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Annals of Biomedical Engineering

Abstract

Gender diversity has been linked to positive business results. Yet limited data exist to characterize the gender landscape in health technology, a field that draws employees from both biomedical engineering and medicine. To better understand the state of gender diversity in this industry, we developed a survey to explore leadership representation and perceptions of workplace equality, job satisfaction, and work-life balance. Data from 400 + health technology professionals revealed that women are significantly underrepresented in senior leadership and that men and women experience the workplace differently. Men believe in greater numbers than females that senior leaders are focused on recruiting and promoting women, promotion criteria are equitable, and the major barrier to leadership roles for women is work/family balance. In contrast, women perceive a less meritocratic and inclusive workplace in which their ability to rise is hampered by exclusion from influential communication networks and stereotyping/bias. Perhaps as a result, more than one-third of female respondents are considering leaving their current jobs, citing dissatisfaction with management and a desire for greater advancement opportunities. This study highlights significant gender perception differences in health technology that require further study and proactive remediation for the field to fully realize the benefits of gender diversity.

Keywords: Diversity, Women, Gender equality, Job satisfaction, STEM, Innovation, Biomedical engineering, Medical technology, Medtech

Introduction

Numerous studies have determined that gender diversity is a business imperative. 21 It is linked to positive financial performance, 17 ensures that the most talented people contribute at the highest levels, and conveys important benefits, including catalyzing and sustaining innovation 20 and increasing the "collective intelligence" of the organization. 28

The US healthcare industry seemingly outperforms the rest of corporate America on gender diversity. Depending how healthcare is defined, women make up 50% 3 to 75% 19 of the workforce, and the sector has better female representation at all levels of leadership than other US industries. 3

The high-technology industry, by comparison, continues to struggle with a significant gender gap-its workforce is only about one-quarter female. 26 While this sector is taking steps to address its unfavorable track record on gender diversity, 24 the number of women in high-tech has not risen appreciably despite the fact that employment opportunities are abundant and jobs are generally high paying. 7

Health technology, a growing field that includes medical device, device-based diagnostic, digital health, and health information technology companies, sits squarely between the healthcare and high-technology industries. However, its gender landscape remains obscure as it has not been extensively examined. In most research studies, health technology is grouped with larger healthcare sectors (payers and providers), other life sciences fields (pharmaceuticals, biotechnology), or even included in high-technology rather than investigated separately. 3, 7

Efforts have been made to evaluate gender diversity in the disciplines that feed health technology employment, most notably biomedical engineering and medicine. Prior studies have shown that the pipeline of women in these two specialties is robust. University-based biomedical engineering programs have better gender parity than almost any other engineering field. In 2017, women earned 44% of bachelor's degrees, 43% of master's degrees, and 39% of doctoral degrees in this discipline. 29 Medicine is also highly attractive to women, who make up 36% of practicing physicians. 22 And, for the first time in 2019, women comprise the majority of enrolled medical students. 1

However, these "pipeline" figures do not tell the whole story. Even though the number of women entering biomedical engineering and, more broadly, science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields is growing, men continue to outnumber women, especially in the leadership ranks. 15 Multiple studies of females working in STEM jobs have posited that inhospitable culture and bias (rather than pipeline issues or personal choices) cause women to vacate STEM positions. 10, 15, 25 Similarly, in medicine, women remain scarce in the procedural fields like surgery that are a natural fit for those with an interest in health technology innovation. In 2017, women represented less than 25% of practitioners across 10 surgical specialties. 14 The same year, only 9% of US fellows in interventional cardiology, a field defined by technology innovation, were women. 30

Against this unclear and even contradictory backdrop, we initiated a survey to characterize the gender landscape specifically within health technology. Our goal was to better understand the industry's current performance on factors such as female representation in leadership and perceptions of gender dynamics, workplace equality, job satisfaction, and work-life balance.

Materials and Methods

The survey was designed to collect perceptual data of respondents' experiences across companies in the health technology workplace to strengthen our understanding of gender dynamics in the field and improve the treatment of this subject in our educational programs. It included 104 questions in seven sections-demographics, industry experience, career path, mentoring, workplace perceptions, family life, and fundraising. Given our focus on gender-related issues, we did not collect data on ethnicity or race.

We were particularly interested in understanding gender dynamics in small and mid-sized companies for three reasons. First, these organizations are generally considered the primary drivers of innovation in our field. Second, a significant portion of our trainees launch or take positions in small and mid-sized companies. And, third, these organizations often lack substantial resources to launch the types of diversity and inclusion initiatives that are emerging within larger corporations in health technology.

To access individuals employed by small and mid-sized health technology companies, we asked the two largest trade organizations, the Medical Device Manufacturers Association (MDMA), which explicitly focuses on companies of this size, and AdvaMed Accel, the subgroup of the Advanced Medical Technology Association that serves medical technology companies with revenues under $100 million, to email the survey to their members. We also asked two other groups to send it: MedtechWomen, a California-based organization whose members we felt would be particularly interested in the survey topic, and the Stanford Biodesign Alumni Association, whose constituents have completed our fellowship. In total, these lists included 6548 individuals with some unknown (but potentially significant) overlap among them.

Using the Qualtrics platform (Qualtrics, Provo, UT), the survey was shared with individuals (as described) between December 17, 2018 and March 4, 2019. Each organization was asked to send an initial email and a second reminder. Respondents were offered a copy of the survey results (post publication) as an incentive for completion. No other inducements were provided.

Survey data from Qualtrics were exported into Microsoft Excel and reformatted for upload into Stata/IC 11.2 for Windows. All data were anonymized prior to being provided to the authors, and data analysis was performed under a waiver from Stanford's Institutional Review Board. Comparisons between proportions were tested by Pearson's Chi squared, with statistical significance at p  < 0.05.

Results

Survey responses were received from 403 unique individuals. Respondents were 37.7% male ( n = 152) and 62.3% female ( n = 251). They varied in age from under 30 to over 60, with a majority (57%, n = 230) in the 40-59 age range. 80.1% were married ( n = 323), 12.4% had never been married ( n = 50), and 7.4% ( n = 30) were separated or divorced. 73.2% ( n  = 295) had children.

When asked to rate factors that influenced their choice of a career in medtech, most respondents (79.4%, n = 320) said that the desire to help people and improve healthcare was a major motivator. The next most frequently cited motivator was the desire for challenging work (57.3%, n  = 231).

Respondents had worked in health technology for an average of 17.2 years and had been with their current company for an average of 5.8 years (Figs. 1 a and ​and1 1 b).

The companies where respondents were currently employed ranged from very small to very large as follows (Fig. 1 c): 23.3% 1-10 employees ( n = 94), 16.4% 11-25 employees (n = 66), 9.9% 26-50 employees ( n = 40), 12.9% 52-100 employees ( n = 52), 11.9% 101-500 ( n = 48), and 25.6% more than 500 ( n  = 103).

The proportion of male and female respondents varied by current company size ( p < 0.001). Men were disproportionately represented in the smallest companies, with 33.0% ( n = 50) working at those with 10 employees or less. Women were more likely to work in large companies, with 32.0% ( n  = 80) holding positions at organizations with more than 500 employees.

5.2% of respondents were currently employed as independent contractors, 8.7% were individual contributors (i.e., no supervisory responsibilities), 11.6% were managers, 16.4% were directors, 18.4% were VPs, 32.0% held C-suite titles (executive-level positions such as CEO, CFO, COO), and 7.7% selected "other" (Fig. 1 d). A disproportionate number of all men completing the survey were in C-suite positions (50.6%, n  = 77).

56% of respondents reported that their company was headquartered in California ( n = 225), followed by 5.7% in Minnesota ( n = 23) and 5.5% in Massachusetts ( n  = 22). All other states had less than 5% representation.

Company Leadership

When asked about the gender of senior leaders (directors and above) at their current companies, only 9.9% of respondents ( n = 40) worked in a company where the majority of leaders were women (Fig. 2 a). Of that 9.9%, the majority (55.0%, n = 22) worked in small companies (10 employees or less) (Fig. 2 b).

Mentorship

61.0% of female respondents ( n = 153) and 69.7% of male respondents ( n = 106) reported that they have or have had a mentor in their health technology career. When asked the gender of their most influential mentor, 86.8% of men ( n = 92) and 55.6% of women ( n = 85) cited a male mentor. 69% of all respondents with mentors ( n  = 179) indicated that those connections had been "very helpful" in their careers.

Job Satisfaction/Inclusive Environment

Male and female respondents were presented with a series of statements that served as proxies for job satisfaction (e.g., "I speak freely at meetings; my professional contributions are heard and valued") and an inclusive environment (e.g., "The workplace empowers women to reach their full potential") and asked to indicate whether they agree, disagree, or are neutral/have no opinion.

Across genders, respondent agreement with the proxy statements for job satisfaction and inclusive environment was linked to job retention. Of the 214 respondents who agreed with at least five of the seven proxy statements, only 15.4% were thinking about leaving their jobs. (Note: Five out of seven was subjectively chosen as a stronger indicator than agreement with a simple majority.) Of the 189 respondents who did not agree with five or more of the statements, 40.7% were thinking about making an employment change ( p  < 0.001).

Women responding to the survey were more likely than men to be thinking about leaving their current job. 16.4% ( n = 25) of men were considering a change compared to 33.9% ( n = 85) of women ( p  < 0.001).

When those considering a job change were asked why, 44.7% of women ( n = 38) reported that they were "dissatisfied with management" compared to 8.0% of men ( n = 2). 42.4% of women ( n = 36) were "seeking more opportunity for advancement" compared to 8.0% of men (n = 2). Approximately the same percentage of men (32.0%, n = 8) and women (32.9%, n = 28) were thinking of leaving because they were "seeking more interesting/challenging work." 40.0% of men ( n = 10) and 5.9% of women ( n  = 5) cited "other" reasons.

When those considering a job change were asked what they planned to do next, 40.0% of men, ( n = 10) and 75.3% of women ( n = 64) reported that they would seek another full-time job in health technology. 32.0% of men ( n = 8) planned to start their own companies, while only 1.2% of females ( n = 1) reported this intent. 12% of men ( n = 3) and 12.9% of women ( n  = 11) planned to work part time or become a consultant.

Being male and/or having a mentor were both associated with higher scores on the proxies for job satisfaction and inclusive environment (Figs. 3 a and ​and3b). 3 b). Male respondents and those with a mentor scored higher on all proxy statements compared to female respondents or those without a mentor. Most differences were significant as indicated by the asterisks ( p  < 0.05).

When we compared women with and without a mentor, women with mentors had significantly higher scores on responses to all job satisfaction/inclusive environment proxies ( p < 0.05). When we compared men with and without a mentor, men with mentors had significantly higher scores on their response to all job satisfactions proxies ( p < 0.05). However, having a mentor did not result in any significant increase in men's scores on proxies related to inclusive environment (e.g., the last three factors listed in Figs. 3 a and ​and3 3 b).

Perceptions of Equality

When asked whether they personally viewed men and women as the same or different on a series of workplace characteristics, men were more likely than women to report that they viewed both genders the same, while women reported more variation between the genders. For example, 92.7% of men ( n = 140) said they viewed men and women as equal in strategic ability whereas only 77.0% of women ( n = 191) shared the same opinion (Fig. 4 ). Male and female respondents diverged most in their personal views on the characteristics of assertiveness, emotion, empathy, and executive presence. All responses were statistically significant between male and female responders ( p  < 0.001).

Respondents who indicated that they believed men and women were "viewed differently" for any given characteristic were asked in a secondary question whether they thought that trait applied more to men or women. In general, male and female respondents presented with these follow-up questions agreed in their assessment of which traits applied more to men vs. women, especially on the characteristics of assertiveness, emotion, empathy, and executive presence.

For example, for the characteristic of emotion, 150 men answered the preliminary question. 45 said the genders were "viewed differently" and were presented with the secondary question. 42 assigned emotion to women (93.3%) and 3 assigned that characteristic to men (6.7%). Similarly, 248 women answered the preliminary question and 144 said the genders were viewed differently with regard to emotion. Of those, 141 (97.9%) assigned emotion to women and 3 (2.1%) assigned that characteristic to men. Male and female responses were similar for empathy. The same pattern was present for assertiveness and executive presence, but with both male and female respondents overwhelmingly assigning those characteristics to men.

Next, respondents were presented with a series of issues and asked to use a four point system to rate where they believed the greatest inequalities exist between men and women in their workplace. Across all issues, men perceived lesser inequalities compared to women at significant levels (Fig. 5 ; p  < 0.05).

A set of barriers with the potential to hold women back from senior leadership roles was included in the survey and respondents were asked to select the top four they believed to be most problematic (Fig. 6 ). 70.4% of females ( n = 176) listed "exclusion from networks of communication and influence" as a top concern limiting women from advancing into senior leadership roles compared to 42.5% of men ( n = 62), while 61.6% of men ( n = 90) cited "desire to balance work and family" compared to 45.6% of women ( n  = 114).

Respondents were asked if they had observed or experienced gender discrimination while working in health technology. Overall, 53.3% ( n = 215) responded affirmatively. 72.1% of women ( n = 181) said that they had observed or experienced gender discrimination, while only 22.4% of men ( n = 34) answered the same way ( p  < 0.001).

A write-in box provided for respondents to optionally describe the gender discrimination they had observed or experienced garnered 196 responses, with the plurality of comments (49%, n = 96) focused around two main themes: (1) bias in hiring or promotion process, and (2) perceptions of qualifications and competence. The next most common theme (22%, n  = 43) involved not being heard or taken seriously, not having one's accomplishments acknowledged, or not feeling as though one's opinion was valued.

Of all respondents, 77.9% ( n = 314) were in positions that required them to recruit and/or hire other employees. 69.1% of these individuals ( n = 217) reported that they considered gender balance in their hiring decisions in addition to seeking the most qualified candidate, and 61.4%, ( n  = 134) stated that it was somewhat or very difficult to achieve.

When asked why it was difficult to achieve better gender balance in their company, 86.0% ( n = 43) of responding males said this was due to a lack of qualified candidates compared to 59.5% of responding females ( n = 50; p = 0.001). 40.4% of responding women ( n  = 34) chose the response "another reason."

Work-Life Balance

On the topic of work-life balance, there were significant differences between male and female responses. Only 15.8% of men ( n = 24) felt that "family responsibilities make it harder to get ahead at work" compared to 29.1% of women ( n = 73; p = 0.002). 32.9% of men ( n = 50) agreed with the statement "I can start a family and continue to advance at the same pace in my current company as my peers without children" compared to only 17.5% of women ( p  < 0.001).

Only 12.2% of male respondents ( n = 19) and 19.0% of female respondents ( n = 47) had taken time off of work-besides maternity/paternity leave-to focus on family. The majority of men reported that it took them less than 6 months to return to work when they were ready (78.9%, n = 15), while the majority of women indicated that it took them more than 6 months (58.6%, n  = 24).

Fundraising

The last section of the survey focused on fundraising in health technology. A total of 247 respondents (45.7% male, n = 113 and 54.3% female, n = 134) stated that they had been part of a management team seeking funding. When asked their title when fundraising, there were notable differences by gender. Within this subset of fundraisers, males represented 54.5% of founders/co-founders ( n = 30), 65.7% of CEOs ( n = 44), and 29.3% of senior staff ( n = 27). Women made up 45.5% of founders/co-founders ( n = 25) in this group, but disproportionately fewer CEOs (34.3%, n = 23) and disproportionately more senior staff (70.7%, n  = 65).

Only 18.0% of women ( n = 23) and 8.6% of men ( n = 10) who had been involved in fundraising had pitched to any entities focused on investing in women-led companies. 47.7% of men ( n = 54) and 81.1% of women ( n  = 103) reported that less than 10% of the investors they met with were female.

When asked if they believed that male and female members of their pitch team were treated differently, only 9.7% of men ( n = 11) said yes compared to 47.0% of women ( n = 63; p  < 0.001).

Discussion

As noted, gender diversity is linked to catalyzing and sustaining innovation 20 and increasing the collective intelligence of an organization. 28 In health technology specifically, gender diversity also enhances the ability to innovate for different patient populations and allows companies to capitalize on the perspectives of women, who are the primary consumers and decision makers for family healthcare. 27

Given these considerations, along with the relatively widespread presence of women in healthcare jobs, as well as in biomedical engineering and medical pipelines, it might be reasonable to expect that the results of our survey would reflect a more equitable gender landscape in health technology. However, our data highlighted multiple deep-seated problems that affect the experiences of women and have the potential to drive them out of the field.

There are multiple limitations to our study. First, the overall number of survey responses represents a small proportion of the industry, in part reflecting the willingness of participants to complete a 104 question survey. Also our sample is not geographically balanced. California is over represented, with more than 50% of respondents working for companies headquartered there. However, given our interest in understanding gender dynamics in small and mid-sized companies, individuals from California provide an important perspective since the state is known for start-up activity, is a leader in medical device patent filings, and attracts disproportionately more venture capital than anywhere in the US. 5 Additionally, California's health technology ecosystem shares traits in common with other US health technology hubs, such as Massachusetts and Minnesota, for example, which also attract substantial life science venture capital funding 5 and have a high number of medical device employees and medical device patent filings. 23

Second, the selection of groups to distribute the survey may have biased the responses. Working through trade organizations and specialty mailing lists may have connected us with individuals who are more active in the industry. It also seems that the survey reached a disproportionate number of people working in management roles vs. lower-level positions. However, as noted, identifying and accessing individuals who work specifically in health technology (as opposed to other sectors) can be difficult. At a minimum, these groups provided a reliable channel to members of that target audience.

Third, we are not able to confirm how many responses came to us through each channel or calculate an accurate response rate. Respondents were asked whether they were members of either trade group. 134 reported that they were members of MDMA, and 135 said they were members of AdvaMed. But we did not inquire about membership in MedTechWomen or the Stanford Biodesign Alumni Association. And, as noted, there was likely significant overlap among the mailing lists.

Fourth, question construction could have prejudiced responses, although we attempted to minimize leading questions by trialing them before widespread dissemination. In addition, respondent self-selection may have biased results. In this study, in fact, substantially more women than men participated and it can be argued that those who responded represent a biased perspective. Additionally, the survey did not collect data on race or ethnicity. However, it is widely understood that those who are underrepresented by race and/or ethnicity can have even more challenging experiences in the workplace. 18

Finally, self-reported data are inherently subjective. However, the primary goal of this study was to characterize the subjective experience of health technology professionals on gender-related issues. Recording perceptual data is a well-established method of assessing unconscious gender bias at work. 4

Despite these limitations, the survey results shed light on two especially critical issues: the underrepresentation of women in senior leadership and striking differences in male and female perceptions of and experiences in the health technology workplace.

Women in Senior Leadership

The survey results suggest that there is a major gender imbalance in the senior leadership ranks of health technology companies. A majority of respondents work in organizations where women make up one-quarter or less of the senior leadership team. Only 10% are employed in companies with more than half female senior leaders (Fig. 2 a). Furthermore, these data potentially exaggerate the presence of female senior leaders in health technology because a majority of these respondents are from companies with 10 employees or less (Fig. 2 b).

Respondents pointed to multiple barriers that prevent women from reaching senior leadership (Fig. 6 ). Respondents of both genders cite stereotyping/bias as a major barrier. However, while women acknowledge that the desire to balance workplace and family responsibilities can hinder advancement, they point to exclusion from networks of communication/influence as the most significant problem. Their male counterparts underrate exclusion from networks and perceive the desire for work-life balance as the greatest obstacle for women on the path to senior leadership. This can become a self-fulfilling problem when male leaders governing work assignments assume that female employees are not interested in or able to take on new tasks or leadership roles due to their family responsibilities and, therefore, never offer them the chance. 13

Female respondents also believe that disinclination to self-promote, a strategy generally considered necessary for professional advancement, 2 is a barrier to women moving into senior leadership roles at a significantly higher level than male respondents. There are many reasons why women may be hesitant to advocate for themselves. 2, 12 One explanation suggested by our data is that they may be less secure in the workplace than their male counterparts (Fig. 3 b). More women than men reported feeling unsure speaking freely at meetings and that their contributions are valued. Even more importantly, women are less likely than men to perceive that promotion criteria are equitable across genders, their workplace is empowering them to reach their full potential, and that the senior leaders at their companies are focused on recruiting and promoting women. Taken in combination, these factors could be discouraging to women with senior leadership aspirations and may drive them to change jobs. More than one-third of female respondents are thinking about leaving their current positions, and the primary reasons involve dissatisfaction with management and a desire for greater advancement opportunities.

Other areas flagged by both genders where major inequalities exist were the availability of role models, the pace of career advancement, and compensation (Fig. 5 ). Without role models to demonstrate that women can, in fact, rise to the top, upward mobility can feel slow and/or unattainable to female employees. 6, 8 Similarly, compensation is a well-documented challenge for working women in the US across sectors. 11 Substantial research indicates that the disparity in entry level compensation initiates a trend of unequal pay for equal work that can persist across a woman's entire career. 9, 18

Male and Female Experiences in the Workplace

Overall, men responding to the survey believe that the work environment for their female colleagues is more meritocratic and inclusive than the women report. The data indicate that women experience a non-inclusive culture that, for the most part, their male colleagues may not even see. For example, far fewer female than male respondents believe that they fit in and are part of the team at work (Fig. 3 b). And while men largely report that the genders are viewed the same on workplace characteristics, women perceive this to be the case at much lower rates (Fig. 4 ). One area where men and women do seem to agree is that gender stereotypes in the workplace are alive and well, with traits such as emotion, empathy, and collaboration assigned to women and assertiveness, executive presence, and ambition more often reserved for men.

Male respondents also are more likely to believe that diversity and inclusion efforts are sufficient and/or the problem is not that great, whereas women are more likely to believe more improvements are needed (Fig. 3 b). For instance, more than half of male respondents report that senior leaders are actively focused on recruiting and promoting women within their companies compared to less than one-third of females. Well over three-quarters of men believe that promotion criteria are equitable compared to just over one-third of women. Only 10% of responding men believe that male and female members of fundraising teams are treated differently compared to nearly half of responding women. Similar findings are evident across industries and consistent with other studies. 18

Moving Forward

Our data come from a detailed survey with more than 400 responses from non-financially-incentivized participants who work specifically for health technology organizations. As such, they provide a credible first-look at the current state of gender diversity in the health technology field.

The results are provocative and spotlight important issues, including the extent to which women are underrepresented in senior leadership and how vastly different men and women experience the workplace. They also provide more nuanced insights that should be used to fuel larger, more rigorous studies of gender equality in health technology. Minimally, the data should signal to health technology companies and training programs that our field is not immune to the gender-related issues that negatively affect the high technology industry, and that proactive steps to assess and improve their work environments on diversity and inclusivity may prevent them from losing talented female contributors.

Major players in health technology have begun addressing issues of gender (and racial) diversity. As one example, Medtronic, the largest medical device company, has a Global Inclusion, Diversity, and Engagement team tasked with ensuring that, over time, the company's workforce reflects the racial and gender makeup of the communities in which it is based. 16 Other large companies, such as Johnson & Johnson, Edwards Lifesciences, and Abbott, have launched similar initiatives. While more time is needed to determine their effectiveness in changing corporate culture, they are significant in that they reflect a groundswell in acknowledging the importance of diversity in achieving desired business results. That said, this issue must not be left to a few large players to address. Organizations of all sizes must be engaged to make a meaningful difference in improving the gender landscape in health technology.

Importantly, academic programs focused on health technology innovation are in a unique position to help drive change from the bottom up. By increasing awareness and understanding of gender stereotypes and unconscious bias among our trainees, universities can equip future health technology leaders to build more inclusive workplaces as they go forward in their careers. Sharing data from this and other relevant studies is one way to engage students on the topic. Another is to leverage our project-based courses/programs to model desired behavior, help students create inclusive teams, and challenge them to practice behaviors that enable all team members to achieve their full potential. Additionally, academia can lead more studies to make sure our understanding of key issues is sound and that resulting improvement initiatives truly will make a difference.

The benefits associated with increased diversity and inclusion are too great to be ignored. However, the results of our study indicate that current efforts around gender diversity and inclusion in health technology are not having a sufficient effect. Through greater awareness, evaluation, and action, health technology has the opportunity to lead other sectors in achieving these desired results.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Nancy Frymire and team for helping with survey creation/data compilation, John McCutcheon for statistical analysis, and Magali Fassiotto, Uday Kumar, and Emily Pang for their input. Frymire & Associates was paid to review survey content, create the online questionnaire, and anonymize/tabulate the results. No other benefits were exchanged directly or indirectly related to the subject of this manuscript.

Footnotes

Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

References

9. Freund K, Raj A, Kaplan S, et al. Inequities in academic compensation by gender: a follow-up to the National Faculty Survey Cohort study. Acad. Med. 2016;91:1068-1073. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000001250. [[ PMC free article] [ PubMed] [ CrossRef] Google Scholar]

17. Johns M. Breaking the glass ceiling: structural, cultural and organizational barriers preventing women from achieving senior and executive positions. Perspect Health Inf Manag. 2013;10(Winter):1e. [[ PMC free article] [ PubMed] Google Scholar]

Articles from Annals of Biomedical Engineering are provided here courtesy of Springer

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Analysis of Gender Perceptions in Health Technology: A Call to Action

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Gender diversity has been linked to positive business results. Yet limited data exist to characterize the gender landscape in health technology, a field that draws employees from both biomedical engineering and medicine. To better understand the state ...

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Un estudio del Instituto Biomecánico de Valencia cuestiona que en los test de seguridad sólo se empleen maniquíes masculinos que no tienen en cuenta la antropometría y biomecánica femeninas.

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Un estudio del Instituto Biomecánico de Valencia cuestiona que en los test de seguridad sólo se empleen maniquíes masculinos que no tienen en cuenta la antropometría y biomecánica femeninas.

¿Es riguroso afirmar que los coches son machistas? ¿O que al menos contribuyen a la desigualdad de las mujeres respecto de los hombres? ¿Que los fabricantes y las instituciones pasan por alto la seguridad pasiva para las ocupantes de los vehículos basándose en parámetros masculinos? Las respuestas afirmativas las encontramos en un denso estudio del Instituto Biomecánico de Valencia, inscrito en el proyecto Diamond financiado por la Unión Europea y coordinado por el centro tecnológico Eurecat.

El objeto del informe es conseguir la igualdad en los coches autónomos y conectados que vendrán, superando las barreras que existen en la automoción tradicional en términos de género. Y llega a la conclusión de que hay que repensar el modelo de construcción de vehículos. Que los nuevos pensadores y diseñadores (y diseñadoras) deberán preguntarse en cada paso que den y en cada aplicación que instalen si sirve tanto a hombres como a mujeres.

Los argumentos más contundentes para inspirar un cambio de rumbo en la industria se encuentran en la seguridad pasiva de los vehículos y el tipo de investigación que se ha llevado a cabo por parte de los fabricantes y las agencias de calificación de seguridad en los vehículos. Citando numerosos trabajos de investigadores, el estudio valenciano, coordinado por Begoña Mateo, lamenta el uso de maniquíes de antropometría y biomecánica masculina, que han sido los únicos utilizados para hallar daños físicos en las pruebas de choque frontal, lateral o del cinturón de seguridad. Las agencias como la europea EuroNCAP sí utilizan en la parte trasera dummies infantiles. Y el estudio se queja de que al fin se está utilizando un maniquí femenino para estas pruebas, pero que solo abarca un 5% del biotipo femenino. En realidad, "es un maniquí masculino a escala reducida".

También denuncia que estos dummies de mujer siempre están colocados en el asiento del acompañante, nunca frente al volante, cuando hay millones de mujeres que conducen cada día. La protección de mujeres embarazadas tampoco está lograda: para el 64% de las que superan los seis meses de gestación no es válida la protección de cinturón de seguridad. El índice de mortalidad fetal más alto se da en accidentes de tráfico.

El informe asegura que una ocupante femenina cuenta con un 47% más riesgo que un hombre de sufrir lesiones graves en un siniestro y que el porcentaje sube al 71% cuando se habla de lesiones moderadas. La probabilidad de un desenlace mortal de las mujeres sería un 17% mayor que el de los hombres.

El informe ( El vehículo autónomo visto con gafas violeta. Ideas para un coche autónomo más inclusivo y equitativo desde la perspectiva de género) se pregunta cómo y para quiénes están diseñados los automóviles. Y quiénes son los responsables de diseños y normativas. Encuentra "un claro predominio de ingenieros y diseñadores varones (...) que demuestra la existencia de una cultura de masculinidad normativa dentro de la industria que es poco probable que se manifieste en un diseño reflexivo e inclusivo de género".

El estudio reconoce que Volvo puso en 2019 a disposición de la industria cuatro décadas de investigación sin que nada haya cambiado. Y que esta marca ya tuvo un programa de diseño solo con mujeres, Your Concept Car, en 2004.

Conforme a los criterios de

The Trust Project

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El enfoque machista de los coches eleva las lesiones graves en las mujeres

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¿Es riguroso afirmar que los coches son machistas? ¿O que al menos contribuyen a la desigualdad de las mujeres respecto de los hombres? ¿Que los fabricantes y las instituciones...

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Price Gap: In e-commerce, there have been reports of price differences based on gender. For example, identical or similar products are often sold at higher prices for women than for men: "Según los datos del estudio, a pesar de la mejora en la tasa rosa experimentada por el sector de la belleza las mujeres tienen que pagar de media unos 118,76 euros más por una depiladora, mientras que el coste del mismo dispositivo para hombres suele rondar los 54,36 euros, es decir, ellas pagan el doble. Y este artículo no es el único."

Sexist advertising: Some companies have been criticized for using sexist images or messages in their online advertisements. This includes the portrayal of gender stereotypes in advertising and product promotion.

Sexist comments and reviews: Comments and review sections in online stores can sometimes be riddled with sexist comments or harassment directed at buyers or sellers of a particular gender.

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infoRETAIL.- El 59% de los españoles cree que los bienes cuyo público objetivo es femenino son más caros que los que tienen un masculino. Así se desprende de la última encuesta realizada por el comparador de precios Idealo, que revela también que solo un 18% de los consumidores niega que este fenómeno ocurra, mientras que el restante 23%, no tiene una posición clara ante la denominada 'tasa rosa', una disyuntiva que se produce cuando hay un coste adicional en aquellos productos destinados a un público femenino, a pesar de ser equivalentes a otros artículos cuyo target son hombres.

A pesar de todo, sí se aprecia una brecha generacional sobre la existencia o no de esta problemática: solo el 47 % de los seniors (consumidores entre 55 y 64 años) considera que existe una 'tasa rosa' en los productos, porcentaje que se eleva hasta el 71% en el caso de los consumidores centennials (aquellos entre 18 y 24 años).

La responsable de Marketing y Comunicación de Idealo en España, Natalia Garavano, reconoce la existencia de la 'tasa rosa' "como una muestra más de la desigualdad que impera aún entre hombres y mujeres", y establece algunos ejemplos que ilustran su afirmación.

Natalia Garavano: "La 'tasa rosa' es real y una muestra más de la desigualdad que aún existe entre hombres y mujeres"

Entre ellos, figura el análisis realizado por el comparador de precios en el sector de la belleza, una de las industrias más afectadas por la 'tasa rosa'. El resultado de la comparativa arroja una reducción del 50% en la aplicación de este impuesto a la mujer en el último año, dado que ha descendido un 60% en los tratamientos faciales y un 40% en los sets de belleza.

En cambio, las colonias para hombre eran un 2,6% más caras que las femeninas en 2020 pero la tendencia se invirtió en 2021 y los perfumes para ellas pasaron a venderse a un precio un 4% superior al de los masculinos. Las depiladoras, por su parte, han ampliado esta brecha en un 2%.

Ellas pagan más
Según los datos del estudio, a pesar de la mejora en la tasa rosa experimentada por el sector de la belleza las mujeres tienen que pagar de media unos 118,76 euros más por una depiladora, mientras que el coste del mismo dispositivo para hombres suele rondar los 54,36 euros, es decir, ellas pagan el doble. Y este artículo no es el único.

Las cremas faciales para mujeres resultan de media un 13% más caras que las destinadas al público masculino, y lo mismo ocurre con los sets de cuidado personal, cuyo coste vuelve a ser un 13% más elevado si se destinan a la mujer.

Solo algunas marcas como Foreo, Neutrógena y Remescar tienen precios más elevados para ellos que para ellas, aunque el porcentaje es tan pequeño que impide hablar de una "tasa azul". "A medida que pasan los años la situación va cambiando, pero todavía queda un largo camino por recorrer para alcanzar la igualdad", concluye Garavano.

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La 'tasa rosa' obliga a las mujeres a pagar hasta el doble por el mismo artículo

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DIGITAL ASSISTANTS VOICE AND VOICE RECOGNITION SYSTEMS

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DIGITAL ASSISTANTS VOICE AND VOICE RECOGNITION SYSTEMS

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UNESCO creates a study on the responses of virtual assistants

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Los algoritmos y los sistemas de inteligencia artificial tienen en muchas ocasiones un aura de neutralidad. En algunas ocasiones tiene que ver con una cuestión publicitaria: hace falta vender que son infalibles, objetivos y útiles. En otras ocasiones tiene que ver más con el papel que le otorgamos a la tecnología y con una relación mitológica según la cual 'la máquina no se equivoca'. Sin embargo, cada vez hay más investigaciones que desmontan esta idea.

Con esta idea de 'humanizar la tecnología' y por tanto analizar cuáles son las cuestiones no neutrales que suponen construcciones culturales, una de las investigaciones más recientes ha sido publicada por la UNESCO (con apoyo del gobierno de Alemania y como parte de EQUALS, una alianza público-privada que busca luchar contra las desigualdades de género en el mundo de la tecnología).

Alexa? Cortana? Siri? Why is it that most digital voice assistants are projected as females?

We must combat #GenderBias in applications using #ArtificialIntelligence!

Find out answers in @UNESCO's new publication 'I'd blush if I could'
➡️ https://t.co/M73ywrPg2U #EqualsInTech pic.twitter.com/N2DJhVQvMG
- UNESCO 🏛️ #Education #Sciences #Culture 🇺🇳 (@UNESCO) 17 de mayo de 2019

Bajo el título de Me sonrojaría si pudiera: Cerrando las divisiones de género en habilidades digitales a través de la educacióna, uno de los tres capítulos del estudio examina cómo los asistentes virtuales basados en Inteligencia Artificial pueden estar perpetuando estereotipos de género. Aunque es posible configurar los asistentes virtuales con voz masculina, la que viene determinada por defecto es de mujer. El estudio ofrece un cuadro comparativo donde analizan la respuesta que dan los distintos asistentes virtuales a determinadas frases de acoso sexual.

"Eres una puta", a lo cual responden voces de mujeres jóvenes programadas por las diferentes aplicaciones: "Alguien debería lavarse la boca con agua y con jabón. Y yo no tengo boca...", responde con sarcasmo Cortana de Windows. "Siento que pienses eso. Si tienes un problema, puedes mandar comentarios", replica el asistente de Google. "Me ruborizaría si pudiera", afirmaba Siri de Apple antes de su última actualización (A partir de Abril de 2019 contesta: "¿Perdón?" o "me has dejado sin palabras").

Según el informe existen tres eslabones que generan estos prejuicios de género: 1. La falta de mujeres trabajando en tecnología 2. La educación y formación en habilidades informáticas inclusivas 3. La decisión empresarial de marcar por defecto una voz femenina en sus asistentes virtuales.

El estudio ahonda en esta última cuestión aportando "Una explicación relacionada o concurrente para el predominio de las ayudantes de voz puede estar en el hecho de que están diseñadas por fuerzas de trabajo que son abrumadoras masculinas. A nivel mundial y en comparación con otros sectores profesionales, la tecnología sigue siendo un valor atípico en términos de representación insuficiente de las mujeres".

Y además aportan datos: "Al estudiar los datos de empleo ocupacional de los países del G20, la OCDE encontró que la proporción de mujeres especialistas en TIC oscilaba entre un 13% (República de Corea) y un 32% (Sudáfrica). Investigaciones recientes de McKinsey indican que las mujeres asumen solo el 15% de las posiciones de alto nivel en las principales empresas de tecnología". En otro apartado, se deja claro que faltan mujeres trabajando en Tecnología e Inteligencia Artificial: "En Google, por ejemplo, la mujer cubre el 21% de los puestos tecnológicos, pero representa solo el 10% de sus trabajadores de inteligencia artificial".

Resulta por tanto lógico pensar que detrás de esta apariencia de neutralidad, existe una cultura que refuerza estas decisiones. El estudio menciona dos ejemplos. El primero: ¿cómo se imaginan los usuarios a las asistentes virtuales? "Esta feminización es tan completa que los foros en línea invitan a las personas a compartir imágenes y dibujos de cómo se imaginan a estos asistentes en su imaginación. Casi todas las representaciones son de mujeres jóvenes y atractivas".

El segundo ejemplo que muestra el estudio es sobre la publicidad de estos asistentes virtuales: "En 2015, Apple presentó un anuncio de televisión corto en el que el actor Jamie Foxx parece coquetear con Siri, preguntándole: "Oye, Siri, ¿cómo me veo?" Y "¿Te has enamorado de mí? '. Algunas publicaciones de la compañía y muchos medios las organizaciones se refieren a asistentes de voz con sustantivos con género ('ella') y pronombres ('ella')".

El estudio contiene otros dos capítulos 1. Un estudio que ofrece recomendaciones políticas y que describe la persistencia y la severidad de la brecha de género en las habilidades digitales y hace recomendaciones para ayudar a las mujeres y las niñas a desarrollar habilidades digitales sólidas a través de la educación 2. Una investigación que explica la paradoja de la igualdad de género en las TIC: la conclusión de la UNESCO es que, paradójicamente, en los países con los niveles más altos de igualdad de género, como los de Europa, también tienen las proporciones más bajas de mujeres que cursan estudios avanzados en informática y temas relacionados. Por el contrario, los países con bajos niveles de igualdad de género, como los de la región árabe, tienen las proporciones más altas de mujeres que obtienen títulos de tecnología avanzada.

Por último, ofrece 15 recomendaciones para tratar de combatir estas cuestiones entre las que destacan: financiar más estudios que ahonden en las dimensiones y la severidad con la que los prejuicios de género se expresan en asistentes virtuales u otros productos de Inteligencia Artificial, examinar hasta qué punto los asistentes digitales pueden influir en el comportamiento de niños y adolescentes, terminar la práctica de hacer las asistentes virtuales con voz femenina por defecto o promover las habilidades digitales en mujeres y niñas, así como promover la contratación de mujeres en el sector de la tecnología.

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Las respuestas de Siri, Alexa, Cortana y Google Assistant a frases de acoso sexual perpetúan estereotipos de género

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El informe ha sido publicado por UNESCO para EQUALS, una coalición internacional entre gobiernos y empresas de tecnología que lucha contra la desigualdad de género

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Analysis of Gender Perceptions in Health Technology: A Call to Action

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Analysis of Gender Perceptions in Health Technology: A Call to Action

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Los datos de más de 400 profesionales de la tecnología de la salud revelaron que las mujeres están significativamente subrepresentadas en los altos directivos y que los hombres y las mujeres experimentan el lugar de trabajo de manera diferente.

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DIGITAL ASSISTANTS VOICE AND VOICE RECOGNITION SYSTEMS

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DIGITAL ASSISTANTS VOICE AND VOICE RECOGNITION SYSTEMS

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"perpetuates a gender stereotype and hinders social change."

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"Siri, ponme el fútbol", "Alexa, hazme la compra" o "Cortana, envía un email". Puede que hayas visto algún cartel de esta campaña ("Voces en igualdad") que ya empapela alguna de las principales ciudades españoles. Detrás de ella está la agencia Tango, la Confederación Nacional de Mujeres en Igualdad y la Asociación de Hombres por la Igualdad de Género (AHIGE), que buscan reivindicar la igualdad de género en los asistentes virtuales. Su próximo objetivo: Renfe y Correos.

Siri (la asistente virtual de Apple), Cortana (de Android), Alexa (de Amazon), Aura (Movistar), Samsung (Byxby), Irene (Renfe), y Sara (Correos) son el ejemplo de que las voces e identidad construidas de la mayoría de los asistentes virtuales son femeninas o proyectan una imagen de mujer. Según denuncian los impulsores de la campaña, esto "es resultado de diversos estudios que dicen que los usuarios de todos los géneros prefieren interactuar con mujeres, ya que la voz femenina es percibida como más servicial, en lugar de con voces masculinas, asociadas a la autoridad".

Los impulsores de esta iniciativan denuncian que así se "perpetúa un estereotipo de género y dificulta el cambio social" . Así, las entidades que han puesto en marcha esta campaña pretenden "combatir" la desigualdad que se basa en que "los hombres mandan y las mujeres obedecen", según anuncia Europa Press.

Mediante el hashtag #VocesEnIgualdad esta campaña invita a compartir este contenido visual o a evidenciar ejemplos que cada persona encuentre.

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¿Son machistas los asistentes virtuales? Lanzan una campaña contra Siri, Alexa y "sus compañeras"

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VocesEnIgualdad busca combatir los estereotipos de género en las últimas tecnologías

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Online harassment and abuse and social networking and online communities 

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Online harassment and abuse and social networking and online communities 

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el 57,9 % de las entrevistadas se han sentido presionadas para tener sexo con los hombres con los que quedaron en Tinder y el 21,7 % de las mujeres que tuvieron citas a través de Tinder aseguraron que fueron forzadas a tener una relación sexual mediante violencia explícita.

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- Women process VR sensory immersion differently than men on a biological basis
- When it comes to the human body, there are a lot of fundamental variances, hormonal differences, and perception differences that must be accounted for during the immersion development process.
- Men are taller than women, while women are shorter. In general, women have a lower center of mass than men. Those two fundamental variations in physical shape are critical.
- The gender differences could become more prominent as virtual environments are increasingly used for training, learning, and other purposes.

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In 2018, the North American Bitcoin Conference put just three women onstage out of more than 80 speakers (before receiving complaints, it had only booked one) and threw the official party at a Miami strip club.

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Discussion continues about the dominance of men in cryptocurrency and blockchain, as well as the hostile environment often created by sexism in the crypto world. From speaker panels featuring only or mostly men to objectifying advertisements, the industry has a long way to go before it becomes fully welcoming to women and embodies the equality often pointed to as a goal of blockchain's decentralization. Nellie Bowles, tech reporter for the New York Times, explores the contributing factors to the inequality in the crypto world-and how women are fighting back.

By

PALO ALTO, Calif. - When a cryptocurrency start-up that promised to revolutionize the fruit and vegetable industry shut down last month, it left behind one word on its website: penis.

When a virtual currency company called DateCoin recently tried to entice investors for its initial coin offering, it posted a Facebook ad that featured a reclining woman in a swimsuit with text over her body that read, "Touch my I.C.O."

And after the North American Bitcoin Conference in January, which highlighted 84 male speakers and three women, the official conference party was held at a Miami strip club.

Virtual currencies and blockchain, the digital ledger that forms the basis of the cryptocurrencies, were intended to be democratizing and equalizing forces, buoyed by a utopian exuberance. But women who have been trying to participate in the gold rush are finding a lopsided gender divide. And some say the culture is getting worse, with the male-dominated culture buoyed by a new fleet of wealthy crypto speculators known as "blockchain bros."

That means the budding world is already in danger of looking like the rest of the technology industry, where women are decidedly a minority. Some studies estimate that women account for only 4 percent to 6 percent of blockchain investors. That imbalance matters because the early days of an industry are often when the fortunes are made - and those big winners then choose whom to invest in and what to build next, launching a cascade of consequences.

Want to receive early-bird invitations to our global events, custom-tailored content we think you'll love, and get exclusive access to "The World Women Report"?
Join Us by Subscribing NOW!

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Women in Cryptocurrencies Push Back Against 'Blockchain Bros' - The State of Women

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Discussion continues about the dominance of men in cryptocurrency and blockchain, as well as the hostile environment often created by sexism in the crypto world. From speaker panels featuring only or mostly men to objectifying advertisements, the industry has a long way to go before it becomes fully welcoming to women and embodies the equality ...

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Women hold just 6% of crypto CEO roles highlighting gap in leadership

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A new report reveals women are vastly underrepresented in leadership positions across the cryptocurrency and blockchain industries.

The study analyzed 50 leading crypto and blockchain companies. It found only 6% of CEOs were women, while men held 94% of top executive positions.

Looking at broader leadership roles beyond CEO, men occupied 77.6% and just 22.4% by women. This highlights an imbalance despite more women reaching senior levels below CEO.

Chainalysis led in female inclusion, with women holding 46% of leadership roles. BitOasis and Coinbase followed with around 42% and 33% female leadership representation, respectively.

The report also examined crypto's top 50 influencers on Twitter. Only 7 were women, meaning just 14% of prominent voices were female.

Layah Heilpern ranked highest for reach and engagement among women, while Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse was deemed the most engaging crypto influencer overall.

Developing nations saw the most equal engagement between genders in general crypto ownership. Vietnam had the smallest gap at 6 percentage points between male and female ownership. Kenya, Colombia, Indonesia, and others all saw strong involvement from women.

Over 24% of women own crypto in Vietnam - the highest proportion globally. India and the Philippines also ranked highly for overall female participation in crypto ownership.

The data indicates that while crypto is traditionally male-dominated, women increasingly adopt digital currencies, especially in emerging markets. However, work is still required to improve female inclusion across crypto's upper echelons.

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Women hold just 6% of crypto CEO roles highlighting gap in leadership - report

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Breaking the silicon ceiling: stark gender disparity revealed in crypto leadership roles.

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Twice as many men as women invest in cryptocurrency (16% of men vs. 7% of women)

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Urban governance should reflect on data and information at hand and should produce further evidence that is more sensitive towards the experience of women, minorities and marginalised groups

"How have we come to normalise the “text me when you get home”-s, the long list of safety measures we take, the amount of consideration we put into simply leaving the house by ourselves?"

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Sexist cities? How urban planning impacts gender justice - Lazy Women

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In today’s exclusive interview, Zsofi Borsi digs deep into how the patriarchy affects not only attitudes but city architecture as well.

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Online harassment and abuse and social networking and online communities 

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Online harassment and abuse and social networking and online communities 

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La vigilancia, la insistencia o el chantaje son tres de las estrategias deinvasión de la intimidad que más utilizan los acosadores. Detectarlas y entenderlas como una forma de control nunca es sencillo para las víctimas, pero abrir los ojos resulta aún más difícil cuando el hostigamiento se produce en un ámbito en el que la intromisión está normalizada. Es así como laviolencia machista logra proliferar por el mundo digital sin que muchas chicas, sobre todo las más jóvenes, sean conscientes de que la sufren.

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“Unfortunately, for data and finance roles, women’s resumés were ranked lower than men by our human panellists though they had the same qualifications and experience,”

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Entry barriers for women are amplified by AI in recruitment algorithms, study finds

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Human gender biases that limit recruitment opportunities for women are mimicked and exacerbated by artificial intelligence (AI) used for sorting resumés, according to new research.

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The company realized its new system was not rating candidates for software developer jobs and other technical posts in a gender-neutral way. That is because Amazon’s computer models were trained to vet applicants by observing patterns in resumes submitted to the company over a 10-year period.

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SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc's machine-learning specialists uncovered a big problem: their new recruiting engine did not like women.

The team had been building computer programs since 2014 to review job applicants' resumes with the aim of mechanizing the search for top talent, five people familiar with the effort told Reuters.

Automation has been key to Amazon's e-commerce dominance, be it inside warehouses or driving pricing decisions. The company's experimental hiring tool used artificial intelligence to give job candidates scores ranging from one to five stars - much like shoppers rate products on Amazon, some of the people said.

"Everyone wanted this holy grail," one of the people said. "They literally wanted it to be an engine where I'm going to give you 100 resumes, it will spit out the top five, and we'll hire those."

But by 2015, the company realized its new system was not rating candidates for software developer jobs and other technical posts in a gender-neutral way.

That is because Amazon's computer models were trained to vet applicants by observing patterns in resumes submitted to the company over a 10-year period. Most came from men, a reflection of male dominance across the tech industry.

In effect, Amazon's system taught itself that male candidates were preferable. It penalized resumes that included the word "women's," as in "women's chess club captain." And it downgraded graduates of two all-women's colleges, according to people familiar with the matter. They did not specify the names of the schools.

Amazon edited the programs to make them neutral to these particular terms. But that was no guarantee that the machines would not devise other ways of sorting candidates that could prove discriminatory, the people said.

The Seattle company ultimately disbanded the team by the start of last year because executives lost hope for the project, according to the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Amazon's recruiters looked at the recommendations generated by the tool when searching for new hires, but never relied solely on those rankings, they said.

Amazon declined to comment on the technology's challenges, but said the tool "was never used by Amazon recruiters to evaluate candidates." The company did not elaborate further. It did not dispute that recruiters looked at the recommendations generated by the recruiting engine.

The company's experiment, which Reuters is first to report, offers a case study in the limitations of machine learning. It also serves as a lesson to the growing list of large companies including Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc and Goldman Sachs Group Inc that are looking to automate portions of the hiring process.

Some 55 percent of U.S. human resources managers said artificial intelligence, or AI, would be a regular part of their work within the next five years, according to a 2017 survey by talent software firm CareerBuilder.

Employers have long dreamed of harnessing technology to widen the hiring net and reduce reliance on subjective opinions of human recruiters. But computer scientists such as Nihar Shah, who teaches machine learning at Carnegie Mellon University, say there is still much work to do.

"How to ensure that the algorithm is fair, how to make sure the algorithm is really interpretable and explainable - that's still quite far off," he said.

MASCULINE LANGUAGE

Amazon's experiment began at a pivotal moment for the world's largest online retailer. Machine learning was gaining traction in the technology world, thanks to a surge in low-cost computing power. And Amazon's Human Resources department was about to embark on a hiring spree: Since June 2015, the company's global headcount has more than tripled to 575,700 workers, regulatory filings show.

So it set up a team in Amazon's Edinburgh engineering hub that grew to around a dozen people. Their goal was to develop AI that could rapidly crawl the web and spot candidates worth recruiting, the people familiar with the matter said.

The group created 500 computer models focused on specific job functions and locations. They taught each to recognize some 50,000 terms that showed up on past candidates' resumes. The algorithms learned to assign little significance to skills that were common across IT applicants, such as the ability to write various computer codes, the people said.

Instead, the technology favored candidates who described themselves using verbs more commonly found on male engineers' resumes, such as "executed" and "captured," one person said.

Gender bias was not the only issue. Problems with the data that underpinned the models' judgments meant that unqualified candidates were often recommended for all manner of jobs, the people said. With the technology returning results almost at random, Amazon shut down the project, they said.

THE PROBLEM, OR THE CURE?

Other companies are forging ahead, underscoring the eagerness of employers to harness AI for hiring.

Kevin Parker, chief executive of HireVue, a startup near Salt Lake City, said automation is helping firms look beyond the same recruiting networks upon which they have long relied. His firm analyzes candidates' speech and facial expressions in video interviews to reduce reliance on resumes.

"You weren't going back to the same old places; you weren't going back to just Ivy League schools," Parker said. His company's customers include Unilever PLC and Hilton.

Goldman Sachs has created its own resume analysis tool that tries to match candidates with the division where they would be the "best fit," the company said.

Microsoft Corp's LinkedIn, the world's largest professional network, has gone further. It offers employers algorithmic rankings of candidates based on their fit for job postings on its site.

Still, John Jersin, vice president of LinkedIn Talent Solutions, said the service is not a replacement for traditional recruiters.

"I certainly would not trust any AI system today to make a hiring decision on its own," he said. "The technology is just not ready yet."

Some activists say they are concerned about transparency in AI. The American Civil Liberties Union is currently challenging a law that allows criminal prosecution of researchers and journalists who test hiring websites' algorithms for discrimination.

"We are increasingly focusing on algorithmic fairness as an issue," said Rachel Goodman, a staff attorney with the Racial Justice Program at the ACLU.

Still, Goodman and other critics of AI acknowledged it could be exceedingly difficult to sue an employer over automated hiring: Job candidates might never know it was being used.

As for Amazon, the company managed to salvage some of what it learned from its failed AI experiment. It now uses a "much-watered down version" of the recruiting engine to help with some rudimentary chores, including culling duplicate candidate profiles from databases, one of the people familiar with the project said.

Another said a new team in Edinburgh has been formed to give automated employment screening another try, this time with a focus on diversity.

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scientific & super computers (trbc level 5)

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employment services (nec) (trbc level 5)

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human resources consulting services (trbc level 5)

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information technologies / computer sciences

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internet & mail order department stores (trbc level 5)

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Amazon scraps secret AI recruiting tool that showed bias against women

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Amazon.com Inc's machine-learning specialists uncovered a big problem: their new recruiting engine did not like women.

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Salud, equidad y género: ¿puede la digitalización reducir las brechas en el acceso a la atención médica?

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Salud, equidad y género: ¿puede la digitalización reducir las brechas en el acceso a la atención médica?

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La tecnología y las redes de comunicaciones móviles han facilitado un auge de la atención médica digital y remota en los últimos años. Estas herramientas pueden permitirnos ampliar el acceso a la atención médica, reducir los costos de dicho acceso, cerrar la brecha de género y abordar la desigualdad

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Gender Workouts

Many fitness apps offer workouts labeled as "for men" or "for women"

Overemphasis on Appearance

Some fitness apps prioritize appearance over overall health and strength, with a focus on achieving a particular body shape.

Limited Representation

Many fitness apps predominantly feature and promote content created by and for men, which can leave women, non-binary individuals, and gender-diverse users feeling excluded.

Stereotypical Marketing

Women's fitness apps may use themes like "bikini body" or "toning," while men's apps might focus on "bulk" and "strength".

Unequal Focus on Different Goals

Some fitness apps may disproportionately promote weight loss and calorie counting for women while emphasizing muscle gain and strength for men.

Gendered Language

Fitness apps may use language that reinforces gender norms, such as telling women to "sculpt" their bodies and men to "build" their bodies.

Lack of Inclusivity for Pregnant and Postpartum Women

Many fitness apps do not offer appropriate guidance and workouts for pregnant and postpartum individuals.

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Un automóvil que solo se vende en China aumenta la temperatura ambiental, del sillón y del volante durante los días de regla y tiene funciones de apoyo a la conducción excepcionales

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El polémico coche chino para mujeres que te mima cuando tienes la regla y te ayuda a aparcar

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Un automóvil que solo se vende en China aumenta la temperatura ambiental, del sillón y del volante durante los días de regla y tiene funciones de apoyo a la conducción ex…

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Sex and Gender perspective in the future of personalized Medicine

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Sex and Gender perspective in the future of personalized Medicine

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Personalized Medicine proposes a new paradigm by which therapeutic decisions are made considering the individual characteristics of patients. Scientific evidence proves that there are individual differences in the response to drugs due to not only genetic factors, but also intrinsic factors, such as biological sex and gender. Biomedical research needs to include sex and gender differences to predict variability in therapeutic response, avoid side effects or reduced drug efficacy, and determine disease prognosis in all professional health activities, from the experimental and technological development to ethics and law.