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the 50:50 ratio is taken to mean there are no inhibitions or advantages for one or the other as this is the rough ratio of male to female in the general populat

the 50:50 ratio is taken to mean there are no inhibitions or advantages for one or the other as this is the rough ratio of male to female in the general population. The skew of the ratio can be read as there are some factors we aren't seeing. So the question isn't "why do we need this ratio" but "why isn't this ratio present?" No one cares who writes their code either, but certainly we can agree that if there are systematic reasons preventing women from participating as much we can try to remove them?

OtterCoder 9y ago
But why is it even a goal? I don't think the world is any better or worse off for having any particular ratio of genders in tech. Just let the cards fall as they will.
- strictnein 9y ago
  Similarly, if this is such an urgent goal, why are we not seeing an even more strident push to even the genders in roles where direct human interaction occurs, like teaching and nursing? If different genders offer such a unique perspective in tech, surely that perspective is even more important in teaching our youth or caring for the sick.
  - dghf 9y ago
    The fall in numbers of male teachers is causing concern, at least in the UK: - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-37552056 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-37552056 - https://www.teachingtimes.com/news/primary-schools-male-teachers.htm https://www.teachingtimes.com/news/primary-schools-male-teac... - https://www.theguardian.com/education/2009/mar/23/male-teachers-primary-schools https://www.theguardian.com/education/2009/mar/23/male-teach...
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
- y2bd 9y ago
  The thought is that the cards aren't currently just falling as they will, and instead they're falling in a biased way due to prior decisions (and current ones!) that disadvantages certain people. The over-eagerness towards diversity programs and such therefore is in effort to push things to a neutral state so that the cards can indeed just fall as they will.
  - OtterCoder 9y ago
    Who's to say what a neutral state is? And what mysterious conspiracy is holding back the admission office of universities and HR departments across the globe? I just think you're fighting ghosts. Additionally, I don't buy that employing 100% of women is actually helpful. Children need a parent at home, and a mother makes more sense for younger children. We should be working towards decentralization of work, and allowing dads and moms to both have more time in the home, rather than racing to lock the entire human race in a cubicle.
- hackinthebochs 9y ago
  Because tech is lucrative right now.

OtterCoder 9y ago

But why is it even a goal? I don't think the world is any better or worse off for having any particular ratio of genders in tech. Just let the cards fall as they will.

strictnein 9y ago
Similarly, if this is such an urgent goal, why are we not seeing an even more strident push to even the genders in roles where direct human interaction occurs, like teaching and nursing? If different genders offer such a unique perspective in tech, surely that perspective is even more important in teaching our youth or caring for the sick.
- dghf 9y ago
  The fall in numbers of male teachers is causing concern, at least in the UK: - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-37552056 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-37552056 - https://www.teachingtimes.com/news/primary-schools-male-teachers.htm https://www.teachingtimes.com/news/primary-schools-male-teac... - https://www.theguardian.com/education/2009/mar/23/male-teachers-primary-schools https://www.theguardian.com/education/2009/mar/23/male-teach...
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
y2bd 9y ago
The thought is that the cards aren't currently just falling as they will, and instead they're falling in a biased way due to prior decisions (and current ones!) that disadvantages certain people. The over-eagerness towards diversity programs and such therefore is in effort to push things to a neutral state so that the cards can indeed just fall as they will.
- OtterCoder 9y ago
  Who's to say what a neutral state is? And what mysterious conspiracy is holding back the admission office of universities and HR departments across the globe? I just think you're fighting ghosts. Additionally, I don't buy that employing 100% of women is actually helpful. Children need a parent at home, and a mother makes more sense for younger children. We should be working towards decentralization of work, and allowing dads and moms to both have more time in the home, rather than racing to lock the entire human race in a cubicle.
hackinthebochs 9y ago
Because tech is lucrative right now.