Sexismo na docência universitária: Evidências da persistência dos estereótipos de gênero

Abstract

This dissertation aimed to analyze gender discrimination in university teaching and respond to two research problems: a) are there differences in the attribution of stereotypes of warmth and competence for male and female professors teaching in contexts perceived as masculine or feminine b) is the teacher's evaluation influenced by the type of course, the teacher's gender, and the student's gender? For this purpose, three studies were carried out, all with university students from public institutions. The ethical procedures established in Resolution No. 466/2012 of the National Health Council (CNS) were followed, and free and informed consent forms were duly signed by the participants. The first study (N = 100, mean age of 21.7 years, SD = 3.53) sought to verify the categorization of masculine or feminine professions, according to socially shared thinking about the division of labor. For this purpose, a list containing 42 undergraduate study programs was presented and the participant was requested to categorize these programs into masculine or feminine. The second study (N = 305, mean age of 23.7; SD = 6.64) aimed to analyze the influence of the sex of the student (male or female) and the type of course (masculine or feminine) on the attributed warmth and competence stereotypes of the male and female professors. The instrument used was the Fiske et al. (2002) scale that evaluates two stereotype dimensions: competence and warmth. To complete this scale, the participant was asked to think of a male teacher and a female teacher and then indicate how much these selected teachers presented the characteristics listed on the scale. Finally, the third study (N = 384, mean age of 23.6; SD = 6.47) verified whether the type of course (masculine or feminine), teacher's gender (male or female), and the participant's gender (male or female) influenced the perceived fairness of the grade received by the students. The instrument used was made up of sociodemographic questions and two other parts: in the first one participants were asked to indicate a course taken in the previous semester in which they received their best grade and then indicate on a seven-point scale how fair they considered the grade. In the second part, the same participants had to indicate a previous course in which they received their worst grade, and then answer the perceived fairness scale. Taken together, the results of these three studies reveal the persistence of socially shared thinking that there are professions better performed by men or by women, corroborating gender stereotypes and the social division of labor. When the male/female teacher falls outside this categorization, he/she is evaluated more negatively by his/her students. What draws attention in the results is that even in the best grade situation and within the "female" context, male and female students perceived the grades given by male professors as being fairer than the grades given by female professors, even with them being a majority in this context. In the worst grade situation, the male professors' evaluations were also perceived as fairer, especially in male contexts, and it was in this context that female professors were more severely penalized for the grades given.