Gender Inequalities in the College Classroom

Although women make up a substantial majority of undergraduates and now receive significantly more B.A.s than men, they have not achieved equality in the classroom.

A large body of research has shown that instructors:

--Call on male students more frequently than female students.

--Are more likely to remember male students names and to use their name when calling upon students and in attributing ideas advanced in discussion.

--Ask male students more abstract and tough questions and ask female students more factual questions.

--Are less likely to elaborate upon points made by female students.

This research has demonstrated that:

--Male students speak more frequently and longer in class discussions.

--Male students are more likely to blurt out answers without raising their hands or being recognized by the instructor

Female students are less likely to take part in class discussions. When they do, these students are more likely to

• Be interrupted before they complete their response (sometimes by other female students).
• Make their statements less loudly and at less length.
• Express their ideas in a more hesitant, tentative, indirect, less assertive, or more polite manner. Examples include phrasing a statement as a question or appending such phrases as "I guess" or "Don't you think" or "I may be wrong."
  

Although males tend to dominate classroom discussion, this does not mean that all males speak up. Talkativeness among male students is highly individual. Some talk a lot in class, others hardly at all.

More assertive students, mainly, but not exclusively male, get called on a disproportionate number of times. Fearful of allowing a discussion to lag, TAs tend to call on the first students to raise their hand. Discussion tends to be dominated by quick responders, a disproportionate number of whom are male.

What can you do to ensure that no students are left behind?

1. Keep a close eye on who is speaking in your class.

Observe whether a small group of students monopolize discussion.

2. Encourage all students to speak.

Pause for a few seconds before you call on a student to give everyone an opportunity to raise their hands.

Sequence students, so that neither men nor women dominate the discussion.
Create opportunities for even the most reticent students to speak.

3. Make sure male and female students receive the same kinds of questions.

Make sure that all receive a mixture of abstract, factual, and tough questions.

4. Use student names frequently.

This is an effective way to ensure that all students feel engaged in the class.

5. Don't assume that you are protecting shy students from embarrassment when you don't call on seemingly passive students.

Most students who seem reticent, quiet, or uncommunicative are not particular shy. Rather, these students withdraw because of the classroom's dynamics. And once they retreat, they are less likely to remain engaged in the class's content.