Written by Tanya Hutter Posted 15 Nov 2019
It is well known that as women move up the leadership ranks in higher education, they find fewer and fewer female peers. This is probably true not just in academia, but in STEM too.
An interesting article was written by Robin Mamlet in The Chronicle of Higher Education about the difference between how men and women present themselves.
Robin Mamlet’s experience comes from sitting on a few dozen interviews with candidates applying for presidential, provost, or cabinet-level panels. In this article, she summarizes gender-related behavioural patterns she often sees in executive interviews within higher education.
Body language – some interviewee poses and body language convey greater confidence than others. When entering the interview room, men tend to employ a straight posture and use open, sweeping gestures and body language that suggests authority. But it is rare to see women behave this way.
Qualifiers – when women describe their achievements, they are more likely than men to use phrases such as ‘I don’t deserve all the credit for that, of course …’, but it is rare to see male candidates qualifying their precise involvement in a success.
There are also very good tips for what the candidates can do!
