

Why So Few? Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics - restruct
http://www.aauw.org/research/whysofew.cfm

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hga
Because it's a freaking lousy career that more women than men are smart enough
to stay out of: <http://philip.greenspun.com/careers/women-in-science> ?

Especially given the much smaller fertility window women have?

~~~
restruct
Please read the study, instead of making up rationalizations to avoid dealing
with issues of stereotypes, gender bias, and the climate of science and
engineering departments in colleges and universities.
<http://www.aauw.org/research/upload/whysofew.pdf>

~~~
hga
If, as I claim, it's a bad career, shouldn't those discriminating against
women in university STEM careers be praised instead of condemned ^_^? The
sooner someone bails out, the better, _if_ this thesis is correct.

(I.e. it would be a lot more productive if you were to address my point
instead of totally ignoring it.)

~~~
_delirium
Well, one could argue that, even if the careers suck, science/technology has a
big impact on people's lives, so if it's gender-imbalanced that might lead to
gender-imbalanced impacts on even people not in the field, as they're stuck
using tech designed exclusively by men. On the other hand, that sort of ends-
focused argument isn't a very good reason for any actual women to go into the
field, unless they're particularly altruistic and doing it to better society.

But yeah, I think these debates do tend to assume that STEM careers are
desirable, which is why there is no similar hand-wringing about how few women
get construction jobs (<10% women). Certainly they're _well paid_ , which is
probably the biggest reason STEM careers are seen as better than construction
jobs, given that level of pay has become close to an exclusive measure of job
desirability (e.g. we judge colleges and majors by average starting pay on
graduation).

~~~
hga
A further problem with the "STEM has a big impact on people's lives" thesis
(as a motivator for going into it) is that the odds of _you_ making a really
big difference are low and seriously unpredictable. Being perfectly prepared
to figure out the structure and semi-synthesis of penicillin does you little
good if you show up on the scene a few years after someone else did it....

~~~
_delirium
Yeah, though my impression is that the current focus is mostly on the good-
for-society angle: that it would be better for society if STEM fields as a
whole were more gender-balanced, even if not necessarily better for the women
actually _in_ those STEM fields.

This is a rather different argument than the more traditional one, that
gender-bias/etc. is standing in the way of women who want to go into STEM
careers but find themselves blocked. The focus these days seems to be more on
women who _don't_ want to go into STEM careers, to figure out why and how we
can change that, which is more of a focus on social-engineering/good-for-
society outcomes, as opposed to the more traditional feminist focus on
personal autonomy / right to pursue your career of choice.

