STUDIO WORKS

Analysis of Selection by Gender—Book and Web Site (2001-02 and 2002-03)

Scope of analysis

Members of our Studio Works production team counted male and female students whose work appeared in the web site and publication. When gender could not be determined by name alone, we checked alumni records. We counted every appearance of a student name, whether tied to individual or group work (except when a name was repeated on a subsequent page for the same studio).

Summary: Gender distribution

The attached tables show gender breakdown for the web site and book. Overall, the web site skews slightly toward men (54%), and the book features male students to a somewhat greater degree (58%). Bigger swings occur, in both directions, in breakdowns by department.

Context for reviewing the data

1. Each studio instructor nominates three students (or groups) for inclusion in Studio Works; each nominee can submit up to sixteen pieces of work for consideration. There are no rules about how many of these students or how much work the SW faculty advisors—one from each department—can select. Given space constraints, some studios were not included in the print publication (or SW exhibition) at all, whereas all studios appear on the web site.

2. The enrollment of male and female students varies by department and program (see table showing 2001-02 enrollment figures, which correlate with the first part of the period under review).

3. In producing the book, in particular, the goal was to include only the most outstanding work; some highly regarded students therefore are featured in more than one studio. We did not eliminate such duplications from our count.

Conclusions

Although meaningful generalizations aren't easy to make, the book and web site seem to reflect, for the most part, the gender representation in departments and programs, as well as variations in work-production methodologies within the three departments.

Another tentative conclusion might be that because the web allows us to feature more than twice as many students, a closer to proportional representation is achieved than in the inherently limited confines of a print publication.