Effect of an Intervention to Break the Gender Bias Habit for Faculty at One Institution: A Cluster Randomized, Controlled Trial

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Acad Med
• Personal Author:
  Carnes, Molly ; Devine, Patricia G. ; Manwell, Linda Baier ; Byars-Winston, Angela ; Fine, Eve ; Ford, Cecilia E. ; Forscher, Patrick ; Isaac, Carol ; Kaatz, Anna ; Magua, Wairimu ; Palta, Mari ; Sheridan, Jennifer
• Description:
  Purpose
  
  Despite sincere commitment to egalitarian, meritocratic principles, subtle gender bias persists, constraining women’s opportunities for academic advancement. The authors implemented a pair-matched, single-blind, cluster-randomized, controlled study of a gender bias habit-changing intervention at a large public university.
  
  Method
  
  Participants were faculty in 92 departments or divisions at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Between September 2010 and March 2012, experimental departments were offered a gender bias habit-changing intervention as a 2.5 hour workshop. Surveys measured gender bias awareness; motivation, self-efficacy, and outcome expectations to reduce bias; and gender equity action. A timed word categorization task measured implicit gender/leadership bias. Faculty completed a worklife survey before and after all experimental departments received the intervention. Control departments were offered workshops after data were collected.
  
  Results
  
  Linear mixed-effects models showed significantly greater changes post-intervention for faculty in experimental vs. control departments on several outcome measures, including self-efficacy to engage in gender equity promoting behaviors (P = .013). When ≥ 25% of a department’s faculty attended the workshop (26 of 46 departments), significant increases in self-reported action to promote gender equity occurred at 3 months (P = .007). Post-intervention, faculty in experimental departments expressed greater perceptions of fit (P = .024), valuing of their research (P = .019), and comfort in raising personal and professional conflicts (P = .025).
  
  Conclusions
  
  An intervention that facilitates intentional behavioral change can help faculty break the gender bias habit and change department climate in ways that should support the career advancement of women in academic medicine, science, and engineering.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Awareness Career Mobility Cluster Analysis Curriculum Faculty, Medical Female Habits Humans Male Matched-Pair Analysis Motivation Self Efficacy Sexism Single-Blind Method

  More +
• Source:
  Acad Med. 90(2):221-230
• Pubmed ID:
  25374039
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC4310758
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  DP4 GM096822/GM/NIGMS NIH HHSUnited States/ ; R01 GM088477/GM/NIGMS NIH HHSUnited States/ ; R25 GM083252/GM/NIGMS NIH HHSUnited States/ ; DP4 GM096822/DP/NCCDPHP CDC HHSUnited States/
• Volume:
  90
• Issue:
  2
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:85793a16dcb2de9a27a8db96524ff22712fc31e494d90f7378aac2ad479f399d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/30271/cdc_30271_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.48 MB ]