&gt; I agree that a methodologically sound experiment in the social sciences would be an unusual thing to do<p>Would you care to elaborate, or are you just being flippant?<p>&gt; if you are in the market for a second-hand automobile, would you trust the used-car saleswoman&#x27;s word, or wonder if she has ulterior motives?<p>A used car salesperson&#x27;s motives are crystal clear, which is why their opinion is justifiably taken with a pinch of salt. You seem to be suggesting by comparison that women have an equally uncomplicated incentive to lie. Don&#x27;t misunderstand, I think people do lie, especially to themselves, but I also think the evidence shows that discrimination is part of human nature.<p>Considering that this kind of experience lines up with both anecdotal evidence and with studies of unconscious bias in related areas [0][1][2][3][4] my default position is to assume that a problem is reasonably likely, but that further data would be useful.<p>[0] Female students seen as less competent than identical male students with identical application materials, offered lower starting salaries (Moss-Racusin et al, 2012)<p>[1] People in gender-incongruent roles penalised more heavily for mistakes (Brescoll, Dawson, &amp; Uhlmann, 2010).<p>[2] Voluble women perceived as less competent and less suitable leaders, inverse true for men (Brescoll, 2011).<p>[3] Women who succeed in male-dominated fields percieved as not likeable (Heilman et al, 2004).<p>[4] Students question the competence of female teachers who evaluate them negatively, less so than male teachers (Sinclair &amp; Kunda 2000).<p>...and yes, repeatability is an issue. That&#x27;s a systematic problem.