Gender discrimination in the veterinary profession: A brief report of the BVA Employers’ Study 2018

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the BVA via the link in this recordDo women in the veterinary profession still face discrimination? Yes – and ironically, it’s those who think women don’t face discrimination that are most likely to discriminate.British Veterniary Associatio

Is it always good to feel valued? The psychological benefits and costs of higher perceived status in ones ethnic minority group

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from SAGE Publications via the DOI in this record.Two studies (N = 1,048) examined how Blacks’, Asians’, and Latinos’ perceived value within their own ethnic group (ethnic intragroup status) shapes mental health (depression, anxiety, psychological distress). The proposed intragroup status and health (ISAH) model predicts that feeling valued among ethnic ingroup members has benefits for health, but also indirect costs. Costs arise because individuals who feel highly valued in their ethnic group see their ethnicity as more central to their self-concept; with stronger identity-centrality, individuals more frequently view daily social interactions through the “lens” of their ethnicity and ultimately perceive/experience more discrimination. Discrimination, in turn, adversely shapes mental health. Results of structural equation modeling supported these predictions across all groups in both studies. Thus, feeling valued in one’s minority group may be a double-edged sword for mental health. Overall, the ISAH model reveals how intragroup processes, when considered from an intergroup perspective, advance our understanding of minority mental health

When identity hurts: how positive intragroup experiences yield negative mental health implications for ethnic and sexual minorities

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.Two studies (longitudinal, N=510; cross-sectional; N=249) explain how feeling valued in one’s ethnic/sexual minority group has benefits for mental health but also certain costs through the way it shapes minorities’ identity. Drawing from the intragroup status and health model (ISAH) we posit that when individuals feel valued in their minority group it bolsters group identification; with greater identity-centrality individuals tend to view daily social interactions through the ‘lens’ of their minority group and ultimately perceive more discrimination. Discrimination, in turn, negatively shapes health. Thus, feeling valued in one’s minority group has benefits for health but also indirect costs, perhaps counterintuitively by strengthening minority group identity. Both studies supported these predictions. Study 2 also supported an adapted ISAH model, for use in the context of concealable stigmatized identities (sexual minorities). Overall, the ISAH model explains why feeling valued and having strong social identities are not always beneficial, yielding certain costs for stigmatized individuals’ health

To alleviate group members’ physiological stress, supervisors need to be more than polite and professional

This is the final version. Available on open access from SAGE Publications via the DOI in this recordAlthough stressors are common in group life, people cope better when group authorities treat them with care/concern. However, it remains unclear whether such treatment affects individuals’ physiological stress. In this experiment, individuals engaged in an interview known to increase cortisol (stress biomarker). Surrounding the interview, an ingroup supervisor treated them with standard professionalism (politeness; control), explicit care/concern (high-quality treatment), or disregard (poor-quality treatment). While those in the control condition experienced a spike in cortisol, individuals in the high-quality treatment condition did not experience this physiological stress (cortisol). Those shown poor-quality treatment also did not exhibit stress, suggesting the explicit disregard for them may have undermined the interview’s legitimacy, thereby removing social evaluative threat. Paralleling past research, self-reported stress did not reflect individuals’ physiological stress (cortisol). Overall, results suggest that to alleviate members’ physiological stress, supervisors need to be more than polite and professional – also demonstrating care/concern for them as individuals

The Impact of Hidden Bias in Job Adverts on Female Applicants

This is the final version. Available from Openreach via the link in this recordOpenreac

The mental health pros and cons of minority spaces in the workplace

This is the final version. Available on open access from The Conversation Trust (UK) via the link in this recordStrategies to support a diverse workforce can be beneficial – but may have unintended consequences

In traditionally male-dominated fields, women are less willing to make sacrifices for their career because discrimination and lower fit with people up the ladder make sacrifices less worthwhile

Women's lower career advancement relative to men is sometimes explained by internal factors such as women's lower willingness to make sacrifices for their career, and sometimes by external barriers such as discrimination. In the current research, positing a dynamic interplay between internal and external factors, we empirically test how external workplace barriers guide individuals' internal decisions to make sacrifices for the advancement of their careers. In two high-powered studies in traditionally male-dominated fields (surgery, N = 1,080; veterinary medicine, N = 1,385), women indicated less willingness than men to make sacrifices for their career. Results of structural equation modeling demonstrated that this difference was explained by women's more frequent experience of gender discrimination and lower perceptible fit with people higher up the professional ladder. These barriers predicted reduced expectations of success in their field (Study 1) and expected success of their sacrifices (Study 2), which in turn predicted lower willingness to make sacrifices. The results explain how external barriers play a role in internal career decision making. Importantly, our findings show that these decision-making processes are similar for men and women, yet, the circumstances under which these decisions are made are gendered. That is, both men and women weigh the odds in deciding whether to sacrifice for their career, but structural conditions may influence these perceived odds in a way that favors men. Overall, this advances our understanding of gender differences, workplace inequalities, and research on the role of “choice” and/or structural discrimination behind such inequalities

Lobbying Strategies for Federal Appropriations: Nursing versus Medical Education.

The aims of this comparative exploratory descriptive qualitative study were to learn which lobbying strategies of interest groups are used and which of these strategies influence federal appropriators’ decisions. This study compared the lobbying strategies used to advocate for the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development programs with those employed to advocate for Children’s Hospital Graduate Medical Education (CHGME). The CHGME program was selected as the comparison program for Title VIII because both programs are federally funded through the Labor Health and Human Services appropriations bill, authorized under the Public Health Service Act, and support a single healthcare discipline. Given the 483% increase in funding between Fiscal Year (FY) 2000 and FY 2001, it is clear the CHGME program has been able to significantly increase federal dollars. The Title VIII programs have not been able to secure the same level of appropriations or a dramatic funding increase. Twenty-seven interviews were conducted with nursing lobbyists (n=10), CHGME lobbyists (n=7), and Congressional appropriations staff (n=10). The constant comparative method of analysis, a component of grounded theory method, was used to analyze the data. Open coding was used to generate the main themes and axial coding was used to relate concepts to each other. For example, comments by the nursing lobbyists were compared to those of the CHGME lobbyists and in turn with the lobbyists responses related to those made by the Congressional staff. Results indicated that while nursing used similar strategies to those who advocate for CHGME, their level of investment in these strategies was significantly less. Moreover, nursing lacks specific components of inside and outside advocacy strategies such as grass tops advocacy and grassroots intensity, which impacts the profession’s ability to secure higher levels of funding for the Title VIII programs. A conceptual framework, future research and implications for the profession are offered.Ph.D.NursingUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/64641/1/sbegeny_1.pd

Support (and rejection) of meritocracy as a self‐enhancement identity strategy: A qualitative study of university students’ perceptions about meritocracy in higher education

This is the final version. Available from Wiley via the DOI in this record. The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author [DPF].Access to Higher Education (HE) is based on the idea that all students should have the same opportunities, and that merit and hard work, regardless of students’ backgrounds, will lead to success. However, inequalities remain despite efforts to provide equal access to HE, raising questions about the validity of such a meritocratic approach. Using qualitative analysis, we interviewed UK university students to understand students’ perceptions of meritocracy in HE, and if and how students associated these perceptions with their gender and subjective socioeconomic status identity experiences. Students’ perceptions could be described in two main ideas: (a) the perceived commitment of their universities to meritocracy, and (b) their endorsement and rejection of meritocracy as an identity enhancement strategy. Hence, both support and lack of support for meritocracy are strategies used by disadvantaged groups to navigate and cope with the lack of opportunities and socioeconomic disadvantages in HE.European Union's Horizon 2020National Agency for Research and Development (ANID

Overestimating women’s representation in medicine: a survey of medical professionals’ estimates and their(un)willingness to support gender equality initiatives

This is the final version. Available on open access from BMJ Publishing Group via the DOI in this recordData availability statement: Data are available in a public, open access repository. All data underlying the findings described in this article are available at the Center for Open Science (https://osf.io/hrm63/).Objective Amidst growing numbers of women in certain areas of medicine (eg, general practice/primary care), yet their continued under-representation in others (eg, surgical specialties), this study examines (1) whether medical professionals mistakenly infer that women are now broadly well represented, overestimating women’s true representation in several different areas and roles; and (2) whether this overestimation of women’s representation predicts decreased support for gender equality initiatives in the field, in conjunction with one’s own gender. Design Cross-sectional survey. Setting UK-based medical field. Participants 425 UK medical consultants/general practitioners and trainees (ST/CT1+/SHO/Registrar); 47% were female. Main outcome measures Estimates of women’s representation in different areas/roles within medicine, examined as a composite estimate and individually; and a multi-item measure of support for gender-based initiatives in medicine. Results Medical professionals tended to overestimate women’s true representation in several different areas of medicine (general practice, medical specialties, surgical specialties) and in various roles (consultants/general practitioners, trainees, medical school graduates). Moreover, these erroneous estimates predicted a decreased willingness to support gender-based initiatives, particularly among men in the field: composite overestimation*respondent gender interaction, B=−0.04, 95% CI −0.07 to −0.01, p=0.01. Specifically, while female respondents’ (over)estimates were unrelated to their level of support (B=0.00, 95% CI −0.02 to 0.02, p=0.92), male respondents’ tendency to overestimate the proportion of women in medicine predicted lower support for gender-based initiatives (B=−0.04, 95% CI −0.06 to −0.02, p<0.001). Conclusions While some progress has been made in gender representation in the medical field, this research illustrates that there are still barriers to gender equality efforts and identifies who within the field is focally maintaining these barriers. It is those individuals (particularly men) who overestimate the true progress that has been made in women’s representation who are at highest risk of undermining it.European Research Council (ERC)Medical Research Council (MRC