Fascinating and disturbing. Eric Schliesser writes:
John Schwenkler has been doing an on-line survey, and the initial data is disturbing. As Schwenkler points out: “Men are more likely than women to believe that there are sizable numbers of women who have prominent positions in the field, and less likely than women to believe that there are not. Men are more likely than women to believe that women in the field are taken seriously, treated respectfully, and included in networking opportunities, and less likely than women to believe that this is not so.” If the full results follow this pattern then it suggests that in this sub-field men are not allowing themselves to notice significant frustration (anger/inequity, etc) among their female peers. (I see no reason to think that this sub-field is atypical.)
The survey is still open, so do go participate if this is your field!
Thanks for the plug. My inclination at this point is to look skeptically at further responses to the survey, as they’re likely to have been colored by this initial report. But I am hoping to get someone to do a larger and more “scientific” version of this survey that will produce a more obviously representative picture of the field.