about patterns in panel attendance. This study was designed to examine the existence of homophilous networks in hearing and sharing early-stage research. This study’s findings suggest that panel attendance is gendered: women attend other women’s presentations at higher rates, and men attend other men’s presentations at higher rates, even when we account for these presentations’ substantive research foci. These results indicate that conferences may indeed be a setting where exclusionary networks are produced or maintained, which suggests opportunities for intervention and improvement. Using this research as a starting point, the roundtable will bring together leading experts on the issue of diversity in the profession to discuss venues for intervention and improvement in order to diversify and open up homiphilous networks.

Sub Unit

• Related Groups / Women's Caucus for Political Science

Cosponsor

• Division 32: Race, Ethnicity, and Politics

Chairs

• Fernando Arturo Tormos Aponte University of Maryland Baltimore County

• Celeste M. Montoya University of Colorado, Boulder

Presenters

• Christina Xydias Bucknell University

• Fernando Arturo Tormos Aponte University of Maryland Baltimore County

• Natasha Behl Arizona State University

• Maricruz Ariana Osorio University of California, Riverside

• Amy L. Atchison Valparaiso University

• Susan Franceschet University of Calgary

• Jennifer M. Piscopo Occidental College

• Malliga Och Idaho State University