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Gender Equality in STEM

Section 2: Unconscious bias

Gender equality in STEM

Section 2: Unconscious biasThis version of the content may include video, images and interactive content that may not be optimised for your device.

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Gender Equality in science, technology, engineering and

mathematics (STEM) has been developed by Equality Challenge

Unit in partnership with Opening Educational Practices in Scotland

Page 2 of 52 1 October 2018

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Contents Introduction

2.1 Background

2.2 Introduction to unconscious bias – basic concepts

2.3 Unconscious Processes

2.4 Daniel Kahneman and ‘thinking fast and slow’

2.5 Example: how do unconscious biases and gender

affect science? Examining the Moss-Racusin study

2.6 What does this mean for classrooms and in

schools?

2.7 Understanding different types of unconscious bias

2.8 Aspects of unconscious bias: confirmation bias

2.9 Aspects of unconscious bias: stereotype threat

2.10 What can we do about it?

2.11 Teacher discussion and classroom facilitation

2.12 Group session – discussing the experience of

teaching gender equality and exploring unconscious

bias

2.13 Group session – action planning





In this section we will look at:

What is unconscious bias?

Gender bias in science – how can it be explained?

Impact of unconscious bias – how does it impact

pupils experiences and subject choices?

Confirmation bias and stereotype threat

Unconscious bias and what we can do about it

Learning outcomes for section 2By the end of this section you will:

Understand the concept of unconscious bias

Explore how unconscious bias and gender inequality

influences teaching in relation to STEM, as well as

pupil choices and experiences

Have increased confidence in delivering gender

equality and unconscious bias materials in classroom,

including facilitating pupil conversations and learning

in relation to subject choices and school experience





2.1 BackgroundIn the previous section, you explored the structural nature and

harm of gender inequality and stereotyping, as well as the causes

of female underrepresentation in STEM. You also had a chance to

reflect on your own practice and classroom experience in relation

to these ideas.

One of the concepts mentioned in the first section was

unconscious bias:

“Casual reliance on stereotypes leads to unconscious bias in all

areas of girls’ lives. If this is left unchallenged, girls and young

women find their cultural straightjackets tightened and they are

less likely to say ‘YES’ to STEM. Stereotypes and unconscious

bias undermine real choice. We must start to take them seriously.

…the need to challenge pervasive unconscious biases and

stereotypes is largely only ever given lip service – if that.

Undermining cultural messages and social norms represent

invisible roadblocks to the success of girls and women. Such

barriers are invisible precisely because they are so deeply

embedded.”

(Sciencegrrl, The case for a gender lens in STEM)




http://sciencegrrl.co.uk/assets/SCIENCE-GRRL-Stem-Report_FINAL_WEBLINKS-1.pdf


But what does ‘unconscious bias’ mean, and what can we do

about it?

This section is about exploring the way the brain processes

information and makes shortcuts in doing so. We need to devise

strategies to interrupt that processing and to prevent it having a

negative impact on our behaviour and our decisions. This relates

to our behaviour and decisions in every part of our lives, both

inside and outside of the classroom.

We are going to:

Explore the brain’s processing short cuts.

Become more aware of how that processing impacts

on our behaviour and decision making in a school and

classroom environment, for both pupils and teachers.

And increase our awareness of strategies to manage

those short cuts.





2.2 Introduction to unconscious bias – basic conceptsDefinition:

Unconscious bias is a term used to describe the associations that

we hold, which, despite being outside our conscious awareness,

can have a significant influence on our attitudes and behaviour.

Regardless of how fair minded we believe ourselves to be, most

people have some degree of unconscious bias. This means that

we automatically respond to others (e.g. men and women, people

from different racial or ethnic groups) in different ways. These

associations are difficult to override, regardless of whether we

recognise them to be wrong, because they are deeply ingrained

into our thinking and emotions. Unconscious bias refers to a bias

that we are unaware of and which happens outside of our control.

It is a bias that happens automatically and is triggered by our brain

making quick judgments and assessments of people and

situations, influenced by our background, cultural environment and

personal experiences.

Not all bias is unconscious. Unconscious bias is defined as

different from intentional or conscious bias, such as racism, sexism

or homophobia. One of the key aspects of unconscious bias is that

these biases can and often do run counter or opposite to the

stated values of an individual. In this way, unconscious bias can Page 7 of 52 1 October 2018




help explain how people who value and support gender equality

can still be involved in biased decisions or actions.

Artificial intelligence, www.openclipart.org, Creative Commons Zero 1.0 Public

Domain License

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2.3 Unconscious Processes

Iceberg, pixabay.com, Licensed as CCO

View description - Iceberg, pixabay.com, Licensed as CCO

Our unconscious biases are particularly powerful because they

operate below the level of our conscious minds.

Sigmund Freud knew that the unconscious was far vaster and

more powerful than the conscious. He described it as an iceberg:

far more under the surface than above. Eric Kandel, a

neuroscientist at Columbia University who received a Nobel Prize

for his work on memory, was once pressed to say how much of the

mind works unconsciously; he gave an estimate of 80 to 90%. The

specific percentage is probably not important. The point is that

experts agree about how powerful our unconscious minds are, and

how influential they can be unless we take steps to develop the

necessary skill to mitigate their impact.

The individual unconsciousSo how does unconscious bias work for us as individuals?





Unconscious bias is not the preserve of the few - virtually every

one of us is biased towards something, somebody, or some group.

Howard Ross, the Founder and Chief Learning Officer of Cook

Ross, a leading US consultancy working in this area, said “our

fundamental way of looking at and encountering the world is driven

by a hard-wired’ pattern of making unconscious decisions about

others based on what feels safe, likeable, valuable and competent”

(Ross, 2008)

Ross makes a useful point that our unconscious biases have

evolved as a way of distinguishing friend from foe and of keeping

ourselves safe from danger. They have in the past been useful to

us, in dangerous situations they may continue to be, but how

relevant or appropriate are they in a classroom or school

environment?

Our unconscious thoughts and interpretations happen much

quicker than our conscious ones. Typically they take place below

the level of consciousness, about 250 milliseconds before our

conscious processes engage.

When we meet someone the information available to us is

cognitively overwhelming and we can’t process it fast enough, so

instead we routinely and rapidly sort people into groups based on

stereotypes, the cultural environment around us and our personal

experiences, rather than think of them as unique. This allows us to Page 10 of 52 1 October 2018




save time and effort and to give our attention to other tasks or to

more novel information.

Think about how quickly you make a decision about who to sit next

to on the bus or share a table with in a café or cross the road to

avoid. Are you even aware that you are making a decision?

Activity 1Can you make a list of characteristics which might elicit an

unconscious response?

Provide your answer...

View discussion - Activity 1

Categorising people in this way can guide our actions towards

others on the unconscious assumption that the individual

possesses traits included in the stereotype associated with the

group we put them in. Clearly this has implications for the accuracy

and fairness of our decision making.

In your learning log, write down a short summary of what you

understand unconscious bias to be, then consider and note how

an unconscious response might influence your views or actions in

a school or classroom environment.





2.4 Daniel Kahneman and ‘thinking fast and slow’Daniel Kahneman is a Nobel Prize winning psychologist who has

undertaken extensive research on human judgement and decision

making.

Kahneman makes a distinction between effortless intuition and

deliberate reasoning. He has found that what he calls our "System

1"—our automatic, intuitive mind—usually lets us navigate the

world easily and successfully. But, when unchecked by "System

2"—our controlled, deliberative, analytical mind—System 1 also

leads us to make regular, predictable errors in judgment.

System 1 is in charge of almost everything we do. Most of

everything we do is skilled, and skilled activities are largely carried

out effortlessly and automatically. That even includes routine

conversation; it's very low effort. System 2 is slow and clunky but

capable of performing complicated actions that System 1 cannot

carry out.

Activity 2Please answer the following questions in the box below::

2 + 2 =





17 x 24 =

2 + 2 =17 x 24 =

View answer - Activity 2

When I ask you 2 plus 2, for most people a number comes to

mind. That is System 1 working. You didn't have to compute it, you

didn't have to do anything deliberate, it just popped out of your

associative memory.

However, if I ask 17 times 24, for most people no number comes

to mind—you'd have to compute it (408). And if you computed it,

you'd be investing effort. Your pupils would get larger, your heart

rate would accelerate, and you'd be working. That's System 2.

System 1 is useful because it is quick, often effortless and helps us

to make sense and navigate a rapidly changing environment. But,

System 1 can sometimes lead us astray when it's unchecked by

System 2.

Activity 3Try and answer the following question as quickly as possible:

A bat and a ball cost £1.10 in total. The bat costs £1 more than the

ball. How much does the ball cost?






The problem, Kahneman says, is that System 1 is a storyteller. It

tells the best stories that it can from the information available, even

when the information is sparse or unreliable. We use the

information we have as if it is the only information. We don't spend

much time saying, "Well, there is much we don't know." We make

do with what we do know. So if what we know is based on

stereotypes, the views of our parents, authority figures and peers,

then that is what our system one will use. System one is where our

unconscious biases reside.

We can use system 2 to help us to control system 1 and so to

avoid behaving in a way that is in accordance with unconscious

bias. But because System 2 takes effort, it is capable of being

distracted by other demands. So if we are stressed or anxious, it is

more difficult to access System 2.

(Kahneman, 2003)

Activity 4:Assign the following words to either system 1 or system 2 thinking:

Word: System 1 System 2Automatic Slow Low effort Default process High effort Provide your answer... Inhibitory Page 14 of 52 1 October 2018




Implicit Explicit Controlled Small capacity Large capacity Rapid

View answer - Activity 4:

What might this mean for us in relation to STEM and gender? Note

down your thoughts in your learning log.





2.5 Example: how do unconscious biases and gender affect science? Examining the Moss-Racusin studyMoss-Racusin et al (2012) had staff in science faculties in US

colleges rate the application of a student for a position as a

laboratory manager.

The same application was used 127 times and randomly assigned

either a female (64 times) or a male (63 times) name.

The staff selectors rated male applicants as significantly more

hireable than female applicants. They also chose a higher starting

salary and offered more career mentoring to male applicants. The

gender of the staff selector did not affect responses – both male

and female staff exhibited the same bias towards men and against

women.

(Moss-Racusin et al, 2012)

There are two possible explanations for the result found in the

Moss-Racusin study.

Either: staff in science faculties have been consciously biased and deliberately chose male candidates because they wanted

and preferred men.





Or: staff in science faculties have been biased, but they were unaware they were doing it.

Activity 5Why do you think the participants (including female staff) in the

Moss-Racusin study discriminated against female applicants? How

might this relate to participation in STEM subjects in schools?


How does this relate to gender stereotyping of toys or the way we

talk about science in the classroom? Note down your thoughts in

your Learning log.





2.6 What does this mean for classrooms and in schools? Unconscious bias in schools can lead to differences in

achievement, progression and subject choices for male versus

female pupils.

As we showed in session 1, stereotypes about female inferiority in

mathematics and other STEM subjects are prominent across

society and unsurprisingly can lead to unconscious bias among

children and adolescents, parents and teachers. International

literature and research demonstrates this universal aspect of

human nature. Lindberg (2010) reviews the relevant research in

this area in relation to maths:

Parents believe that their sons' mathematical ability is higher than

their daughters'. In one study, fathers estimated their sons'

mathematical “IQ” at 110 on average, and their daughters' at 98;

mothers estimated 110 for sons and 104 for daughters (Furnham

et al., 2002; see also Frome & Eccles, 1998). Teachers, too, tend

to stereotype mathematics as a male domain. In particular, they

overrate boys' ability relative to girls' (Li, 1999; but see Helwig,

Anderson, & Tindal, 2001).

Lavy and Sand (2015) found that teachers systematically overstate

the math and science ability of boys. This leads to poorer test




https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3057475/#R26







scores for girls, lower progression and completion of advanced

maths and science subjects (and vice versa for boys). The

teachers (mostly themselves female) did not think they were

biased and the effect was larger for girls from lower socioeconomic

status (SES) backgrounds. A different study, Antecol et al (2012),

has found the most ‘biased’ teachers were females without maths

backgrounds. Other research shows that highly visible students in

school classrooms tend to be male, white and from higher

socioeconomic status backgrounds. This applies to those students

that make themselves more visible via consistent active

participation, as well as those that teachers actively call on and

regularly select and therefore make more visible themselves. This

can apply to science classrooms, as well as non-science

classrooms.

Case study: Harvard Business School Harvard Business School recently developed a ‘Gender Initiative’

to improve outcomes and experiences for female students.

Investigations had found gender discrimination in the Business

School’s classrooms, sexism prevalent in the school environment

and sizeable achievement and satisfaction gaps between female

and male students.

One of the main areas of focus in the Gender Initiative was the

learning space - the classroom environment, curriculum and





interactions with teaching staff. The curriculum didn’t reflect female

experiences in business or foster a sense of belonging among

female students. Only 1 in 10 of the case studies produced and

used in the Business School featured a female lead role (case

studies are one of the main forms of instruction in business

schools). Additionally, while class participation is a large

component of final grades, teaching was conducted informally and

performance assessed after classes, based on the memory of

staff. This allows for unconscious bias in who teachers call on,

which students actively participate in discussions, and which

interactions are remembered and emphasised by staff afterwards.

Harvard Business School has been able to take effective action

and improve outcomes by making relatively simple changes, such

as increasing the presence of female characters in case studies

and using notetakers in classrooms to record and quantify

participation.

(Source: http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2016/5/4/tacking-

gender-inequality-at-hbs/)

Consider in your learning log in what ways might unconscious

bias have an impact on gender equality in your school and

classroom?




http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2016/5/4/tacking-gender-inequality-at-hbs/

http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2016/5/4/tacking-gender-inequality-at-hbs/


2.7 Understanding different types of unconscious bias

Aspects of unconscious bias We’re going to look now at common ways in which specific types

of unconscious bias can influence our behaviour. As you can see,

there are a range of different biases that have an influence on our

behaviour. Common biases, which will apply to just about

everyone in some way, include:

Affinity bias: or ‘in-group bias’ means being biased towards people

who make us comfortable or people who we think are like us. The

opposite effect is ‘out-group bias’.

Bandwagon effect: is a bias that appears because we often make

decisions primarily because other people do, regardless of our

own beliefs, which we may ignore or override.

Confirmation bias: we have a natural tendency to be selective in

the evidence we listen to and the evidence we disregard, as well

as how we interpret evidence, based on stereotypes and our

previous opinions and experience.

Salience bias: is our tendency to use the most easily available

information or traits when we make a judgment about a person or

a situation.





Stereotype threat: is a bias that affects our own behaviour based

on other people’s stereotypes rather than our own. It describes the

condition where we behave, or feel that we might behave, in a way

that confirms a negative stereotype about a group that we belong

to.

Have a think about the different types of bias, and in your learning log, note one or two that you think might apply to your behaviour in

some situations.

We’re going to focus on two types of unconscious bias in

particular, confirmation bias and stereotype threat, as these can

play a particularly important role in classroom settings, both for

teachers and pupils.





2.8 Aspects of unconscious bias: confirmation biasOne factor which can exacerbate our stereotypes and undermine

decision making is confirmation bias, as we have a natural

tendency to be selective in the evidence we listen to and the

evidence we disregard.

Confirmation bias works like this: You meet someone and

unconsciously categorise or judge them. The stereotypes and

societal norms linked to those categories are linked to that

individual.

You are more likely to notice and remember their behaviour which

is in keeping with the stereotypes/categories into which you have

placed them – thereby reinforcing your opinion of them in that

category. You are proving yourself to be correct.

You are less likely to notice and remember their behaviour which

does not fit within the stereotype or category.

Confirmation bias exists because our brains are designed to think

that we are right and to look for information that endorses or

confirms our beliefs. So investors and financial managers are often

over confident about stocks that they have picked, as they are

biased towards seeking out and interpreting evidence in a way that





confirms their original, positive assessment and decision to buy the

stock.

Once we have made even a small judgement or decision, our

brains start looking for evidence to confirm it.

Activity 6Watch this video for an interesting example of confirmation bias:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKA4w2O61Xo

The clip demonstrates that people often try to interpret evidence in

a way that confirms their original assessment (confirmation bias),

rather than using the information we gather to challenge our

assumptions.

Activity 7How might confirmation bias relate to gender equality or gender

stereotypes? How could it affect teachers in a school or classroom

environment?


This article goes into more detail on a recent study from Israel by

Lavy and Sand (2015), which describes a different way in which

confirmation bias can lead to differences in performance between

girls and boys, and subsequent course choices. These




http://www.npr.org/2015/09/01/436525758/how-teachers-unconscious-bias-play-into-the-hands-ofgender-disparity

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKA4w2O61Xo


researchers ran an experiment using students, one math test, and

two sets of math test scores.

One set of scores were given by the classroom teachers, who

obviously knew the children whom they were grading. The second

set of scores were from external teachers who did not know if the

children they were grading were either boys or girls. So the

external teachers were blind to the gender of the children.

The classroom teachers tend to give the girls lower grades in math

than the external teachers, and they give the boys higher grades.

Now, since the external teachers don't know the gender of the

students, this suggests the classroom teachers are biased. They're

giving the girls lower math grades than they deserve.

The researchers then tracked the same children into high school

and this different treatment and experience discouraged girls from

pursuing to high level courses in science and mathematics, and

had the opposite effect on boys.

While we are focused on women and STEM, confirmation bias has

the same, opposite effect on male pupil performance in reading,

arts and language. Teachers grade male pupils more harshly and

female pupils more leniently in these subjects, which further biases

the subjects pupils think they are good at, and which they then

want to study further in.





2.9 Aspects of unconscious bias: stereotype threatWe have focused so far on the impact that our unconscious biases

can have on our behaviour towards other people but they can also

impact on perceptions of self, in relation to stereotypes that we

think apply to ourselves.

Stereotype threat describes the condition where we behave or feel

that we might behave, in a way that confirms a negative stereotype

about a group that we belong to. Our knowledge of the stereotype

unconsciously influences our behaviour and leads to negative

performance.

Stereotype threat is one of the more extensively studied

phenomena in psychology and has been shown to influence, for

different groups, a diverse range of activities, including:

intelligence tests, memory tests, driving, sports and childcare

skills.

Stereotype threat works because:

I am aware that a stereotype exists that ‘x’ people are

not good at ‘y’ activity.

I know that I belong to ‘x’ group.





When I attempt to do ‘y’, the knowledge of the

stereotype affects my performance, motivation and

aspiration.

Pennington et al (2016) undertook a systematic literature review of

stereotype threat and found that there wasn’t one single

mechanism responsible for the negative impact on performance.

However, the implicit internalisation of a negative stereotype led to

increased anxiety, negative thinking and/or mind-wandering,

resulting in reduced cognitive capacity and therefore poorer

performance.

More information on stereotype threatThe term ‘stereotype threat’ was first used by Steele and Aronson

in 1995 who showed in several experiments that black students

performed more poorly on standardised tests than white students

when their race was emphasised. When race was not emphasised

the black students performed better and equivalently with white

students. The study showed that academic performance can be

harmed by the awareness that one’s behaviour might be viewed

through the lens of racial stereotypes.

Stereotype threat can lead to:

Poorer performance in assessments as the Steele and

Aronson study showed





Poorer performance in other tasks (in tests where

women were reminded of the stereotype that women

drive less well than men they drove less well than

men – and less well than they normally drove) In this

way stereotype threat can trouble peoples’

relationships with aspects of their identity.

Acceptance of poor performance/distancing from the

task. Because people think they won’t be any good at

something they won’t express interest in it. This

means they won’t be surprised when their

performance is poor or try to improve.

Redirection of aspirations and career paths. Davies,

Spencer, Quinn and Gerhardstein (2002) showed that

exposing women to TV advertisements endorsing

stereotypes of women decreased the interest they

expressed in pursuing leadership roles or careers

involving quantitative skills. Thus stereotypes can

cause individuals enough discomfort to drop out of the

field and redefine their professional identities.

Activity 8How might stereotype threat relate to gender equality or gender

stereotypes? How could it affect pupils in a school or classroom

environment?






2.10 What can we do about it?Unconscious bias is powerful but the good news is that we are not

hard-wired to be discriminatory and we can learn to reduce the

impact of our biases on our behaviour. There are a number of

things we can do to mitigate our biases:

Short-term Accept we are all biased (avoid judgement, blame or

defensiveness)

Be honest about our biases (avoid the urge to only

name and admit socially acceptable biases)

Think about when we might be most biased

Decide what we will do about it

individually/organisationally

Long-term Try to break the links in the way we interpret and

process information and reduce our unconscious

biases

Ensure that we acknowledge we have unconscious

biases and do what we can to manage them

impacting on our decision making and behaviour





This is very much a starting point. It takes time and commitment to

do this and we need to remember that everyone has biases.

Record in your learning log any instances where biases have

been discussed in your school or classroom. How well has this

worked? If it’s never happened, how do you think it might work?

Reducing our levels of bias: turning theory into practiceSo what actions can we take to manage the impact of our

unconscious biases? This has been a question that has interested

a number of psychologists. Some of the techniques that they have

been tested and found to be effective are:

Challenging stereotypes We can challenge stereotypes and use counter

stereotypical information

Psychologists have done a number of studies that

demonstrate how challenging stereotypes and using

counter stereotypical information can impact on

unconscious biases.

For example, Dasgupta and Greenwald (2001) found

that pro-white implicit bias was reduced when

participants in their study were given positive





examples of black people (Denzel Washington) and

infamous white examples, such as Hitler. The study

highlights the importance for staff and students of

seeing people in roles that they would not

stereotypically be seen in.

Activity 9:What might challenging stereotypes look like in a school or

classroom environment?

View answer - Activity 9:

ContextWe can use context to explain a situation.

This technique looks for institutional or contextual explanations for

a particular outcome rather than looking for explanations in a

person’s nature. In one study participants were given scenarios

and were asked to assign situational explanations to them, rather

than dispositional (Stewart et al, 2010). For example women

performing less well in a maths test due to cultural barriers rather

than innate genetic deficiencies. In subsequent implicit association

tests they showed less gender bias than the control group that had

not been asked to focus on situational explanations.

Activity 10Page 31 of 52 1 October 2018




How might context be used in relation to gender and STEM

subjects like in a school or classroom environment?


Activity 11Based on what you’ve learned and read, what are the key features

of unconscious bias?


Activity 12 – Short quizYou can now attempt Quiz 2.




http://www.open.edu/openlearncreate/mod/oucontent/olink.php?id=133143&targetdoc=Quiz+2


2.11 Teacher discussion and classroom facilitation

Talking about biasBefore we start, we should acknowledge the discomfort and

anxiety that we can have at the thought of talking about our

individual biases - we worry about the judgements that others will

make and how it will affect our relationships with them and what

they might say to others. We worry about using the wrong

language and offending people. But if we are to have useful

conversations that help us make progress on equality and diversity

then we need to create spaces where we can talk about our own

and other people’s biases in a way that is respectful and help each

of us to recognize the negative impacts of those biases and

develop ways of minimising them.

During this session you will reflect on your own biases and may

share your thinking with the group if you feel comfortable doing so.

There is a chance that someone may be offended or upset with

what is said, that’s the risk with this kind of conversation, but if as

individuals and as a group we pay attention to how we interact

then we can create an environment that allows each of us to learn

from what we say and what we hear in a safe and positive way.

Respectful enquiryPage 33 of 52 1 October 2018




Adopting these principles can be a useful way of facilitating that

environment:

Listen to understand – active and engaged listening

with full concentration

Honour confidentiality – what is said in the group stays

in the group

Be mindful of the impact of what we say – it is up to

each of us to take responsibility for what we say and

how we say it and to avoid the use of language that

we reasonably might know could offend.

Assume good intention in others – if the language or

content offends then choose to believe it was not

intended to do so.

Give and receive caring feedback - that doesn’t mean

that things we find offensive go unchallenged. It is

important to speak up and to do so in a way that helps

the other person understand why they have caused

offence and to learn from it. And if we are the one

receiving the feedback then we take it as a gift

intended to help us learn.

Be curious about emotional responses – when we talk

or hear about biases we often have an emotional as

well as an intellectual reaction. Paying attention to that

emotional response can help us to understand more





about our own attitudes to diversity issues. In

particular, you may become aware of a bias and

realise that you don’t feel comfortable at the idea of

sharing. It might be useful to make a mental note and

think more about it after the session, particularly about

what you are going to do to manage its impact if it is

not something that you are able to talk about.





2.12 Group session – discussing the experience of teaching gender equality and exploring unconscious biasThis section of the course provides an opportunity to reflect, share

experience and discuss the ideas that you have encountered so

far. How you do this will depend on the number of people in your

study group and the time you have available. As experienced

educators you will bring your own ideas and experience to bear on

how you organise the discussion.

We suggest that you choose one person to facilitate and another

to take notes and share action points at the end of the session.

You should allow about an hour for the session.

After teaching and discussing the gender equality activities and

going through the unconscious bias content, each participant in the

study group will have recorded questions and observations in their

learning log. If your group is fairly small you may wish to go round

the group in turn – each tabling a question and taking time to share

perspectives and understanding. In a larger group it’s probably

better to pool questions on a flip chart and group together similar

issues before starting the discussion. In this case, breaking into

subgroups initially would be a good way to ensure that everyone’s

views are heard. You might want to split groups by gender in order

to explore differences of experience or you might want mixed Page 36 of 52 1 October 2018




groups so that groups can share experiences and build

understanding.

Suggested questions for discussion:

What were different teachers’ experiences of

introducing and discussing gender stereotypes with

pupils?

Were the concepts, techniques and resources helpful?

Did they work as you expected?

What changes would you like to see in your school in

relation to challenging gender stereotypes in the

classroom and in school? What actions would lead to

those changes being implemented?

Were there any common themes from what you wrote

in your learning logs in relation to unconscious bias?

Did the results of the implicit bias test on gender and

science surprise you?

What ideas did you find most helpful? Were some

more challenging than others?

How do you think pupils will respond to the ideas and

activities?

What changes would you like to see in your school in

relation to unconscious bias? What actions would lead

to those changes being implemented?





2.13 Group session – action planning The aim of this section is to develop a plan for trying out ideas with

your pupils. The learning outcomes for pupils are that at the end of

the activities they will be able to:

Understand the concept of unconscious bias

Explore how unconscious bias and gender inequality

influences perspectives and experiences of STEM

subjects

Discuss gender equality and unconscious bias,

including in relation to subject choices and school

experience

There is one set activity and further suggested outline activities

that cover these three learning outcomes and you can download

them:

Classroom Activities on unconscious bias

Working as a group (or in subgroups each with a note taker)

consider each activity in turn and look at the following questions.

Are you clear about the nature of the activity and its

relationship to the learning outcomes?

Does this work? Would you use it? Is it practical?




http://www.open.edu/openlearncreate/mod/oucontent/olink.php?id=133143&targetdoc=Classroom+Activities+on+unconscious+bias


What would you do about the issues it raises, during

the exercise and afterwards?

What support do you need to deal with the exercise

and afterwards?

Thinking about your pupils and your context and how

you would adapt the activity? In other words take the

outline and make it yours.

Decide when you will carry out the activity and with

which group.

Decide how you will evaluate the activity. You might

want to collect feedback from pupils. Or debrief with

another member of the study group once the activity is

complete.

You can now go to Section 3: Building STEM capital in the

classroom




http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/olinkremote.php?website=Gender%20equality%20in%20STEM&targetdoc=Section%203:%20Building%20STEM%20capital%20in%20the%20classroom

http://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/olinkremote.php?website=Gender%20equality%20in%20STEM&targetdoc=Section%203:%20Building%20STEM%20capital%20in%20the%20classroom


Activity 2Answer2 + 2 = 4

17 x 24 = 408

Back to Session 4 Activity 1





Activity 3AnswerAlmost everyone reports an initial tendency to answer “10p”

because the sum £1.10 separates naturally into £1 and 10p. [The

answer is 5p.]






Activity 4:AnswerSystem 1: implicit, automatic, low effort, large capacity, rapid,

default process.

System 2: explicit, controlled, high effort, inhibitory, small capacity,

slow.






Activity 5AnswerThe study found that the staff associated scientists with being

male, and therefore were more open to seeing the positives in the

male applications. Despite their conscious brain knowing that

women can be, and are scientists, their unconscious brain was still

making stereotypical associations which impacted on their

interpretation of the CV.

Moss-Racusin et al (2012) concluded in the article: “[Scientists]

tendency to unintentionally use different standards when

assessing women relative to men.”

They also drew wider conclusions about the impact on

participation and engagement of women in STEM: “Bias against

female undergraduates … undermine[s] meritocratic advancement,

to the detriment of research and education.”






Activity 7AnswerA finding in educational research is that teachers spend a

disproportionate (roughly 2/3rds) amount of their time talking to

male pupils and are more likely to prompt, praise and encourage

male pupils, and give them space during and in front of the class.

These differences aren’t intentional, but often the result of

confirmation bias. Teachers are aware of gendered stereotypes in

relation to assertiveness and performance in certain subjects.

Teachers may unconsciously look for or encourage participation

from male pupils, and ignore or discount similar signs from female

pupils. Crucially, teachers are unaware of what’s happening and

believe they are being equal to male and female pupils, until they

view their videotaped classes.






Activity 8AnswerWhile the most comprehensive recent studies show no gender

differences in maths ability or difference in interest in science at a

young age, stereotype threat is important because of its strong

effect on pupil’s own perceptions, beliefs, performance and

selection of activities and environments.

Multiple studies show that parents' and teachers' stereotypes

about gender and mathematics predict children's perceptions of

their own abilities, regardless of the actual ability of the children.

The studies show that these stereotypes and their internalisation

by pupils, influence both their performance and course choices.

As early as primary school, girls repeatedly report lower

mathematics competence compared to boys, despite no actual

difference in ability. Effects of stereotype threat on performance

have been demonstrated in children as early as nursery/pre-

school.

While we are focused on women and STEM, stereotype threat has

the same, opposite effect on male pupil self-perception and

attitudes towards studying, which might contribute to some boys’

lower academic performance.





You can take a simple online test to examine unconscious bias in

relation to gender and science here

https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html. Record in your

learning log any reflections about the results of the test. You

might find it helpful to discuss the results with your colleagues.





https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html


Activity 9:AnswerHow to challenge stereotypes

Consider the diversity of examples used in teaching

materials, for instance, using the Equate Leading

Women of Scotland report

http://www.equatescotland.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/

2016/12/Leading-Women-of-Scotland-2016.pdf

Follow twitter feeds and sign-up to mailing lists which

provide alternative viewpoints, such as Ada’s list email

group or the #womeninscience and #womeninstem

hashtags on twitter.

Interact with events like International Women’s Day

and Black History Month (challenging the idea that

history/leadership/power/achievement are male and

white domains)

Consider the imagery used in publications and

materials

Challenge people (cautiously and respectfully) on

stereotypes which they use (can be as simple as

saying ‘or she’ if someone refers to a job role as ‘he’).





http://www.equatescotland.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Leading-Women-of-Scotland-2016.pdf

http://www.equatescotland.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Leading-Women-of-Scotland-2016.pdf


Activity 10Answer

Be active in suggesting alternative explanations, so

that dispositional/internal explanations do not become

normal (as individuals identify the occasions when you

accept dispositional explanations and begin to

challenge them – start with any statement that

suggests behaviour is rooted in genetics (it doesn’t

matter that some may be). For instance, if people

suggest subject or career choices are due to genetic

or natural differences between men and women, you

could discuss the influence of societal stereotypes

and the views of parents and peers (self-policing) as

discussed in section 1.

Be consciously aware of examples in the curriculum,

media and cultural environment where dispositional

explanations are promoted and actively consider

alternative explanations with pupils.

Don’t be afraid to discuss structural inequality, gender

stereotyping, sexism or to challenge these things

when you see them.






Activity 11Answer

As individuals and as organisations we make short

cuts and assumptions based on our cultural

environment, stereotypes and experiences

These unconscious shortcuts impact on how we view

and interpret people. We process a person’s

characteristics such as ethnicity, gender, age and

disability before we even know we’ve done it. At the

same time we also link that person to all the supposed

‘knowledge’ we have of the category with which we

have labelled them. The stereotypes and societal

assumptions and personal experiences that have

framed the category become linked to the individual.

Crucially, this leads us to make decisions based on

stereotypes and cultural norms, and not based on

evidence and sound rationale






Activity 1DiscussionGender, ethnicity, religion/belief, perceived or known sexual

orientation, attractiveness, age, disability, height, weight, clothing,

dress, piercings, tattoos, haircut/colour, body language, accent,

personality






Artificial intelligence, www.openclipart.org, Creative Commons Zero 1.0 Public Domain LicenseDescriptionBack to Session 2 Figure 1





Iceberg, pixabay.com, Licensed as CCODescriptionimage comparing the large percentage of an iceberg that is below the water with the proportion of the brain that makes up the unconscious

Back to Session 3 Figure 1




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