Question

Why is work of women devalued

Answer 1

On the final day of the Monkey Cage gender gap symposium (see here, here, here, here, here, here, and here for earlier posts) we offer broader reflections from three distinguished scholars. Later today, you will see posts by David Lake and Beth Simmons. First up is Brett Ashley Leeds, a professor at Rice University who has published widely on issues of international security, especially alliances. She was the recipient of the Karl Deutsch award, which is awarded to the scholar under the age of 40 who is adjudged to have made the most significant contribution to the study of international relations.

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The finding that international relations articles written by women receive fewer citations than those written by men is surprising and disturbing to many in political science. Unfortunately, however, this evidence is consistent with a broader body of studies that reveal a tendency for both women and men to value work by men more than work by women. Both men and women hold subconscious biases that affect their impressions and may influence their subsequent behavior. While it is almost impossible to rid ourselves of ingrained subconscious biases, we can become more self-aware and take steps to limit the influence of these biases on our behavior.