Some male professors seem to enjoy intimidating the female members of the academic community. It was noted by both students and faculty that some junior faculty appear to emulate the sexist behavior of more senior faculty. Some male faculty use predominantly male metaphors in mentoring and departmental interactions that reflect a male experiential bias which alienates female students. Some female faculty members noted that their assertiveness was responded to as if it was inappropriate and unfeminine and, hence, without validity. Some female assistant professors feel compelled to justify their research agendas, as legitimate and valid lines of scientific inquiry, when they have chosen to focus on social inequalities as a major concern in their scholarly work.
Female students are under-represented at the graduate ranks in science and engineering.
Students were interested in knowing if the faculty hiring process reviewed candidate classroom management skills as they relate to handling difficult situations and diverse student populations. Faculty and students in personal relationships result in other students' perceptions of unequal treatment in evaluation. Some female faculty noted the lack of opportunities for travel to meetings and workshops. Female undergraduate and graduate students drop out of the sciences in high numbers. Some students felt that teaching evaluation forms should reflect concerns related to gender and climate.