Gender Gaps and Conceptions of Ability

Prof. Sarah-Jane Leslie

Abstract: Some academic disciplines have significant gender gaps (e.g., philosophy), while others do not (e.g., molecular biology). Why is this so? Sometimes, the phenomenon is characterized in terms of the natural sciences/mathematics having large gender gaps, and the social sciences/humanities having small or no gender gaps. This is a crude characterization, as reflection on disciplines such as philosophy vs. molecular biology illustrates. Are there any general, isolable factors that predict the occurrence of gender gaps across all academic disciplines, and also within the broad domains of natural sciences/mathematics, and social sciences/humanities? Recent data collected by my collaborators and me suggest that one such factor may be how the practitioners of the discipline conceive of the ability required for success in it — in particular, the extent to which innate, immutable, natural talent is emphasized, at the expense of hard work and dedication, predicts the presence and extent of a discipline’s gender gap. I discuss the nature of this spectrum of conceptions of ability, and how and why they relate to gender gaps in academic disciplines.