

Silicon Valley's Mirror Effect - petethomas
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/27/opinion/joe-nocera-silicon-valleys-mirror-effect.html

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CephalopodMD
I get that this is issue is very real, but the skeptic in me is wondering if
there isn't an even greater related problem hidden here. If a certain group of
people isn't fairly represented in silicon valley, then there are two
explanations in my mind that could be contributing to this (not exclusively to
each other). There could be a great deal of discrimination in this sector, and
realistically there probably is. Alternatively, one could argue that something
about our system of education and upbringing does not encourage women and non
white/asian students to actively seek out jobs in that arena or to try and get
seed funding for a company. Maybe I'm being ignorant here, but I feel like at
this level, especially with the insatiable demand for real talent in silicon
valley, this might be a bigger and more societal issue than just "Google et al
discriminate against X." There is more that can and should be done to
encourage diversity in the tech sector.

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glenra
Regarding specifically the male-female gap, isn't the obvious explanation
simply that these jobs select for extremely high IQ? (Men have higher IQ
variance, so the further out on the bell curve you go in either direction -
seeking geniuses OR seeking morons - you'd naturally expect to get mostly
men.)

