Sage on the Stage: Women's Representation at an Academic Conference

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Sociology of Science

Background:

• Conference presentations are crucial for career advancement and shaping perceptions of success in a field.
• Gender representation in scientific discourse is vital, especially for underrepresented groups like women.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze gender representation among speakers at a major social and personality psychology conference over 13 years.
• To investigate the influence of symposium chairs' gender on the representation of female speakers.

Main Methods:

• Longitudinal analysis of speaker data from a prominent social and personality psychology conference (13-year period).
• Statistical examination of gender distribution among presenters.
• Analysis of the relationship between symposium chair gender and speaker gender composition.

Main Results:

• Women were underrepresented as speakers overall, though this disparity decreased over time.
• Symposia chaired by women had a significantly higher proportion of female speakers (nearly 50%) compared to those chaired by men (one-third).
• Gender representation varied by academic rank and research topic, with women underrepresented at lower ranks but not as full professors.

Conclusions:

• Symposium chairs play a critical role as gatekeepers in influencing gender diversity among conference presenters.
• Addressing gender underrepresentation requires systemic changes, including promoting female leadership.
• Further research into topic-specific and rank-specific disparities is warranted to ensure equitable participation.