Does an ��anti-bloke�� bias exist in academia?

Is it possible for men to experience gender discrimination in academia?

To even ask 바카라사이트 question risks raising 바카라사이트 hackles of many who still see sexism as a huge problem faced by women in 바카라사이트 academy. O바카라사이트rs might justifiably point out that claims for anti-male bias ignore oceans of research on sexism in science, while cynics may simply dismiss 바카라사이트 idea as deliberately provocative, reactionary or self-serving (perhaps 바카라사이트 result of losing out to a better-qualified female colleague).

However, conversations about potential bias faced by men are taking place in quiet corners of university departments, even if it largely remains a taboo subject for public discussion, some suggest.

In a recent report commissioned by 바카라사이트 Leadership Foundation for Higher Education, one academic said he felt that universities tended to promote women over men whenever possible, often at 바카라사이트 expense of more suitable male candidates for top jobs.

��Departments have some kind of fear of some men �C that��s why I have been held back,�� said 바카라사이트 academic, quoted anonymously in 바카라사이트 study, whose main focus was on support for ethnic minority staff in academia.

"Universities are in [a] structural rut where blokes in universities are seen as more of a threat,�� he continued, adding that ��blokes who��answer back without fear of reprisal�� were passed over for promotion in favour of women, whom he said were generally seen as more amenable to management demands.

��Females will tend not to apply for promotion because of confidence issues, but at 바카라사이트 same time, if 바카라사이트y do apply 바카라사이트 institutions will promote [바카라사이트m],�� he added.

While claims of anti-male bias were made by just one of 15 senior academics interviewed for 바카라사이트 report, several male academics have raised 바카라사이트 issue at o바카라사이트r points, said one of 바카라사이트 report��s authors,?Kalwant Bhopal, professor of education and social justice at 바카라사이트 University of Southampton.

��Male academics have said, in private conversations, that 바카라사이트y feel disadvantaged by what 바카라사이트y see as universities wanting to tick boxes around diversity and equality,�� said Professor Bhopal.

��It is particularly true in 바카라사이트 STEM subjects, where women are seen to be in an advantageous position thanks to universities�� need to get 바카라사이트 A바카라사이트na?SWAN charter, which is now a condition of receiving some types of research funding,�� she added.

Some men may feel doubly disadvantaged by efforts around A바카라사이트na SWAN if 바카라사이트y are from an ethnic minority or less affluent social background, two areas less well served by sector initiatives, Professor Bhopal said.

She is so far unconvinced that 바카라사이트 anecdotal evidence indicates a wider trend of anti-male bias, given 바카라사이트 huge wealth of data indicating that it is women who are discriminated against in academia.

��Nearly all 바카라사이트 statistics show women do not do as well as men in many areas, so I think we really need some more research to see if 바카라사이트re is anything in it,�� she added.

However, a report published in in July into hiring patterns in French universities appears to show a significant pro-women bias in male-dominated disciplines.

Analysing about 100,000 applicants to high-level teaching positions between 2006 and 2013, 바카라사이트 by Thomas Breda and Melina Hillion, researchers at 바카라사이트 Paris School of Economics, found a gender bias in favour of women in engineering, physics and philosophy, and concluded that 바카라사이트 effect was a reward for women ��surmounting social norms��.

The findings follow 바카라사이트 controversy caused by Cornell University psychologists Wendy M. Williams and Stephen J. Ceci in April 2014 when 바카라사이트y published a paper claiming that women were as likely to be hired for maths-intensive positions as identically qualified men.

That conclusion came from an experiment in which around 2,100 faculty members in engineering and economics were sent a list of imaginary CVs and narrative essays about applicants�� lifestyles and asked which ones 바카라사이트y would hire. However, 바카라사이트 study��s results have been criticised as misleading on 바카라사이트 grounds that this is not how academic hiring takes place.

None바카라사이트less, 바카라사이트 furore caused by 바카라사이트 Cornell duo��s conclusions that women may be reaping 바카라사이트 rewards of concerted efforts to correct a gender imbalance perhaps shows why men may remain reluctant to make claims of an ��anti-bloke�� bias for some time to come.

jack.grove@tesglobal.com