Closing the Gender Gap in Undergraduate Political Methodology Training

• In Event: Education and Replication in Political Methodology

Abstract

Although the representation of women and minorities in STEM has improved over the last few decades, a lack of diversity remains an issue across a range of fields (e.g. Porter and Serra 2018, APLU 2016). Within the field of political science, gender gaps are most pronounced in quantitative subfields, as indicated by the fact that only 19.9% of members in the methodology section of the American Political Science Association are women (APSA, 2017). Mirroring this broader trend in APSA participation, we see similar trends across political science undergraduate majors. As an example, our analysis of data from a large Southern university reveals that only 37.5% of political science students on the B.S. track are women (this is the track offering training in social science research and data analysis), while women account for 48% of B.A. track students (this track is aimed at enhancing students’ “critical thinking, written, verbal, and visual communications skills”). We believe that working to bridge such gaps at the undergraduate level will provide a first step in closing gender gaps up through the academic trajectory, in addition to providing students with skills that are highly desirable on the broader job market (Kirkeboen et. al 2016).

We argue that one way to close the gender gap within quantitative political science majors is to provide targeting messaging to students. Drawing from Porter and Serra (2018), we contend that role models matter and that providing female role models, coupled with gender-targeted information about the B.S. track (Tsui, 2007), will significantly increase women’s interest and enrollment in quantitative courses and degree tracks. In order to assess our prediction, we conduct an experiment in the breakout sections of Foundations of Political Science (POLS 200), a required course for all majors. The experiment consists of a “high-dose” or “low-dose” treatment, where students in the “high-dose” condition receive a 10-minute, female-friendly presentation on the B.S. degree track (with pictures and examples of women in the field), delivered by a female graduate student in political science. Those in the “low-dose” condition receive a 10-minute gender-neutral presentation on the B.S. degree track, delivered by a male graduate student in political science. All students receive one of the two treatments and to bookend each presentation, all students receive a pre and post test gauging interest in the B.S. degree, interest in our upper-level quantitative methods course (POLS 309) and interest in quantitative methods more broadly. We also track actual enrollment in POLS 309 in subsequent semesters to gauge whether the effects of the experiment hold over time.

Initial results reveal a significant effect of the high-dose treatment on the intent of female students to pursue a B.S. degree in political science, while this treatment has no effect on intent or interest of male students. The gender-neutral presentation (low-dose treatment) on the other hand, does not seem to bolster the intent to major or interest in the B.S. degree among either men or women. While preliminary, these results are promising and offer support for low-cost interventions for political science departments looking to enhance diversity and hopefully, provide first steps for enhancing female representation in political methodology more broadly.

Authors

• Brittany N. Perry, Texas A&M University

• Diana Z. O'Brien, Rice University