Source: www.newrepublic.com/article/122466/gender-bias-plagues-academia
Studies, mentioned in article, revealing unconscious bias:
Linguistic comparison of letters of recommendation:ds
“recommendations … tended to include descriptors of ability for male applicants, such as “standout,” but refer to the work ethic of the women, rather than their ability, by using words such as “grindstone.””
“… female, but not male, students applying for a research grant had letters of recommendation emphasizing the wrong skills, such as the applicants’ ability to care for an elderly parent or to balance the demands of parenting and research.”
Gender and letters of recommendation:
“letters of recommendation for women used more “communal” adjectives (like helpful, kind, warm and tactful), and letters of recommendation for men used more decisive adjectives (like confident, ambitious, daring and independent), even after statistically controlling for different measures of performance.”
Gendered language in teacher reviews:
“… men were more likely to be described as “knowledgeable” and “brilliant,” women as “bossy” or, if they were lucky, “helpful.””