Gender bias in the classroom: A network study on self and peer ability attribution

Stereotypes can contribute to the gender gap in STEM by shaping people’s expectations on their own and others’ performance. When gender is salient, expectations on task performance might reflect gender constructs even when information on individual abilities is available. We tested this hypothesis in a network study on students from ten high school classes in Milan, Italy. We asked the students to choose the four best candidates from their classmates for three hypothetical inter-class competitions in reading, math, and science. Results showed that females were more likely to be nominated for the reading competition but less likely for science. We did not find any statistically significant results for the math competition. We also found that female students were less likely to nominate themselves for any competition, regardless of the subject, even controlling for their own performance and self-concept.