Graduate Students' Conceptions Of The Tenure-Track Hiring Process In Science, Technology, Engineering, And Math Fields.

Women have long been underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. Factors including gender, marital and parental status, and gendered adjectives used in letters of recommendation have been linked to women's success in STEM fields. Many graduate students studying in STEM fields are preparing for academic careers, and it is unclear if their preferences when making a tenure-track hiring decision would match those of faculty. In the study described here, graduate students in STEM fields were asked to rate and rank three hypothetical candidates applying for a tenure-track position in their department. The candidates' gender, marital and parental status, gendered adjectives and persona, and history of parental leave were varied across participants. Overall, participants preferred the candidate described with female adjectives and persona, and participants in math-intensive fields were less likely to prefer a female candidate. Candidate's history of parental leave did not affect participants' preferences