kestrell

Kes: Though this is also true of *so* many virtual panels, technology and/or science fiction related, that I listened to this year.
Sadly, even if the majority of the panelists are female and there is only one male, imo, he will still jump in first and seize more of the discussion time than any of the other panelists.

As with many preferences, homophily, or a tendency to associate with similar individuals, tends to operate outside awareness.
We have learned that our intentions, and genuine egalitarian principles, are not enough to guide our behavior.
By: Abigail J. Stewart and Virginia Valian
https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/why-its-so-difficult-to-accomplish-inclusion/

This article is adapted from Abigail Stewart and Virginia Valian’s book “An Inclusive Academy.”

In 2002, the then dean of engineering at MIT, Thomas Magnanti, wrote in the foreword to the school’s report on the status of women that part of his attraction to engineering as a child had been its promise that anyone with merit could succeed. He was disappointed to discover that, at MIT, that was not so:

We learn, for example, about some of our women faculty colleagues, who despite their superb professional standing and despite the fact that they are highly valued by their faculty colleagues, have never been asked to serve on the Ph.D. committee of even one of their colleagues’ students in their own research area. Stunning.
....
biaswatchneuro
https://biaswatchneuro.com/
includes a formula for how to determine whether the number of women and men on a panel is what you would expect by chance, given the representation of women in the field.
A good starting point might be Jacqueline O’Neill’s timeless article at Foreign Policy,
https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/03/08/7-rules-for-avoiding-all-male-panels/
which swiftly outlines seven rules for avoiding all-male panels, or
‘manels
https://undark.org/2017/06/06/manels-all-male-panel/