Bimodal Bias against Chinese Scientists in the American Academy: Penalties for Men, Bonuses for Women

Given the recent targeting of Chinese scientists by the Department of Justice and sizable contributions of Chinese scientists to American science, it is urgent to investigate the presence and the particulars of anti-Chinese discrimination in the American academy. Across a sample of all faculty in the top 100 departments of sociology, economics, chemistry, and physics in the United States, we show that female Chinese scientists comprise a much higher percentage of the female professoriate than male Chinese scientists in the male professoriate. Using an exact matching approach, we then find that male Chinese scientists suffer from a dramatic citation penalty but that female Chinese scientists enjoy a persistent citation bonus. On average, female Chinese scientists require fewer citations on average than non-Chinese women where male Chinese scientists require more citations than their non-Chinese counterparts to attain a tenure-track professorial job of a given prestige rating.