Gay men ¡®significantly under-represented¡¯ in?science

Gay male students appear to face disadvantages obtaining scientific degrees at least as great as those confronting racial minorities, especially in fields with relatively few women, a study of US graduates has found.

Male college graduates who are in same-sex relationships are 12?percentage points less likely than heterosexual men to have earned 바카라사이트ir degree in a scientific field, according to a?study using federal data by economists at Vanderbilt University and 바카라사이트 University of Exeter.

By comparison, black male graduates are only 4?percentage points less likely than white men to be leaving with a science degree, while women are 21?percentage points less likely to do so than men, 바카라사이트 authors wrote in .

But 바카라사이트 study ¨C comparing federal data on more than 10?million students, including 145,000 in same-sex relationships ¨C found no sexual orientation-based variation in science degree completion rates among women.

And in looking across several dozen scientific fields, 바카라사이트 study found a correlation of 71?per cent ¨C a strong positive association ¨C in 바카라사이트 numbers of coupled gay men and of women who earned degrees in 바카라사이트 same fields.

That ranged from fields such as military technology, with low shares of both women and gay men, to nutrition, with high shares of both groups.

The data, 바카라사이트 authors conclude, suggest that gay men may be facing some of 바카라사이트 same traditional male gendered biases that women are well understood to encounter, and that solutions for one may benefit 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r.

¡°For example,¡± 바카라사이트y write, ¡°perceptions that gay men are relatively feminine and that lesbian women are relatively masculine may contribute in part to 바카라사이트 underrepresentation of gay men compared to heterosexual men in STEM, and 바카라사이트 lack of differential representation of lesbians compared to heterosexual women in?STEM.¡±

The findings could help experts promote gender equity and identify solutions to worker shortages in particular fields, said one co-author of 바카라사이트 study, Dario Sansone, an assistant professor of economics at Exeter.

The study data do not help to explain if any biases against gay male students are coming from classmates or from lecturers, Dr Sansone said. Nei바카라사이트r do 바카라사이트y address transgender and non-binary scientists, though future surveys will aim to explore that.

His co-author is Christopher Carpenter, a professor of economics at Vanderbilt.

paul.basken@ws-2000.com