Gender bias in student evaluations can affect female profs

Results of a new study from France suggest that students are evaluating professors based on gender stereotypes. The study found that male students tended to rate male professors much more highly in areas such as dimensions of teaching and overall satisfaction, even when there was no basis in teaching effectiveness. “Universities continue to use [student evaluations] in a way that may hurt women (and probably other minorities as well, and men who do not correspond to students’ expectations of gender stereotypes) in their academic careers,” states the author. Earlier studies have found that gender perceptions affect student evaluations and that too much emphasis is often placed on evaluations during personnel decisions. Times Higher Ed