How does the selection for assertiveness and single-mindedness give rise to unconscious discrimination against women?
Here there are many answers. From the top down, when department chairs and search committees look for the best scientists, they tend to exclude those who are not demonstrably assertive and single-minded. This tends to eliminate women. In fact, the situation is worse, because the cultural bias against assertiveness in women puts even those women who are selected by the system at a disadvantage. They may be perceived as good scientists, but disagreeable people. From the bottom up, the mismatch between the cultural stereotypes of women and scientists makes it harder for girls to develop as scientists. They are constantly pushed towards other vocations. I hope that this is changing, but if so, the process has been very slow. This contributes to the familiar pipeline problem that we hear so much about today. There are not as many women as men in the pool at any level and the disparity increases as we go up the academic ladder. Those of us who are committed to increasing the participation of
