Men and women differ in their perception of gender bias in research institutions

There is extensive evidence of gender inequality in research leading to insufficient representation of women in leadership positions. Numbers revealing a gender gap in research are periodically reported by national and international institutions but data on perceptions of gender equality within the research community are scarce. In the present study, a questionnaire based on the British Athena Survey of Science, Engineering and Technology (ASSET 2016) was distributed among researchers working in Spain. Consistent with the original UK-based study, women in research perceived a greater degree of gender inequality than men. This difference was consistent from junior to senior positions, within public and private universities as well as research centres, and across all research disciplines. When responses were compared with the existing UK-based questionnaire, researchers in Spain felt that women and men are treated more equally in the workplace, yet they perceived their home departments to be less supportive regarding matters of gender equality. The results of this study provide clear evidence that men and women do not share the same perceptions of gender equality in science and that their differing perceptions are relatively consistent across two major European countries. The fact that men occupy the majority of senior positions while not perceiving the same inequality as women do, may be critical when it comes to ensuring the fair ascent of women to senior positions in an academic system. These data encourage the implementation of measures to ensure that both men and women are aware of gender biases in research.现有大量证据表明，科研领域存在性别不平等问题，致使女性在领导层的代表性不足。各国及国际机构会定期发布科研领域性别差距的统计数据，但针对科研社群内部性别平等认知的相关数据却较为稀缺。本研究以英国《科学、工程与技术雅典娜调查（British Athena Survey of Science, Engineering and Technology, ASSET 2016）》为蓝本设计问卷，向西班牙在职科研人员发放。与该研究最初基于英国样本的结果一致，女性科研人员感知到的性别不平等程度显著高于男性。这一差异在初级至高级岗位、公立与私立高校及科研机构，以及所有科研学科中均保持一致。将本次问卷结果与现有英国版问卷进行对比后发现，西班牙科研人员认为职场中男女受到的对待更为平等，但他们却感知到所在院系在性别平等相关事务上的支持力度不足。本研究结果清晰表明，男性与女性对科研领域性别平等的认知存在显著差异，且这种认知差异在两个欧洲主要国家中均相对稳定。男性占据绝大多数高层科研岗位，却未像女性那样感知到同等程度的不平等，这一事实在确保女性公平晋升至学术体系高层岗位的过程中，可能具有关键影响。本研究数据呼吁出台相关举措，以确保男性与女性均能意识到科研领域存在的性别偏见。