The Impact of Interpersonal Discrimination and Stress on Health and Performance for Early Career STEM Academicians

Brazilian women in Bioinformatics: Challenges and opportunities

Bioinformatics is a growing research field that received great notoriety in the years of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a very integrative area, comprising professionals from science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). In agreement with the other STEM areas, several women have greatly contributed to bioinformatics ascension; however, they had to surpass prejudice and stereotypes to achieve recognition and leadership positions, a path that studies have demonstrated to be more comfortable to their male colleagues. In this review, we discuss the several difficulties that women in STEM, including bioinformatics, surpass during their careers. First, we present a historical context on bioinformatics and the main applications for this area. Then, we discuss gender disparity in STEM and present the challenges that still contribute to women's inequality in STEM compared to their male colleagues. We also present the opportunities and the transformation that we can start, acting in academia, inside the family and school environments, and as a society, hence contributing to gender equality in STEM. Finally, we discuss specific challenges in the bioinformatics field and how we can act to overcome them, especially in low and middle-income countries, such as Brazil.

Is cybervetting valuable?

Cybervetting is the widespread practice of employers culling information from social media and/or other internet sources to screen and select job candidates. Research evaluating online screening is still in its infancy; that which exists often assumes that it offers value and utility to employers as long as they can avoid discrimination claims. Given the increasing prevalence of cybervetting, it is extremely important to probe its challenges and limitations. We seek to initiate a discussion about the negative consequences of online screening and how they can be overcome. We draw on previous literature and our own data to assess the implications of cybervetting for three key stakeholders: job candidates, hiring agents, and organizations. We also discuss future actions these stakeholders can take to manage and ameliorate harmful outcomes of cybervetting. We argue that it is the responsibility of the organizations engaged in cybervetting to identify specific goals, develop formal policies and practices, and continuously evaluate outcomes so that negative societal consequences are minimized. Should they fail to do so, professional and industry associations as well as government can and should hold them accountable.

In Their Footsteps or Shadow? Gender Differences in Choosing a STEM Major as a Function of Sibling Configuration and Older Sibling’s Gender and Math Ability

Although the association between siblings’ compositional characteristics and educational performance has been extensively studied, the question of whether the features of a sibling group are related to substantive gendered educational preferences has not been examined. Our analysis of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 cohort (NLSY-79) Mothers and Children Files (N = 1545; 57% young women; 22% STEM major) showed that siblings’ compositional characteristics matter for STEM major preferences in college, but only for young women. Our findings indicated that women were more likely to prefer a STEM major if they were raised in smaller sibling groups, in male sibling group dominance, and if they had an older sister with high math achievement. These results are in line with the resource dilution approach; they shed light on the effects of being in a normative male-role sibling group climate; and they suggest that gendered outcomes are shaped by the interplay of role modeling and same-gender competitive stimulation. We also found that for young men, their preference for majoring in a STEM field was mostly driven by their own math ability. These findings suggest that socialization experiences that operate on the sibling level play a crucial role in whether girls become interested in and pursue “gender-atypical” educational choices. Our findings also underscore the need to differentiate these theoretical approaches by gender, particularly when applied to gendered outcomes such as STEM career trajectories.

Workplace discrimination as risk factor for long-term sickness absence: Longitudinal analyses of onset and changes in workplace adversity

Workplace discrimination may affect the health of the exposed employees, but it is not known whether workplace discrimination is also associated with an increased risk of long-term sickness absence. The aim of this study was to examine the longitudinal associations of changes in and onset of workplace discrimination with the risk of long-term sickness absence. Data on workplace discrimination were obtained from 29,597 employees participating in survey waves 2004, 2006, 2008 and/or 2010 of the Finnish Public Sector Study. Four-year changes in long-term sickness absence (≥10 days of medically certified absence with a mental or non-mental diagnosis) were assessed. This covered successive study waves in analyses of onset of workplace discrimination as well as fixed effect analyses of change in workplace discrimination (concurrent i.e. during the exposure year and 1-year lagged i.e. within one year following exposure), by using each employee as his/her own control. The risk of long-term sickness absence due to mental disorders was greater for employees with vs. without onset of workplace discrimination throughout the 4-year period, reaching a peak at the year when the onset of discrimination was reported (adjusted risk ratio 2.13; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.80–2.52). The fixed effects analyses showed that workplace discrimination was associated with higher odds of concurrent, but not 1-year lagged, long-term sickness absence due to mental disorders (adjusted odds ratio 1.61; 95% CI 1.33–1.96 and adjusted odds ratio 1.02; 95% CI 0.83–1.25, respectively). Long-term sickness absence due to non-mental conditions was not associated with workplace discrimination. In conclusion, these findings suggest that workplace discrimination is associated with an elevated risk of long-term sickness absence due to mental disorders. Supporting an acute effect, the excess risk was confined to the year when workplace discrimination occurred.

Impact of the intersection of anaesthesia and gender on burnout and mental health, illustrated by the COVID-19 pandemic

Physician burnout and poor mental health are prevalent and often stigmatised. Anaesthetists may be at particular risk and this is further increased for women anaesthetists due to biases and inequities within the specialty. However, gender-related risk factors for and experiences of burnout and poor mental health remain under-researched and under-reported. This negatively impacts individual practitioners, the anaesthesia workforce and patients and carries significant financial implications. We discuss the impact of anaesthesia and gender on burnout and mental health using the COVID-19 pandemic as an example illustrating how women and men differentially experience stressors and burnout. COVID-19 has further accentuated the gendered effects of burnout and poor mental health on anaesthetists and brought further urgency to the need to address these issues. While both personal and organisational factors contribute to burnout and poor mental health, organisational changes that recognise and acknowledge inequities are pivotal to bolster physician mental health.

The Intersectionality of Race and Trajectories of African Women into the Nursing Career in the United States

This paper uses narratives of Malawian-born registered nurses working in the United States to capture pathways through which African women are entering the nursing profession. The paper highlights how race, immigrant status and language acts as potential sources of discrimination within the nursing profession. The paper utilizes intersectionality as a feminist framework that places black women's experiences at the center of analysis to capture the multidimensionality of their experiences. The qualitative study highlights the multiple pathways through which African immigrant women enter the nursing profession and how being African, immigrant female nurses predisposes them to discrimination in their interactions with employment institutions and patients. Focusing on African women's experiences as recent immigrants enriches the global migration narrative and helps contextualize the intersectionality of race, gender and discrimination within particular contexts.

Discrimination Toward Physicians of Color: A Systematic Review

PURPOSE

To systematically review published research exploring workplace discrimination toward physicians of color with a focus on discrimination from patients.

METHOD

The authors searched PubMed, PsycInfo, CINAHL, Scopus, Academic Search Premier, and Web of Science from 1990 through 2017 and performed supplemental manual bibliographic searches. Eligible studies were in English and assessed workplace discrimination experienced by physicians of color practicing in the U.S. including physicians from ethnic/racial groups underrepresented in medicine, Asians, and international medical graduates. Two reviewers independently screened titles and abstracts, 3 reviewers read the full text of eligible studies, and 2 reviewers extracted data and appraised quality using Joanna Briggs Institute checklist for qualitative research or the AXIS tool for quality of cross-sectional studies.

RESULTS

Of the 19 eligible studies, 6 conducted surveys and 13 analyzed data from interviews and/or focus groups; most were medium quality. All provided evidence to support the high prevalence of workplace discrimination experienced by physicians of color, particularly black physicians and women of color. Discrimination was associated with adverse effects on career, work environment, and health. In the few studies inquiring about patient interactions, discrimination was predominantly refusal of care. No study evaluated an intervention to reduce workplace discrimination experienced by physicians of color. Ethnic/racial groups were inconsistent across studies, and some samples included physicians in Canada, non-physician faculty, or trainees.

CONCLUSION

With physicians of color comprising a growing percentage of the U.S. physician workforce, healthcare organizations must examine and implement effective ways to ensure a healthy and supportive work environment.

A diverse view of science to catalyse change

Valuing diversity leads to scientific excellence, the progress of science and, most importantly, it is simply the right thing to do. We must value diversity not only in words, but also in actions.

When It Is Not So Funny: Prevalence of Friendly Sexist Teasing and Consequences to Gender Self-Esteem

This research investigates the phenomenon of "friendly" sexist teases (FSTs), which we define as playful intergroup teases that are based on the negative gender stereotypes that devalue one's gender group. We first employed a diary study to explore the prevalence of FSTs in college students' everyday life and found that this type of teasing tends to occur in social situations and often between close others. In a second study, we experimentally manipulated perceived closeness with the teaser. We predicted that individuals teased by someone with whom they shared a perceived closeness would interpret FSTs as playful fun; therefore, the tease would not have a negative psychological effect. We further predicted that those teased by someone less close would likely focus on the literal content of the sexist tease, resulting in negative consequences to gender self-esteem. Results supported these predictions and provided insight into the phenomenon of FSTs.

Is it always this cold? Chilly interpersonal climates as a barrier to the well-being of early-career women faculty in STEM

Purpose

The purpose of this project was to examine the extent to which early-career women faculty in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) experience working in a chilly interpersonal climate (as indicated by experiences of ostracism and incivility) and how those experiences relate to work and non-work well-being outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

Data came from a sample of 96 early-career STEM faculty (Study 1) and a sample of 68 early-career women STEM faculty (Study 2). Both samples completed online surveys assessing their experiences of working in a chilly interpersonal climate and well-being.

Findings

In Study 1, early-career women STEM faculty reported greater experiences of ostracism and incivility and more negative occupational well-being outcomes associated with these experiences compared to early-career men STEM faculty. In Study 2, early-career women STEM faculty reported more ostracism and incivility from their male colleagues than from their female colleagues. Experiences of ostracism (and, to a lesser extent, incivility) from male colleagues also related to negative occupational and psychological well-being outcomes.

Originality/value

This paper documents that exposure to a chilly interpersonal climate in the form of ostracism and incivility is a potential explanation for the lack and withdrawal of junior women faculty in STEM academic fields.

Be Friendly, Stay Well: The Effects of Job Resources on Well-Being in a Discriminatory Work Environment

Many studies have focused on the negative effects of discrimination on workers’ well-being. However, discrimination does not affect just victims but also those people who witness discriminatory acts or who perceived they are working in a discriminatory work environment. Although perceiving a discriminatory work environment might be a stressor, the presence of job resources might counteract its negative effects, as suggested by the Job Demand-Resources model. The goal of this study is to test the effect of perceiving a discriminatory work environment on workers’ psychological well-being when job autonomy and co-workers and supervisor support act as mediator and moderators respectively. To test the moderated mediation model data were gathered with a sample of Italian 114 truckers. Results demonstrated that job autonomy partially mediates the relationship between perceiving a discriminatory work environment and workers’ well-being. Main interactional effects have been observed when co-workers support is introduced in the model as moderator, while no main interactional effects exist when supervisor support is introduced. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.