It Seems College Professors Favor White Male Students Over Others

It would not shock you if we explained that minorities and women face obstacles regarding education that men (especially white men) do not. There have been many studies that back that up. However, most of those reports focused on how discrimination impacts these groups once they're in an institution. Now there's research that shows the speed bumps for minorities and women are located all along the education highway, not simply at the ending point.

In a paper titled "What Happens Before? A Field Experiment Exploring How Pay and Representation Differentially Shape Bias on the Pathway into Organizations," three professors show that biases impact minorities and women in ways you wouldn't typically imagine. The professors (Katherine Milkman of the University of Pennsylvania, Modupe Akinola of Columbia University, and Dolly Chugh of New York University), found that white men were more likely to be given the chance to have informal talks with teachers than minorities or women.

To come to this conclusion, Milkman, Akinola and Chugh had to be a little sneaky. The trio sent fake emails to 6,548 professors at 259 public and private colleges. The emails were from fake students, but each contained the same message: Would the professor be willing to meet them outside of class to discuss research? It's a common question, and one that Mikman, Akinola, and Chugh picked because it represented one way that someone could become more (or less) invested in their education. A kind reply from a professor might tilt someone toward a path of higher education. The opposite? To hell with school! Well, you know what we mean.

The researchers' fake emails were sent using fake names designed to tip off the professors stereotypes. For example, Steve Smith was a white guy, and Latoya Brown was a black woman. The results? The Steves of the world have the upper hand.

"White men were more likely than women and minorities to receive a reply in every discipline except the fine arts, where the bias was reversed," reported Scientific American. "Business showed the greatest disparity, with 87 percent of white males receiving a response compared to just 62 percent of female and minority students. In the sciences, faculty in engineering and computer sciences, life sciences and natural, physical sciences, and mathematics all showed significant biases against minorities and women."

That's sort of incredible. While you'd think white male professors were biased, it was not just them — every professor gave the edge to the fake white male student. And if you think this isn't a big deal, you're wrong. As we said, this is the kind of thing that could either inspire or kill a student's hope. And this is not the first time minorities or women face discrimination. As Milkman explained to Nature, "This is a small moment — it’s one time someone’s reaching out and looking for guidance and encouragement. But if every time you do this happens to you, that’s going to add up."

[Image via Flickr - Mer Chua]