Author speaks about women's advancement

Women and men, undergraduate and graduate students were sitting in the aisles and waiting for spare chairs to hear the acclaimed professor and author of the book "Why So Slow? The Advancement of Women in Academia" speak. \nVirginia Valian, a professor of psychology and linguistics at Hunter College in New York City, spoke to a packed audience about the unseen factors that contribute to women's slow progression to positions of power.\nHer speech was Thursday in the State Room East at the Indiana Memorial Union.\n"Knowledge is power, and the more you know, you have the power to change," said graduate student Amanda Black, who came to the lecture \nValian said that women in all fields are being paid less and that they have to work harder to earn power positions held by men.\nShe mentioned a common theory that not enough women are in what she called the "pipeline," which refers to the educational path to certain academic fields, such as science. She said areas such as organic chemistry and economics tend to have fewer females."(There's) not enough women in the pipeline," she said. "It's as if there are women-shaped holes in the pipeline." \nValian made clear during the Q-and-A session at the end of the lecture that she isn't saying there is discrimination, which she defined as "a conscious antagonism." Rather, Valian said she is optimistic that employers and others in power are trying to give equal opportunities.\nShe said she believes visual cues and other "schemas," or stereotypical presentations, can alter perceptions.\nShe described several experiments where women were equally qualified but were still viewed as less capable of filling positions traditionally held by men.\nValian described the "male schema" as being independent and competent and taking initiative.\nThe "female schema" is nurturing and more perceptive of feelings and emotions.\nIn the experiment, when the participants viewed a woman as qualified, she was viewed as less "likeable" than the qualified man who could be both qualified and likeable.\n"We don't see competent women as likeable in a male-dominated field," Valian said, because it's the reverse "gender schema."\nIn another study, when women were applying for international jobs, researchers found a list of credentials that would more likely get them the job, like knowing a second language. The statistics, however, showed the credentials could hurt women depending on how they were perceived.\nValian said if a woman were to live in France, it would be assumed she did so for romance or good food, not for advancing her career.\nValien also mentioned the idea of "accumulation of success," in which every instance of females' progress counts.\n"If you don't get your share of small gains, then you don't get the bigger accomplishments," she said.\nNikole Miller, an IU graduate student who attended the speech, said she came because she "wanted to find out what she was getting into" going into academics. \n"I thought she did a good job presenting without it being depressing," she said. \nValian said the situation for women can be changed by improving institutions and education. \n"It's no one's fault, but everyone can do something," she said.