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The biological differences produce different aptitudes and interests in men and women, which causes men and women to select different careers. Anyway, I agree

The biological differences produce different aptitudes and interests in men and women, which causes men and women to select different careers. Anyway, I agree there's overlap in what accountants and programmers do like you described in your debugging example. However, the main differentiating factors I pointed out were (1) more unknown territory (e.g. building things that don't exist yet) and (2) more risk involved in attempting the types of challenges programmers face (e.g. 50% of software projects fail). In contrast, accounting is a highly regulated field, more deterministic, and provides more job security. I'd say that puts it more in the middle of the spectrum between stereotypically female careers like nursing and stereotypically male careers like engineering.

rayiner 9y ago
> The biological differences produce different aptitudes and interests in men and women, which causes men and women to select different careers. [Citation needed]. > However, the main differentiating factors I pointed out were (1) more unknown territory (e.g. building things that don't exist yet) and (2) more risk involved in attempting the types of challenges programmers face (e.g. 50% of software projects fail). In contrast, accounting is a highly regulated field, more deterministic, and provides more job security. I'd say that puts it more in the middle of the spectrum between stereotypically female careers like nursing and stereotypically male careers like engineering. This is again just handwaving. Most engineering, even computer science, is just keeping things running or making incremental improvements. I was an aerospace major, where the vast majority of jobs are in making 1-2% per decade incremental improvements in fuel efficiency. Very stable, great job security, not a lot of women! Likewise, most programming is CRUD apps or boring websites. (Sure you can point to SpaceX, but you can also point to accountants who work on teams that make billion dollar deals happen, or do forensic analysis of billion dollar disasters; both represent a tiny minority of their respective professions).
- programmarchy 9y ago
  Citation: > The relatively small numbers of women in math-intensive careers result from many factors, one of which seems primary and should be accorded the greatest weight. Sex differences in mathematical and spatial ability, although substantial, appear unable to explain most of the shortage. Nor can the shortage be attributed to current discrimination, although historic discrepancies may be explained in such terms. The primary factor in women's underrepresentation is choices both freely made and constrained by biology and society. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2997703/#!po=37.5000 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2997703/#!po=37...

rayiner 9y ago

> The biological differences produce different aptitudes and interests in men and women, which causes men and women to select different careers. [Citation needed]. > However, the main differentiating factors I pointed out were (1) more unknown territory (e.g. building things that don't exist yet) and (2) more risk involved in attempting the types of challenges programmers face (e.g. 50% of software projects fail). In contrast, accounting is a highly regulated field, more deterministic, and provides more job security. I'd say that puts it more in the middle of the spectrum between stereotypically female careers like nursing and stereotypically male careers like engineering. This is again just handwaving. Most engineering, even computer science, is just keeping things running or making incremental improvements. I was an aerospace major, where the vast majority of jobs are in making 1-2% per decade incremental improvements in fuel efficiency. Very stable, great job security, not a lot of women! Likewise, most programming is CRUD apps or boring websites. (Sure you can point to SpaceX, but you can also point to accountants who work on teams that make billion dollar deals happen, or do forensic analysis of billion dollar disasters; both represent a tiny minority of their respective professions).

programmarchy 9y ago
Citation: > The relatively small numbers of women in math-intensive careers result from many factors, one of which seems primary and should be accorded the greatest weight. Sex differences in mathematical and spatial ability, although substantial, appear unable to explain most of the shortage. Nor can the shortage be attributed to current discrimination, although historic discrepancies may be explained in such terms. The primary factor in women's underrepresentation is choices both freely made and constrained by biology and society. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2997703/#!po=37.5000 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2997703/#!po=37...