Publish, Parent, and Perish: A Cross-national Comparison of the Gender Gap in Science

• In Event: 4284 - Section on Sociology of Sex and Gender Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 100min: Table 08. Gender in the Academy

Abstract

To what extent are women disadvantaged in academic science? How do different norms of gender traditionalism in distinctive contexts influence their careers? Previous scholarship on gender stratification implicitly assumes a universal idea of gender traditionalism that subordinates women in science. In this paper, relying on a survey with 5,756 scientists and follow-up interviews with 150 scientists, we examine gender stratification in the scientific communities of four national/regional contexts—India, Taiwan, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Relying on quantitative analysis, we find that, in all four contexts, women are disadvantaged if they are married and/or have children. Our qualitative data further disclose that while marriage and parenting exert a burden on women scientists, their male colleagues benefit. We also found that scientists in the four societies are constrained and enabled by different gender norms, and therefore respond differently to gender stratification in science. This study provides important theoretical tools for future scholars to examine occupational gender stratification in other countries.

Authors

• Di Di, Rice University

• Elaine Howard Ecklund, Rice University