arXiv:2508.05680cs.IRcs.AI2025-08被引 2

分析算法如何隐性放大性别差异,揭示学术可见性背后的隐形不公

Are All Genders Equal in the Eyes of Algorithms? -- Analysing Search and Retrieval Algorithms for Algorithmic Gender Fairness

  • 采用反映真实性别分布的公平性定义,评估算法输出是否放大性别差距
  • 男性教授在谷歌搜索中结果更多,出版记录更一致,女性则数字可见性波动更大
  • 适合关注算法公平性、数字可见性与学术资源分配的研究者阅读

搜索引擎与信息检索系统深刻影响学术可见性与知识传播。尽管常被视为中立,这些系统可能再现或强化社会偏见,包括性别偏见。本文提出并应用一种保持偏见的算法性别公平性定义,评估算法输出是否反映真实世界中的性别分布,而不会引入或加剧差异。基于德国高校及应用科学大学的学术档案异质数据集,我们分析了性别在元数据完整度、学术数据库中论文检索表现以及谷歌搜索可见性方面的差异。虽未发现明显的算法歧视,但研究发现存在细微但持续的不平衡:男性教授关联的搜索结果更多,出版记录更一致;女性教授则表现出更高的数字可见性变异性。这些模式反映了平台算法、机构维护与个体自我呈现之间的相互作用。本研究强调,公平性评估需兼顾技术性能与数字表征平等。

原文摘要 · Abstract (English)

Algorithmic systems such as search engines and information retrieval platforms significantly influence academic visibility and the dissemination of knowledge. Despite assumptions of neutrality, these systems can reproduce or reinforce societal biases, including those related to gender. This paper introduces and applies a bias-preserving definition of algorithmic gender fairness, which assesses whether algorithmic outputs reflect real-world gender distributions without introducing or amplifying disparities. Using a heterogeneous dataset of academic profiles from German universities and universities of applied sciences, we analyse gender differences in metadata completeness, publication retrieval in academic databases, and visibility in Google search results. While we observe no overt algorithmic discrimination, our findings reveal subtle but consistent imbalances: male professors are associated with a greater number of search results and more aligned publication records, while female professors display higher variability in digital visibility. These patterns reflect the interplay between platform algorithms, institutional curation, and individual self-presentation. Our study highlights the need for fairness evaluations that account for both technical performance and representational equality in digital systems.

算法公平性性别偏见学术可见性搜索算法

Thank you to arXiv for use of its open access interoperability. PaperDance 不是 arXiv 官方产品;中文卡片由大模型生成,请以原文为准。