BrownBag Summary - January 08 - How do students/employees view instructors/managers based on gender?

Groups of women discuss provocative topics at locations in academia and industry throughout BC. The January 2008 topic was: How do students and employees view instructors and managers based on gender?

By: Michelle LaHaye

This topic made me reflect back to my undergraduate studies in engineering. Initially there were only two female faculty members and students’ comments about them were certainly less than complimentary. Over the years as new women joined the faculty the attitudes became more positive, however I am left wondering how much of the students’ initial judgments were based upon the individual’s proficiency at teaching and how much upon the fact that they were female in a nearly all male faculty.

When this question was posed at the BrownBag Lunch discussion at UBC several perspectives were presented from students and faculty. What stood out from this discussion was the wide range of experiences. One faculty member told how her female students will compliment her on her outfits. She doesn’t mind the compliments but knows that this would not happen if she were a man and is concerned that female instructors are criticised more harshly and are expected to be more than just smart and knowledgeable.

Another woman who had in the past instructed at a school told how she found that students would be far more critical of the women instructors, waiting and even looking for them to make a mistake, while with the male instructors, there was an atmosphere of respect from the students from the moment the class began.

One of the students in the discussion could not comment on how students would view female faculty since she had never had a woman instructor. This brings again to light the need for role models as she was unsure how to behave in her classes where she is the only female as well as demonstrating to the male students that women are as capable as men in these areas.

At NRC-IFCI, the facilitator presented some data from a study done on gender and teaching. In the study, the researchers found that the professor’s gender did not significantly affect a student’s performance [1]. Results of the study indicated that the effects of both student gender and instructor gender were of little practical meaning, accounting for only five percent of the variance in student satisfaction and overall performance. The group discussion agreed with this data, saying that their interest did not depend on the gender of their instructors. In addition, they said that instructors of either gender served as role models.

In addition they touched on some reoccurring themes related to leadership and women. It may seem obvious when stated but is somehow frequently forgotten in practice: men and women supervisors have different styles. But different does not equal bad. And although the styles might be different the skills required are not. Another theme was the issue of whether women are trying to act like men and men trying to act like women. People need to act like themselves and not assign gender to their actions. As they stated, “The only way to be powerfully successful, whether you’re a man or a woman, is to be who you are.”

When asked at the BC Hydro discussion about the perception of leaders and managers based on gender a few noteworthy statistics were mentioned.

 50% of executive at BC Hydro are women
 About 40% of next level of senior managers are women

In particular one attendee said that one of the factors for deciding to work at BC Hydro was the number of women in leading roles. This clearly indicates the importance of having women in leadership roles in a company for attracting new hires.

The group at BC Hydro then came up with a list of things needed to increase the number of female leaders.

 Mentor the women that are out there to encourage and support them.
 Avoid labelling leadership styles as masculine or feminine.
 Understand the behaviours and traits of good management.
 Increase the number of women in technical, engineering and trades positions. And showcase the women in these positions as role models.
 Recognize and accept success, including self promotion.

On an interesting note, all three discussions highlighted at some point the positive aspects of how women manage and instruct and how these are valuable and much needed skills. Women are detail-oriented, excellent at organisation, planning, communication and relationships. Given equal opportunities women will excel in leadership roles. In particular, women can be effective leaders for implementing change and this is an excellent opportunity for women to demonstrate their abilities to lead. Ultimately, real power comes from within and should never be confused with the official position.

[1] F.Hoffman, P. Oreopoulos, A Professor Like Me: The Influence of Instructor Gender on College Achievement, NBER Working Paper No. 13182, June 2007.