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Most diversity programs state 50/50 man/women ratio as their goal, which, according to the article is counterproductive.
by mamon 9y ago
Most diversity programs state 50/50 man/women ratio as their goal, which, according to the article is counterproductive.
- guitarbill 9y agoCounterproductive for what? Individual happiness? Yeah, maybe. But that's not the only possibility. 50/50 is the "goal", but what's the motivation? Let's assume that we're talking increase in people, i.e. you want more women in STEM/tech/whatever, not simply less men (for some reason this option is rarely mentioned. You could fire enough men to get to 50/50, mathematically that's equally valid). Say I wanted more qualified employees without paying more - I can't think of a better to achieve this. Of course, I have no evidence for this and it's super paranoid, but it's just one example how the goal might still make sense.
- ZeroGravitas 9y agoAnother, less paranoid, motivation to consider, some might argue that STEM is important to civilization and having more of it is a good thing, even if people could go into other careers that are more personally lucrative, but are more zero-sum in their potential for benefitting the human race. Making the pie bigger rather than fighting for the biggest slice of a diminished pie.
- gurkendoktor 9y agoIf maximizing the STEM workforce is the goal, then aiming for a 50:50 gender balance seems like an unintuitive way to get there. If not enough women apply for a job, the incentive is to stop hiring men, and the number of STEM professionals goes down.