Sci-Tech | 8:42 pm | December 26, 2012 | By Emma Goldberg

Yale professor honored for research on gender bias

Nature magazine has named Yale microbiologist Jo Handelsman as one of the “10 people who mattered in 2012″ for her research on gender biases in science.

In her research, Handelsman gathered a group of 100 male and female scientists and asked them to assess job applications, presenting them with applications that were identical in every way except gender. Female candidates were consistently deemed less competent and offered $4,000 less in annual salary than their male counterparts, according to Handelsman’s findings. Handelsman said her results suggest that gender bias is still pervasive in the sciences.

“We are excited about Jo’s successes and how much attention this important study is receiving,” said Elizabeth Stulberg GRD ’13, who conducts research in Handelsman’s lab. “Jo is a fantastic advisor with always a good word to say and a helpful suggestion.”

Handelsman first published her gender bias research in the journal of the National Academy of Sciences in August 2012.

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