Posts in Gender Equality Paradox
Gender Equality ≠ Gender Neutrality: When a Paradox is Not So Paradoxical, After All
Gender Equality ≠ Gender Neutrality: When a Paradox is Not So Paradoxical, After All

In the Gender Equality Paradox, gender equality is assumed to imply gender neutrality. In this post, I explain why this assumption is unfounded, drawing on social psychological research. When we recognize that gender-equal is not synonymous with gender-neutral in terms of stereotypes and attitudes, the Gender Equality Paradox falls apart.

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Gender Equality ParadoxGenderSci Lab
If not a paradox, then what? 7 alternative explanations for the inverse correlation between the Global Gender Gap Index and women’s tertiary degrees in STEM
If not a paradox, then what? 7 alternative explanations for the inverse correlation between the Global Gender Gap Index and women’s tertiary degrees in STEM

The goal of this post is to identify the assumptions underlying an evolutionary explanation of the Gender Equality Paradox and to offer some equally strong, if not stronger, hypotheses that could be tested.

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Gender Equality ParadoxGenderSci Lab
Gender Stereotypes, Gendered Self-Expression, and Gender Segregation in Fields of Study: A Q&A with Professor Maria Charles
Gender Stereotypes, Gendered Self-Expression, and Gender Segregation in Fields of Study: A Q&A with Professor Maria Charles

Here, we situate the Gender Equality Paradox in the larger field of understanding gender segregation in STEM fields by talking to renowned scholar Professor Maria Charles, Professor of Sociology, Director of the Broom Center for Demography, and Feminist Studies affiliate at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Professor Charles has worked for decades to understand why postindustrial countries have greater segregation in STEM fields, and she draws on her broad expertise on the persistence of gender inequalities in gender-progressive societies and global variation in gender equality to help us understand the Gender Equality Paradox.

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Gender Equality ParadoxGenderSci Labinterview
Measuring Gender Equality
Measuring Gender Equality

According to the Gender Equality Paradox, the more gender equal a country, the fewer women in that country participate in STEM. But how is a country's gender equality measured? In this post, we show how looking carefully at measurement choices might lead us to re-think scientific claims about the so-called Gender Equality Paradox.

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Gender Equality ParadoxGenderSci Labmeasurement
Gender Equality Paradox Monkey Business: Or, How to Tell Spurious Causal Stories about Nation-Level Achievement by Women in STEM
Gender Equality Paradox Monkey Business: Or, How to Tell Spurious Causal Stories about Nation-Level Achievement by Women in STEM

This post is an explainer and supplement to our Psychological Sciences Commentary. We discuss five key problems with data and inferences that we identified in Stoet and Geary’s study. In places it’s a bit of a wonky read, but we unpack some serious issues, including issues with replicating the findings, spurious correlations, study design, and the ecological fallacy.

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Gender Equality ParadoxGenderSci Lab
The GenderSci Lab Takes On the Gender Equality Paradox Hypothesis: Introduction and Primer
The GenderSci Lab Takes On the Gender Equality Paradox Hypothesis: Introduction and Primer

Is the feminist project to bring about parity for women and men in traditionally male fields doomed? In this blog post series, we expand on these contributions and offer a thorough consideration of the “Gender Equality Paradox” hypothesis and its theoretical and methodological underpinnings and the assumptions required for it to operate.

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Gender Equality ParadoxGenderSci Labexplainer