IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecoedu/v89y2022ics0272775722000565.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Online teaching and gender bias

Author

Listed:
  • Ayllón, Sara

Abstract

I study the impact of online instruction on teaching evaluations at a higher education institution in Spain. Using a difference-in-differences approach, I show that in the semester when teaching moved online, female lecturers were evaluated more poorly than in previous semesters. The performance of male lecturers was not impacted by the new teaching environment, according to student opinion. I rule out several mechanisms: for example, poorer adaptation to online teaching by female lecturers, less experience in taught courses or student sorting. Additional results indicate that among the female lecturers, those who were younger and who did not have a permanent contract were those impacted most negatively. The bias was driven by male students and by low achievers (who were going to fail the course), and was particularly pronounced in Social Sciences. If the online environment keeps gaining in importance in higher education, the gender gap in teaching evaluations that I document is likely to have important direct and indirect effects on the career progression of women.

Suggested Citation

  • Ayllón, Sara, 2022. "Online teaching and gender bias," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:89:y:2022:i:c:s0272775722000565
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2022.102280
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272775722000565
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.econedurev.2022.102280?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gema Zamarro & María J. Prados, 2021. "Gender differences in couples’ division of childcare, work and mental health during COVID-19," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 11-40, March.
    2. Lidia Farré & Yarine Fawaz & Libertad González Luna & Jennifer Graves, 2020. "How the covid-19 lockdown affected gender Inequality in paid and unpaid work in Spain," Economics Working Papers 1728, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
    3. Heather Sarsons & Klarita Gërxhani & Ernesto Reuben & Arthur Schram, 2021. "Gender Differences in Recognition for Group Work," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 129(1), pages 101-147.
    4. David M. Kaplan, 2019. "distcomp: Comparing distributions," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 19(4), pages 832-848, December.
    5. Adams-Prassl, Abi & Boneva, Teodora & Golin, Marta & Rauh, Christopher, 2020. "Inequality in the impact of the coronavirus shock: Evidence from real time surveys," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    6. Rooth, Dan-Olof, 2010. "Automatic associations and discrimination in hiring: Real world evidence," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(3), pages 523-534, June.
    7. Adams-Prassl, A. & Boneva, T. & Golin, M & Rauh, C., 2020. "Inequality in the Impact of the Coronavirus Shock: New Survey Evidence for the UK," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 2023, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    8. Marianne Bertrand & Dolly Chugh & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2005. "Implicit Discrimination," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(2), pages 94-98, May.
    9. Friederike Mengel & Jan Sauermann & Ulf Zölitz, 2019. "Gender Bias in Teaching Evaluations," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 17(2), pages 535-566.
    10. Tatyana Deryugina & Olga Shurchkov & Jenna Stearns, 2021. "COVID-19 Disruptions Disproportionately Affect Female Academics," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 111, pages 164-168, May.
    11. Lídia Farré & Yarine Fawaz & Libertad González & Jennifer Graves, 2022. "Gender Inequality in Paid and Unpaid Work During Covid‐19 Times," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 68(2), pages 323-347, June.
    12. Esteban M. Aucejo & Jacob F. French & Basit Zafar, 2021. "Estimating Students' Valuation for College Experiences," NBER Working Papers 28511, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Jaeger, David A. & Arellano-Bover, Jaime & Karbownik, Krzysztof & Martínez Matute, Marta & Nunley, John M. & Seals Jr., R. Alan & Almunia, Miguel & Alston, Mackenzie & Becker, Sascha O. & Beneito, Pil, 2021. "The Global COVID-19 Student Survey: First Wave Results," IZA Discussion Papers 14419, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Boring, Anne & Philippe, Arnaud, 2021. "Reducing discrimination in the field: Evidence from an awareness raising intervention targeting gender biases in student evaluations of teaching," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    15. Florian Hoffmann & Philip Oreopoulos, 2009. "Professor Qualities and Student Achievement," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 91(1), pages 83-92, February.
    16. Scott E. Carrell & James E. West, 2010. "Does Professor Quality Matter? Evidence from Random Assignment of Students to Professors," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 118(3), pages 409-432, June.
    17. Zamarro, Gema & Camp, Andrew & Fuchsman, Dillon & McGee, Josh B., 2022. "Understanding how COVID-19 has Changed Teachers’ Chances of Remaining in the Classroom," Working Papers 22-1, Sinquefield Center for Applied Economic Research, Saint Louis University.
    18. Titan Alon & Matthias Doepke & Jane Olmstead-Rumsey & Michèle Tertilt, 2020. "The Impact of COVID-19 on Gender Equality," CRC TR 224 Discussion Paper Series crctr224_2020_163, University of Bonn and University of Mannheim, Germany.
    19. Wagner, N. & Rieger, M. & Voorvelt, K.J., 2016. "Gender, ethnicity and teaching evaluations : Evidence from mixed teaching teams," ISS Working Papers - General Series 617, International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam (ISS), The Hague.
    20. Aucejo, Esteban M. & French, Jacob & Ugalde Araya, Maria Paola & Zafar, Basit, 2020. "The impact of COVID-19 on student experiences and expectations: Evidence from a survey," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    21. Manuel F. Bagues & Berta Esteve-Volart, 2010. "Can Gender Parity Break the Glass Ceiling? Evidence from a Repeated Randomized Experiment," Review of Economic Studies, Oxford University Press, vol. 77(4), pages 1301-1328.
    22. Boring, Anne, 2017. "Gender biases in student evaluations of teaching," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 27-41.
    23. Rieger, Matthias & Voorvelt, Katherine, 2016. "Gender, ethnicity and teaching evaluations: Evidence from mixed teaching teamsAuthor-Name: Wagner, Natascha," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 79-94.
    24. Philip Oreopoulos, 2011. "Why Do Skilled Immigrants Struggle in the Labor Market? A Field Experiment with Thirteen Thousand Resumes," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 3(4), pages 148-171, November.
    25. Marjorie B. McElroy, 2016. "Report: Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession (CSWEP)," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(5), pages 750-773, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Babin, J. Jobu & Hussey, Andrew, 2023. "Gender penalties and solidarity — Teaching evaluation differentials in and out of STEM," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 226(C).
    2. Cantet, Natalia & Feld, Brian & Hernández, Mónica, 2023. "Is there discrimination against children of same-sex households? Evidence from an experimental study in Colombia," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 12698, Inter-American Development Bank.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Boring, Anne & Philippe, Arnaud, 2021. "Reducing discrimination in the field: Evidence from an awareness raising intervention targeting gender biases in student evaluations of teaching," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    2. Friederike Mengel & Jan Sauermann & Ulf Zölitz, 2019. "Gender Bias in Teaching Evaluations," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 17(2), pages 535-566.
    3. Boring, Anne & Moroni, Gloria, 2023. "Turning back the clock: Beliefs about gender roles during lockdown," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    4. Keng, Shao-Hsun, 2020. "Gender bias and statistical discrimination against female instructors in student evaluations of teaching," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    5. Lafuente, Cristina & Ruland, Astrid & Santaeulàlia-Llopis, Raül & Visschers, Ludo, 2023. "The effects of Covid-19 on couples’ job tenures: Mothers have it worse," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    6. Robert L. Moore & Hanna Song & James D. Whitney, 2021. "Do Students Discriminate? Exploring Differentials by Race and Sex in Class Enrollments and Student Ratings of Instructors," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 47(1), pages 135-162, January.
    7. Stefanie Stantcheva, 2022. "Inequalities in the Times of a Pandemic," NBER Working Papers 29657, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Andrew E. Clark & Anthony Lepinteur, 2022. "Pandemic Policy and Life Satisfaction in Europe," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 68(2), pages 393-408, June.
    9. Illing, Hannah & Oberfichtner, Michael & Pestel, Nico & Schmieder, Johannes F. & Trenkle, Simon, 2022. "Geschlechtsspezifische Arbeitsmarktwirkung der Covid-19-Pandemie," IZA Standpunkte 102, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Stefanie Huber, 2022. "SHE canÕt afford it and HE doesnÕt want it: The gender gap in the COVID-19 consumption response," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 22-029/II, Tinbergen Institute.
    11. Giulia Bettin & Isabella Giorgetti & Stefano Staffolani, 2024. "The impact of Covid-19 lockdown on the gender gap in the Italian labour market," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 1-33, March.
    12. Angelo Antoci & Irene Brunetti & Pierluigi Sacco & Mauro Sodini, 2021. "Student evaluation of teaching, social influence dynamics, and teachers’ choices: An evolutionary model," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 31(1), pages 325-348, January.
    13. Kugler, Maurice & Viollaz, Mariana & Duque, Daniel & Gaddis, Isis & Newhouse, David & Palacios-Lopez, Amparo & Weber, Michael, 2023. "How did the COVID-19 crisis affect different types of workers in the developing world?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    14. Dang, Hai-Anh H. & Viet Nguyen, Cuong, 2021. "Gender inequality during the COVID-19 pandemic: Income, expenditure, savings, and job loss," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    15. Nicolás Urdaneta Andrade, 2021. "¿Hombres "cracks" y mujeres "amables"? Sesgos de género en encuestas de profesores," Documentos CEDE 19557, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.
    16. Claudia Andrade & Martie Gillen & José Alberto Molina & Melissa J. Wilmarth, 2022. "The Social and Economic Impact of Covid-19 on Family Functioning and Well-Being: Where do we go from here?," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 43(2), pages 205-212, June.
    17. Olga Cantó & Francesco Figari & Carlo V. Fiorio & Sarah Kuypers & Sarah Marchal & Marina Romaguera‐de‐la‐Cruz & Iva V. Tasseva & Gerlinde Verbist, 2022. "Welfare Resilience at the Onset of COVID‐19 Pandemic in a Selection of European Countries: Impact on Public Finance and Household Incomes," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 68(2), pages 293-322, June.
    18. Laura Hospido & Carlos Sanz, 2021. "Gender Gaps in the Evaluation of Research: Evidence from Submissions to Economics Conferences," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 83(3), pages 590-618, June.
    19. Robert Dur & Carlos Gomez-Gonzalez & Cornel Nesseler, 2022. "How to reduce discrimination? Evidence from a field experiment in amateur soccer," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 22-005/VII, Tinbergen Institute.
    20. Sabrina Wulff Pabilonia & Victoria Vernon, 2023. "Who is doing the chores and childcare in dual-earner couples during the COVID-19 era of working from home?," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 519-565, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Gender bias; Online instruction; Teaching evaluations; Higher education; Spain;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • J45 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Public Sector Labor Markets

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:89:y:2022:i:c:s0272775722000565. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/econedurev .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.