Dealing with Gender Biases as an Instructor
Contributed by: Michelle Cohn (UCD, Department of Linguistics)
How can we talk about and address gender biases that affect us, as instructors, but also our students? Using a Gender Inclusive Schools Framework by Gender Spectrum (2017), we discussed two approaches to improving gender inclusivity as graduate student instructors. The first is an internal entry point, which “focus[es] on educators’ own knowledge and experiences of gender” (Gender Spectrum, 2017). This is a reflective step in which we update our definitions and knowledge of gender. The second consists of interpersonal entry points, or “interactions, intentional [or unintentional] behaviors & communications that reinforce the school’s commitment to gender inclusion for all” (Gender Spectrum, 2017). That is, we consider how we interact with others in either reinforcing and/or challenging gender biases at the college level.
Internal entry point: Defining gender
According to Gender Spectrum (2017) and Harbin (2015):
While our gender may begin with the assignment of our sex, it doesn’t end there. A person’s gender is the complex interrelationship between three dimensions:
– Body: our body, our experience of our own body, how society genders bodies, and how others interact with us based on our body.
– Identity: our deeply held, internal sense of self as male, female, a blend of both, or neither; who we internally know ourselves to be.
– Expression: a term that refers to individuals’ external display of their gender either through clothing, demeanor, social behavior and other factors. Also referred to as gender presentation.
We used the following “Gender Unicorn” infographic (Trans Student Educational Resources, 2018) to demonstrate that gender identity, gender expression, assigned sex, physical attraction, and emotional attraction are dissociable.
Internal entry point: Defining bias. We defined gender bias as “a preference or prejudice toward one gender [identity or expression] over [an]other. Bias can be conscious or unconscious, and may manifest in many ways, both subtle and obvious” (adapted from Diversity: A World of Change).
Interpersonal entry point: How does gender bias affect students? We watched the illuminating ten-minute documentary “'Ask Me': What LGBTQ Students Want Their Professors to Know”, published on the Chronicle for Higher Education. After, we discussed what gender inclusive practices we could incorporate in our own teaching.
Gender inclusive pedagogical practices: For example, we were interested in how using a student’s legal name could leave them feeling “outed” on the first day of class. For those of us who like to use students’ introductions as a way to help remember their names, we came up with one possibility: on the first day of class, have a sign-in sheet that allows students to note if they want to go by a different name and give all students the space to indicate their pronouns. Instructors can use that sheet on Day 2 to practice names. To further support students’ pronouns and help create a safe space, instructors/TAs can include their pronouns in an email signature, on the first day of class, and/or in the syllabus.
Interpersonal entry point: How does gender bias affect instructors? Gender biases affect instructors, as well. We discussed an empirical study that examined the effect of perceived instructor gender on student evaluations (MacNell, Driscoll, & Hunt, 2014) for an entirely online course. Interaction between the students and the two instructor assistants (equivalent to a TA) – one male identifying and one female identifying – was limited to grading and online feedback on students’ posts on a discussion forum. Each instructor taught two sections: (1) with their original name, and (2) with the other TA’s name. The goal was to disentangle gender biases from variation in teaching effectiveness. Overall, MacNell, Driscoll, & Hunt observed significantly higher evaluation scores for the perceived male instructors than perceived female instructors. On the other hand, there was no statistical difference in evaluation score based on actual gender, demonstrating that the differences observed for perceived gender were not based on teaching effectiveness.
Furthermore, we looked at the frequency distribution of gendered comments on “Rate my Professor”, compiled by Schmidt (2015). Of interest were adjectives such as “sweet”, “caring”, “teacher” vs. “professor”, “cool” for female/male instructors.
References
Chronicle of Higher Education (2015, September 03). 'Ask Me': What LGBTQ Students Want Their Professors to Know. Retrieved from https://www.chronicle.com/article/Ask-Me-What LGBTQ- Students/232797
Diversity: A World of Change. (n.d.). What is Gender Bias. Retrieved from http://www.diversity.com/page/What-is-Gender-Bias
Gender Spectrum (2017). Dimensions of Gender. Retrieved from https://www.genderspectrum.org/quick-links/understanding-gender/
Gender Spectrum. (2017). Gender Inclusive Schools Framework. Retrieved from https://www.dropbox.com/s/4x4wihzcsrrkohy/Gender%20Inclusive%20S chools%20Framework.pdf?dl=0
Harbin, B. (2016). Teaching Beyond the Gender Binary in the University Classroom. Retrieved from https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/teaching-beyond- the-gender-binary-in-the-university-classroom/#cred
MacNell, L., Driscoll, A., & Hunt, A. N. (2014). What’s in a Name: Exposing Gender Bias in Student Ratings of Teaching. Innovative Higher Education, 40(4), 291-303. doi:10.1007/s10755-014-9313-4
Price, J. (2010). The effect of instructor race and gender on student persistence in STEM fields. Economics of Education Review, 29(6), 901-910. doi:10.1016/j.econedurev.2010.07.009
Schmidt, B. (2015). Gendered Language in Teacher Reviews. Retrieved from http://benschmidt.org/profGender/
Trans Student Educational Resources. (2018). Gender Pronouns. Retrieved from http://www.transstudent.org/pronouns101
Trans Student Educational Resources. (2018). The Gender Unicorn. Retrieved from http://www.transstudent.org/gender
Comments
Post a Comment