Unfortunately "oppression" is a big selling popular point these days for ranty-type people across all portions of the "political" spectrum these days. It is easier to think, I suppose, to get angry about Some Malicious Force conspiring against you, rather then examine the often multi-faceted cultural and/or biological constructs behind any sort of divide.
In some cases, there is some genuine concern behind the rant -- some of the stereotypes out there that some people hold are indeed downright oppressive. However, a lot of the times, accusations of malicious oppression are probably overblown, even if there truly is some stereotype out there that is facilitating the divide to some degree. Often the stereotype and prejudice might exist, but more because of social construct, not because of malice.
So angry rants about the situation are probably the least productive way to look into this problem. And yes, as you say, stereotype issues affects all professions. Once we resolve this problems (if we ever do), I agree there is no reason to be concerned about natural drift.
> Unfortunately "oppression" is a big selling popular point these days for ranty-type people across all portions of the "political" spectrum these days.
Right, it wouldn't bother me so much if the academics pushing the "oppression" narrative were a little more honest about how non-robust the evidence is. Instead, it's often just conveyed as fact, which just blows my mind. No wonder there's so much manufactured outrage on college campuses these days.
Like when the Damore memo came out, and academics on both sides lined up to agree and disagree with Damore's points, which often just devolved into attacking straw men. I was thoroughly unimpressed with the quality of the arguments I read and how uncharitable people were with the people disagreeing with them.
Edit: Like, there are literal studies [1] demonstrating how much better a theory things-vs-people are in explaining the STEM gender divide, but the narrative seems immune to facts and better theories.
In some cases, there is some genuine concern behind the rant -- some of the stereotypes out there that some people hold are indeed downright oppressive. However, a lot of the times, accusations of malicious oppression are probably overblown, even if there truly is some stereotype out there that is facilitating the divide to some degree. Often the stereotype and prejudice might exist, but more because of social construct, not because of malice.
So angry rants about the situation are probably the least productive way to look into this problem. And yes, as you say, stereotype issues affects all professions. Once we resolve this problems (if we ever do), I agree there is no reason to be concerned about natural drift.