Characteristics And Pitfalls Of Effective Policy For Gender Diversity In The Sciences

Gender diversity is receiving considerable attention in policy interventions aimed at inclusion and equal opportunities, also in academia. Gender diversity among researchers can be beneficial for scientific progress and knowledge utilization. Yet women are still disadvantaged in all facets of academia. Even in the absence of performance differences, relevant statistics show a persistent leadership- pay, and funding gap. This is often attributed to implicit gender bias: women have less return on their academic investment and achievement than men do. Gender bias operates mostly subconsciously and the difference in opportunities for male and female scientists are often relatively small. Yet they can set in motion a self-defeating cycle where women are under-represented and are not supported, feel undervalued and become less motivated, and eventually start to disengage from work. Men as well as women often display and suffer from implicit forms of gender bias, even if it is unintentionally and is not always recognized as such. Consequently, diversity interventions are not always effective, in part because they lack sufficient support. We discuss several common traps that hinder the effectiveness of diversity interventions. In addition, we identify multiple characteristics of effective interventions. Evidence-based and context-dependent diversity interventions can foster a gender diverse academia.