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There is a national interest in United States women’s underrepresentation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM); however, gender inequality in the social sciences has not received similar attention. Although women increasingly earn postgraduate degrees in the social sciences, women faculty still experience gender inequities. Consistent gender inequities include slower career advancement, blunted salaries, unequal workloads, work-life conflict, systemic gender biases, underrepresentation in positions of power, and hostile work environments. Cultural biases suggest that once women have achieved parity, gender bias no longer exists. This review challenges that notion by providing evidence from social science domains in which women are well-represented but continue to face systemic gender biases. We examine cultural influences on gender representation and career advancement in psychology, economics, political science, sociology, and anthropology. We make interdisciplinary comparisons of career trajectories and salaries using national data, documenting patterns across the social sciences. For example, women economists face gendered standards in publishing, and women political scientists are less likely to have their work cited than men. Furthermore, data show that salaries become stagnant as the representation of women in these fields increases. These disparities reflect cultural biases in perceptions of women’s competence stemming from social role theory. We discuss best practices to address these problems, focusing on the ADVANCE organizational change programs funded by the National Science Foundation that target (a) improving academic climate, (b) providing professional development, and (c) fostering social networking. Federally supported interventions can reveal systemic gender biases in academia and reduce gender disparities for women academics in the social sciences.
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This content will become publicly available on December 12, 2026
“What we see in the In-Between”: Navigating ethics and equity in the role of leading research projects with Alaska Native communities
As thirteen leaders in research with Alaska Native communities, we came together in a workshop to self-define the role of boundary spanners within our cross-cultural contexts. We utilized convergence methods and participatory decision-making facilitation. Reflecting on chronic challenges and current issues of trying to do co-production of knowledge, our group discussed the boundary spanner role and how to create systemic change. We represented different career stages, gender identities, Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, ages, backgrounds, and job positions. We wrote this paper to illustrate positive and negative aspects of this role as framed in a typical career journey. The role is often not sustainable, includes a degree of conflict and lacks support. We recognize that boundary spanners can act as enablers of boundaries. Healing is often interwoven with Indigenous and individual self-determination. Our workshop ended with the development of strategies to create systemic change through mentoring the next generation and addressing funding inequity and the cultural divide between communities and science/policy. A key concept from the workshop is the rejection of the term “boundary spanner,” because ideally, there should not be one individual doing the spanning duties, but everyone within the science/policy sphere working to dismantle boundaries.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2022190
- PAR ID:
- 10658289
- Publisher / Repository:
- Arctic Science
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Arctic Science
- ISSN:
- 2368-7460
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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