Lack of Gender Representation in Academia: The Experiences of Female STEM Students

Studies of representative bureaucracy emphasize that minorities’ representation in public organizations helps promote their interests. Some areas, however, suffer from a distinct lack of minority representation. Although studies in the field focus on the actions of minority public servants in representing citizens like them, we examine the behavior of majority group street-level bureaucrats toward minorities. Using interviews with female STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) students from five Israeli academic institutions, we investigate whether male faculty members’ interactions with female students reflect their perceptions of the latter's lack of representation. We find that one direct outcome is that male faculty members’ unequal and discriminatory behavior offends female students. Through this behavior, these faculty members also signal to the majority group students that this behavior toward women is legitimate, which is an indirect outcome. Finally, female students behave insecurely in this environment. Public managers should be aware that not only is passive representation required in public organizations, but also that in areas with distinct male representation, majority group street-level bureaucrats play an important role in creating an environment that is fair and equitable for minorities.