Summers displays new understanding of women's careers
By Marcella Bombardieri, Globe Staff, April 8, 2005
CAMBRIDGE -- Addressing a symposium last night on women in science, Harvard University's president, Lawrence H. Summers, could hardly have sounded more transformed from the man who discussed the same issue in January
In contrast to his January comments, he spoke last night at length about research on ''implicit bias." He described studies showing that orchestras hired more women when auditions were conducted behind a screen and said research shows that academic papers submitted to peer-reviewed journals met different fates depending on whether a man or woman's name was attached.
Summers recommended that people visit the website of psychology professor Mahzarin Banaji, who offers tests measuring bias.
''If a lawyer who defends himself has a fool for a client, any of us who thinks we can judge whether we are biased or not is probably making a serious mistake," Summers said....
Summers added that professors need to be aware of the great influence that positive or negative signals can have on their students. He said he had been drawn to economics but also was dissuaded from some other fields ''by experiences where I lagged slightly and where I was made to feel inadequate...