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The structure of a class, the ratio of men to women, the gender and attitude of the instructor, and the topic of the course itself can all influence students' self-assessments in classroom or lab situations. The unconscious bias with which many classes are taught can be both enraging and discouraging to some women. For instance, a few years ago, medical student Julie Switzer was listening to a lecture on muscle contractions of the uterus, when the male professor addressed the class by saying, "You may never feel this, but your wife will." Since women comprised 40 percent of the class, Switzer found herself wondering who the professor viewed as his audience. Other examples of gender bias in the classroom are less overt, but are sometimes more insidious. Some women feel uncomfortable with the confrontational style in which classroom discussions are staged and feel tentative or awkward when asking a question or making a comment. We feel excluded from discussions if professors don't call on us. There are many reasons why we might feel this way, and before we reprimand ourselves for lacking assertiveness or not having anything important to say, we must realize that we probably have a reason for feeling the way we do. One important thing to remember is that we, as women, are not the only ones who sometimes underestimate our abilities. The unspoken -- and at times spoken -- assumption among some students and instructors that we, as women, are less qualified or competent than our male peers undermines our confidence in our academic abilities. Most women experience these phenomena to some degree. We should be aware of unintentional bias or unconscious assumptions among classroom dynamics. In this way, we can learn to recognize patterns for what they are and know that our abilities are equal to those of our male classmates.
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