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Most studies on this seem to show that gender based preferences can be at least partially explained from birth before any environmental factors play a part in i

Most studies on this seem to show that gender based preferences can be at least partially explained from birth before any environmental factors play a part in it. People have been doing these studies for a long time now, but they get ignored because we don't like the results. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3030621/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3030621/ And of course, far more studies that have been going on for decades.

TuringTest 9y ago
Biological preferences don't explain why careers preferred by women have less average pay than careers preferred by men.
- LambdaAlmighty 9y ago
  They don't? AFAIK explanation of one of the factors is not even that complicated: lower physical strength (on average) => more focus on social skills (on average) => higher agreeableness (one of the Big-5 traits) and preference for avoiding conflict (on average) => less risk but also less upside (on average) => less extreme career choices but also less extreme rewards (on average)
- mpweiher 9y ago
  No. But preferences do explain why women don't emphasize money in their career choice, whereas men do. The vast majority of women will not continue dating a man who earns less than they do. Two thirds of young women in Germany expect their future partners to take care of them financially. So for men, earning money and status is absolutely essential. See also: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/jul/02/a-letter-to-my-wife-who-wont-get-a-job-while-i-work-myself-to-death https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/jul/02/a-lette...
  - TuringTest 9y ago
    What makes you think this is explained by biological preferences alone, or that those preferences scale to society-wide differences in salary?
    - mpweiher 9y ago
      (1) Actually, I didn't even mention biology. I just wrote "preferences". (2) What makes you think it wouldn't? After all, it affects everyone in society. And motivation is a pretty powerful force, it is basically how our entire economy is structured. See also: https://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/18/money-gender-and-job-satisfaction/ https://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/18/money-gender-a... "...it typically takes a lot less money to get women to say they are satisfied with their work than it does to get men to say it." "Women were more likely to tell PayScale that say they find their jobs “very meaningful” than men were, with 35 percent of women and 27 percent of men describing their jobs this way." So women have more freedom to find meaningful jobs. Men less so.
- RyanZAG 9y ago
  I'm not entirely sure on which angle you're trying to discuss here. That biological preferences don't impact on the free market choice of employee-employer contracts? Or that biological preferences aren't overridden by a desire to earn higher wages? For free market choice on which jobs pay more -- I think this one is pretty clear. Do you think differently? As for biological preference, I don't think it takes into account the average pay at all. Career path is usually chosen at a younger and more idealistic age, and probably more importantly - poorer countries have women overriding their preferences and going into higher paid lines of work, while richer countries let women do what they want. As per this very study. In the case where money doesn't matter because your family is rich, biological preferences become more important and people stop choosing based on average pay. So the biological differences seem to explain it really well.

TuringTest 9y ago

Biological preferences don't explain why careers preferred by women have less average pay than careers preferred by men.

LambdaAlmighty 9y ago
They don't? AFAIK explanation of one of the factors is not even that complicated: lower physical strength (on average) => more focus on social skills (on average) => higher agreeableness (one of the Big-5 traits) and preference for avoiding conflict (on average) => less risk but also less upside (on average) => less extreme career choices but also less extreme rewards (on average)
mpweiher 9y ago
No. But preferences do explain why women don't emphasize money in their career choice, whereas men do. The vast majority of women will not continue dating a man who earns less than they do. Two thirds of young women in Germany expect their future partners to take care of them financially. So for men, earning money and status is absolutely essential. See also: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/jul/02/a-letter-to-my-wife-who-wont-get-a-job-while-i-work-myself-to-death https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/jul/02/a-lette...
- TuringTest 9y ago
  What makes you think this is explained by biological preferences alone, or that those preferences scale to society-wide differences in salary?
  - mpweiher 9y ago
    (1) Actually, I didn't even mention biology. I just wrote "preferences". (2) What makes you think it wouldn't? After all, it affects everyone in society. And motivation is a pretty powerful force, it is basically how our entire economy is structured. See also: https://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/18/money-gender-and-job-satisfaction/ https://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/18/money-gender-a... "...it typically takes a lot less money to get women to say they are satisfied with their work than it does to get men to say it." "Women were more likely to tell PayScale that say they find their jobs “very meaningful” than men were, with 35 percent of women and 27 percent of men describing their jobs this way." So women have more freedom to find meaningful jobs. Men less so.
RyanZAG 9y ago
I'm not entirely sure on which angle you're trying to discuss here. That biological preferences don't impact on the free market choice of employee-employer contracts? Or that biological preferences aren't overridden by a desire to earn higher wages? For free market choice on which jobs pay more -- I think this one is pretty clear. Do you think differently? As for biological preference, I don't think it takes into account the average pay at all. Career path is usually chosen at a younger and more idealistic age, and probably more importantly - poorer countries have women overriding their preferences and going into higher paid lines of work, while richer countries let women do what they want. As per this very study. In the case where money doesn't matter because your family is rich, biological preferences become more important and people stop choosing based on average pay. So the biological differences seem to explain it really well.