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Introduction: Women still being a minority in engineering majors, they are reported to face discriminatory treatment in a collegiate environment. "Chilly climate," referring to such a sexist environment, may have a negative impact on women's mental health, academics, and careers. But, what exactly is it that female students in engineering perceive as chilly, and how chilly is it? This study aimed to explore the chilly campus climate perceived by female undergraduate engineering students in South Korea using the concept mapping method. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 participants enrolled for more than four semesters at four-year coeducational universities. After extracting 52 representative statements, the participants were asked to classify them according to content similarity and rate the influence of each statement on their perception of the chilly climate. For concept mapping analysis, multidimensional scaling analysis (ALSCAL), hierarchical cluster analysis (Ward's method), and non-hierarchical cluster analysis (K-means method) were performed. Results: Fifty-two statements were extracted under the following four clusters: (i) "Exclusion and alienation inherent in the culture (Cluster 1)," (ii) "Sexual objectification and lack of gender sensitivity (Cluster 2)," (iii) "Male-centered academic situations (Cluster 3)," and (iv) "Prejudice and generalization (Cluster 4)." A concept map was twodimensional: an X-axis named "context dimension," with "task: academic" and "nontask: social" at both ends, and a Y-axis named "sexism dimension", having "explicit" and "implicit" at both ends. The order of higher scores in the influence rating is as follows: Cluster 2, Cluster 3, Cluster 1, and Cluster 4. Discussion: This study is significant because it conceptualizes the subjective experience of minorities in a collegiate environment and provides influence rating results for prioritized measures. The findings will be helpful in formulating educational policies, psychological counseling, and social advocacy activities. Future research should target larger populations, and cover more diverse cultures, majors, and age groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on the retention of women in academia has focused on challenges, including a chilly climate, devaluation, and incivility. The unique consequences of workplace ostracism – being ignored and excluded by others in an organizational setting – require focus on this experience as another interpersonal challenge for women in academia. The purpose of this study is to examine differences in the faculty experiences and outcomes of workplace ostracism, and to determine if these experiences are affected significantly by the gender composition of an employee’s specific department. Participants were recruited at two time points to complete campus climate surveys that were distributed to faculty at a large, public, research university. We examined the number of reported ostracism experiences (Study 1) and perceived information sharing (Study 2) among male and female university faculty. The findings indicated that female faculty members perceived more workplace ostracism than male faculty members. Analyses of department gender ratios suggested that the proportion of women in the department did not reduce the amount of workplace ostracism experienced by women. No gender differences were found in perceived information sharing. However, we found that Faculty of Color, both men and women, reported more frequent information exclusion than White faculty. These results have important implications for theoretical and practical understandings of workplace demography and suggest that it is necessary to look at subtle, ambiguous forms of discrimination in order to increase retention of faculty from underrepresented groups in academia.

Research on the retention of women in academia has focused on challenges, including a "chilly climate," devaluation, and incivility. The unique consequences of workplace ostracism -- being ignored and excluded by others in an organizational setting -- require focus on this experience as another interpersonal challenge for women in academia. The purpose of this study is to examine differences in the faculty experiences and outcomes of workplace ostracism, and to determine if these experiences are affected significantly by the gender composition of an employee's specific department. Participants were recruited at two time points to complete campus climate surveys that were distributed to faculty at a large, public, research university. We examined the number of reported ostracism experiences (Study 1) and perceived information sharing (Study 2) among male and female university faculty. The findings indicated that female faculty members perceived more workplace ostracism than male faculty members. Analyses of department gender ratios suggested that the proportion of women in the department did not reduce the amount of workplace ostracism experienced by women. No gender differences were found in perceived information sharing. However, we found that Faculty of Color, both men and women, reported more frequent information exclusion than White faculty. These results have important implications for theoretical and practical understandings of workplace demography and suggest that it is necessary to look at subtle, ambiguous forms of discrimination in order to increase retention of faculty from underrepresented groups in academia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]