Page 97 - Through the gate of the neoliberal academy • Herschberg

Especially in Switzerland, I find that Swiss women have a humility that ill serves them at work. This humility frankly does them no good, when they have all the potential to assert themselves. They have a very, very strong super-ego; putting oneself forward is seen as something negative. (CH, STEM, F)
The respondent perceives Swiss women as modest and argues that this “humility” negatively affects their work, implying that humility reduces the possibility to excel. The quote illustrates that the committee member attributes women’s perceived modesty to the internalization of gender roles (“super-ego” behaviour) and that “putting oneself forward” is considered negative, as it implies non-feminine behaviour.
We find that also during the selection procedure confidence, or the lack thereof, is something that plays a role. This reveals that tacit criteria come into play in the evaluation of candidates.
For example, it has to do with: you have to take into account, but that obviously is less and less the case, that women applicants could make a less – how do you say – assertive impression, will be less assertive. So that has to do with socialisation and the way you are. (NL, SSH, F)
This focus group participant reproduces the common held belief that women candidates are less assertive, which she gives as an example of the way gender can play a role in recruitment and selection procedures for early-career researchers. She argues that selection committees should “take into account” that women do not often make an “assertive impression” but she does not explain how to do so. It does imply that assertive behaviour is the norm and thus the preferred style. She argues that “socialisation” is to blame for women’s lack of assertiveness. Many respondents blame women for not being confident, but they do not acknowledge that men can also lack confidence.
Research participants in the Slovenian STEM department perceive women as more obedient, patient, and hardworking than men but less noticeable, ambitious, and confident. According to them, it is the traditional masculine dominant, ambitious, and confident attributes that facilitate climbing the academic career ladder. Van den Brink and Stobbe (2014) showed that, especially in STEM disciplines like physics, “confidence and directness are needed to demonstrate high motivation and true skills” (p. 171).
The quotes in this section show that committee members argue that gender roles and socialisation cause women to behave non-confident or non-assertive.
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