I heard that women in STEM have a better chance being admitted to graduate school. However, on many online application forms where I am asked to check the gender box, it always says something like "Responses are confidential and are never available to those involved in making admissions decisions. " My first name cannot tell others whether I am a guy or girl. So how can they know that I am a woman so that I can take the advantage? Thank you in advance for your reply.
Probably not a lot of guys named Jane that play girls field hockey.
This is not necessarily true. Minority status in graduate admissions is more like a cherry on top, not a serious criterion. If you are an outstanding candidate AND a woman, it’s like “awesome, we can take this great candidate and great, she’s a woman!” But being a woman isn’t really an additional “boost” so to speak. Of course this varies from program to program, but frankly most research has shown that women actually suffer a penalty in STEM, not an advantage.
If you want to convey your minority status, the best way to do this is to explicitly mention it in your statement of purpose. You can work in one sentence about being a woman in STEM, but make it a good one and not just a name-drop - it should say something of substance about your experiences or outreach.
I think the recommenders use he or she in their letters and if you think that being a woman will help you or is relevant, you can mention it in your sop. Also sometimes a resume can show it by membership in women’s groups.
Oh yeah! Recommendation letter is the place where I cannot choose whether or not I want my gender to be revealed.
Thank you for all the suggestions!! I think I am not going to think about it any more since recommenders will tell them whatever my intention is.
I have read many applications and it is always pretty easy to figure out the gender of the applicant. That being said, the gender is secondary in the admission decision, just as @juillet says.