https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243220977141 GENDER & SOCIETY, Vol XX No. X, Month, XXXX 1–29 DOI: 10.1177/0891243220977141 © 2020 by The Author(s) Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions WHO SPEAKS AND WHO LISTENS Revisiting the Chilly Climate in College Classrooms JENNIFER J. LEE Indiana University – Bloomington, USA JANICE M. MCCABE Dartmouth College, USA Almost 40 years ago, scholars identified a “chilly climate” for women in college class- rooms. To examine whether contemporary college classrooms remain “chilly,” we con- ducted quantitative and qualitative observations in nine classrooms across multiple disciplines at one elite institution. Based on these 95 hours of observation, we discuss three gendered classroom participation patterns. First, on average, men students occupy classroom sonic space 1.6 times as often as women. Men also speak out without raising hands, interrupt, and engage in prolonged conversations during class more than women students. Second, style and tone also differ. Men’s language is assertive, whereas women’s is hesitant and apologetic. Third, professors’ interventions and different structures of classrooms can alter existing gender status hierarchies. Extending Ridgeway’s gender system framework to college classrooms, we discuss how these gendered classroom par- ticipation patterns perpetuate gender status hierarchies. We thus argue that the chilly climate is an underexplored mechanism for the stalled gender revolution. Keywords: education; social psychology; universities and the academy; inequality; stratification and mobility I n the 1980s, scholars identified a “chilly climate” in college classrooms, where women 1 faced overt and subtle forms of discrimination, such as professors calling on men students more than women and interrupting AUTHOR’S NOTE: The authors would like to thank Brian Powell, Kathryn Lively, Jason Houle, and Emily Walton for their comments on early drafts. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Jennifer J. Lee, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN 47401, USA; e-mail: jenjwlee@iu.edu. 977141GAS XX X 10.1177/0891243220977141Gender & SocietyLee and McCabe / Who Speaks and Who Listens research-article 2020