The dangers of favoritism in STEMM academics
Favoritism can occur in any workplace. It can be especially pernicious in STEMM academics, where it undermines meritocratic ideals. As senior women leaders, we should promote fair and equitable treatment of junior colleagues and guard against the dangers of favoritism.
By Patricia A. Maurice with Janet G. Hering
8 July 2025, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.15681997
The narrator in Joseph Conrad’s Lord Jim describes his impression of the main character’s appearance:
“I had before me these blue, boyish eyes looking straight into mine, this young face, these capable shoulders, the open bronzed forehead with a white line under the roots of clustering fair hair, this appearance appealing at sight to all my sympathies; this frank aspect, the artless smile, the youthful seriousness. He was the right sort; he was one of us.”
Although I first read Lord Jim as a teenager, this description of a fair-haired, blue-eyed young man being “the right sort” and “one of us” has stuck with me and informed my observations of personnel interactions throughout my career. A person is often judged as being the ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ sort or as ‘one of us’ or an ‘outsider’ solely on the basis of exogenous factors such as gender, race, appearance, accent, or economic background. I’ve watched careers made or broken based on whether a person is perceived of and treated as ‘one of us’ or, in the extreme, as a ‘fair-haired boy’.
In the workplace, a ‘fair-haired boy’ (who is not always male and not always fair-haired or fair-skinned) is a person who is unduly favored by supervisors. A ‘fair-haired boy’ is often advanced quickly and is generally assumed to ‘do no wrong’. Ultimately, these unfair advantages can give the ‘fair-haired boy’ enormous power, sometimes leading to corrupt behavior. Indeed, there can be a fine line between a ‘fair-haired boy’ and an enfant terrible.
As a student, I watched a highly accomplished young female faculty member outclass a literal and figurative ‘fair-haired boy’ colleague in all metrics, from teaching to publishing to grantsmanship. Yet, she was treated abysmally, while he got away with outlandish, at times downright unethical, behavior. He was even variously lauded, at least for several years. When I was a faculty member, I had the demoralizing experience of having to deal with the unethical behavior of a male colleague. Even other men sometimes referred to him as the ‘fair-haired boy’.
The ‘fair-haired boy’ phenomenon – with the favoritism it entails – can be just one element of the unconscious gender bias that many women face. Women remain highly under-represented in the physical sciences, mathematics, computer science, and many engineering disciplines. It can be hard to be perceived as ‘one of us’ when you’re a woman in a male-dominated field. In such fields, women are unlikely to be considered ‘the right sort’ to receive preferential (or sometimes even equitable) treatment.
As a ‘fair-haired boy’, a young man may be given preferential treatment to a young woman colleague or even allowed to mistreat her. Several times, at different institutions, I’ve observed a young man hired at the same time as a young woman being given more resources than her or put in a position where he could easily take resources from her. The young man is embraced by his senior male colleagues while the young woman is marginalized. As the young man succeeds and the young woman fails or moves, the ‘fair-haired boy’ is taught that he was intrinsically more deserving.
Even when a woman becomes a senior leader, she may find her efforts being undermined by a ‘fair-haired boy’ who has the ear of other administrators or board members. This can make it hard for women leaders to accomplish needed institutional transformation, particularly in fields, positions, and organizations in which women have long been under-represented. As we wrote in our post on engagement, “different viewpoints, vantages, and perspectives matter” [2]. Unfortunately, women’s potential contributions to working effectively in a diverse world can be undermined by favoritism shown to a ‘fair-haired boy’, exacerbating the effects of old boy networks.
Gender bias is not only bias against women; it is also bias for men. Gender bias is just one factor that can contribute to the gender pay gap. A ‘fair-haired boy’ (who is often male) may start with a higher salary and receive raises and promotions more quickly, whether or not they are deserved. According to Pew Research, in 2019: “The median earnings of women in STEM occupations ($66,200) are about 74% of men’s median earnings in STEM ($90,000) [3].” Gender parity in earnings in STEM lags that in the broader workforce, which at the time was 80%.
The dangers of favoritism are well-recognized by many in the business community. For example, a writer for the Forbes Business Council stated that:
“When company leaders show preferential treatment to specific individuals, it doesn’t just affect those in the limelight. Based on my experience, it can create a ripple effect that can disrupt team harmony, lower morale and decrease overall productivity. This ripple touches every corner of the organization, from the quiet desks of the hard-working but overlooked employees to the energetic group enthusiasm for collaborative projects” [4].
There can also be negative consequences for the ‘fair-haired boy’ if coworkers consider him (or her) to be unjustly advantaged. This can lead to disgruntled and discouraged coworkers refusing to cooperate with or secretly acting to undermine the ‘fair-haired boy’s’ continued success.
Unfair treatment, including anointing a ‘fair-haired boy’, is ultimately unethical. In our post on unethical behavior in STEMM academics, we wrote about how entrenched such behavior can be, how important it is to change and yet how hard that can be, especially for women [5]. We suggested using peer pressure as well as formal processes and institutional resources to end unethical practices. We are convinced that: “A good leader has a basic responsibility to her organization and should establish and maintain a supportive working environment in which all members of her organization can flourish and do their best work [6].” Allowing some members of one’s organization to be unduly favored may prevent others from flourishing.
As senior women leaders in STEMM academics, we can help our institutions prevent and counter-act favoritism in several ways:
Promoting understanding of the drawbacks of favoritism. We can recognize and communicate that setting someone up as a ‘fair-haired boy’ can be counter-productive for that person and for the organization as a whole. We can articulate the benefits of treating our colleagues and subordinates fairly and equitably and of being open and transparent in decision making.
Promoting awareness. We need to recognize biases (including our own) and draw attention to how such biases may play out within our institutions. Biased behavior by supervisors can include: informal socializing, sharing of information, assignment of wanted or unwanted tasks, delivering feedback, allocating resources, and providing opportunities. If we observe junior colleagues being unduly advanced and rewarded (or the reverse), we need to highlight the importance of the fair assessment of performance and equitable treatment of our colleagues.
Improving processes. We can promote data-driven assessment of performance and resource allocation and periodic reviews to determine whether resource distributions (including lab and office space, teaching loads and internal awards) are fair and equitable. As senior leaders, we can recruit diverse advisors as reviewers and committee members so that they can bring their diverse perspectives to formal evaluations. Of course, such improvements can only be made if they are supported by leaders with integrity. The critical importance of good leadership was also highlighted in our post on coping with dishonest colleagues [7].
Despite the dangers of creating a ‘fair-haired boy’ we also need to realize that some people may be rising super-stars who deserve more rapid promotion and advancement than their peers. Nonetheless, we need to keep an eye on them to ensure that they are not becoming insufferable or corrupt or being targeted by jealous colleagues.
Questions for further consideration
· Do you know any ‘fair-haired boys’ in your organization? If so, how does their unduly favorable treatment affect both them and the organization as a whole?
· Have you ever been stymied or under-cut by the words or actions of a ‘fair-haired boy”? If so, what did you do to correct the situation?
· What are you doing to help ensure more equal access to you, as a senior woman leader, along with equitable information sharing and transparent decision making?
References and notes
[1] Conrad, J. (1998) Lord Jim. Wordsworth Editions, LTD, 304 pp.
[2] https://www.epistimi.org/blog/engagement-and-the-ability-to-work-effectively-in-a-diverse-world
[3] https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2021/04/01/stem-jobs-see-uneven-progress-in-increasing-gender-racial-and-ethnic-diversity/ Accessed June 7, 2025.
[4] Tursi, D. (2023) “How favoritism impacts employees and how leaders can fix it” Forbes Business Council https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbesbusinesscouncil/2023/10/04/how-favoritism-impacts-employees-and-how-leaders-can-fix-it/# (Accessed June 7, 2025)
[5] https://www.epistimi.org/blog/why-stemm-leaders-need-to-talk-seriously-about-ethics
[7] https://www.epistimi.org/blog/liar-liar-campus-on-fire-how-to-cope-with-dishonest-colleagues