4 ms·

It is extremely complicated. The problem is rooted in the fact that there are, actually, differences between men and women. When I see arguments that there are

by Mz 10y ago

It is extremely complicated. The problem is rooted in the fact that there are, actually, differences between men and women. When I see arguments that there are Zero differences, it makes me crazy. There are many differences. However, there are also many differences from any given individual to any other given individual, even if they are the same gender. We need to find ways to both give women more opportunity to build their chops and not merely be hired because they are women, while also finding ways to value what they do bring to the table that isn't what men bring to the table. Studies show that diverse companies are more profitable and successful. When I worked for a Fortune 500 company with a good track record for diversity, internally, I recall them saying "We hire everyone so we can more easily sell to everyone" or words to that effect. They believed strongly that not having representatives internally for various populations was guaranteed to undermine their ability to understand and communicate with those populations, as well as develop products that worked for them, etc. So, while there is no easy path forward here, it should be done, and not for pie in the sky "ideals," but for pragmatic ones -- because it has a proven track record of success for the company when the company can get this detail right.

ahartman00 10y ago
Well said. This is why I'm frustrated to only hear about diversity in the tech field. Why not education? Wouldn't our kids benefit from diverse role models?
- Mz 10y ago
  Wouldn't our kids benefit from diverse role models? Potentially, yes. I vaguely recall seeing something once about the dearth of male teachers in elementary education and the negative impact this has on male students. I have also heard (back when I was involved in the online gifted education community) that a lot of (female) school teachers end up in elementary education due to their lack of competence in math. When they can't hack the math, they got told "Oh, go teach kids!" Men do not get this same message. I am a mathy woman. I tutored my ex husband in math when he took college classes. He had a serious career in the military where he ultimately retired as a high ranking NCO. No one ever suggested that his bad math abilities meant he should go teach kids. Furthermore, when men do desire to go into education, everyone looks askance at them, like they are obviously pedophiles. I ended up homeschooling my sons for many years. I had to put in a lot of effort to undo the damage to my oldest son's self esteem (and his relationship to math, which he hated by the time I pulled him out of school) from the awful baggage he got from public school regarding math. I firmly believe that women who are bad at math get their egos destroyed when they are blithely told "Oh, go teach little kids!" (implied: because you can't hack a real career) and they pass their math neurosis and incompetence on to many of the nation's kids and our entire nation is the worse off for it.

by Mz 10y ago

ahartman00 10y ago

Well said. This is why I'm frustrated to only hear about diversity in the tech field. Why not education? Wouldn't our kids benefit from diverse role models?

Mz 10y ago
Wouldn't our kids benefit from diverse role models? Potentially, yes. I vaguely recall seeing something once about the dearth of male teachers in elementary education and the negative impact this has on male students. I have also heard (back when I was involved in the online gifted education community) that a lot of (female) school teachers end up in elementary education due to their lack of competence in math. When they can't hack the math, they got told "Oh, go teach kids!" Men do not get this same message. I am a mathy woman. I tutored my ex husband in math when he took college classes. He had a serious career in the military where he ultimately retired as a high ranking NCO. No one ever suggested that his bad math abilities meant he should go teach kids. Furthermore, when men do desire to go into education, everyone looks askance at them, like they are obviously pedophiles. I ended up homeschooling my sons for many years. I had to put in a lot of effort to undo the damage to my oldest son's self esteem (and his relationship to math, which he hated by the time I pulled him out of school) from the awful baggage he got from public school regarding math. I firmly believe that women who are bad at math get their egos destroyed when they are blithely told "Oh, go teach little kids!" (implied: because you can't hack a real career) and they pass their math neurosis and incompetence on to many of the nation's kids and our entire nation is the worse off for it.