TY - JOUR
T1 - Sex differences in research productivity
T2 - New evidence about an old puzzle
AU - Xie, Yu
AU - Shauman, Kimberlee A.
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2018 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 1998
Y1 - 1998
N2 - Numerous studies have found that female scientists publish at lower rates than male scientists. So far, explanations for this consistent pattern have failed to emerge, and sex differences in research productivity remain a puzzle. We report new empirical evidence based on a systematic and detailed analysis of data from four large, nationally representative, cross-sectional surveys of postsecondary faculty in 1969, 1973, 1988, and 1993. Our research yields two main findings. First, sex differences in research productivity declined over the time period studied, with the female-to-male ratio increasing from about 60 percent in the late 1960s to 75 to 80 percent in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Second, most of the observed sex differences in research productivity can be attributed to sex differences in personal characteristics, structural positions, and marital status. These results suggest that sex differences in research productivity stem from sex differences in structural locations and as such respond to the secular improvement of women's position in science.
AB - Numerous studies have found that female scientists publish at lower rates than male scientists. So far, explanations for this consistent pattern have failed to emerge, and sex differences in research productivity remain a puzzle. We report new empirical evidence based on a systematic and detailed analysis of data from four large, nationally representative, cross-sectional surveys of postsecondary faculty in 1969, 1973, 1988, and 1993. Our research yields two main findings. First, sex differences in research productivity declined over the time period studied, with the female-to-male ratio increasing from about 60 percent in the late 1960s to 75 to 80 percent in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Second, most of the observed sex differences in research productivity can be attributed to sex differences in personal characteristics, structural positions, and marital status. These results suggest that sex differences in research productivity stem from sex differences in structural locations and as such respond to the secular improvement of women's position in science.
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U2 - 10.2307/2657505
DO - 10.2307/2657505
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0032440711
VL - 63
SP - 847
EP - 870
JO - American Sociological Review
JF - American Sociological Review
SN - 0003-1224
IS - 6
ER -