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Recent studies have shown that gender differences in personality tend to be larger in developed countries. I think more developed countries tend to have a toxic
by notjtrig 8y ago
Recent studies have shown that gender differences in personality tend to be larger in developed countries. I think more developed countries tend to have a toxic set of socal standards.
If you want to figure out why women are underrepresented in technology, examine the differences between boys and girls toddlers and how they interact with their environment. There is a 'girls toys' isle in store but not a 'boys toys'.
Work you way up to 4th grade and see that most girls remain interested in math and science but when they hit 6th grade something changes, a young woman feels pressure to express herself in certain ways or face social stigma.
There's a reason Big Bang theory is one of the few American shows banned in China, it's not just good old fashioned American anti-intellectualism, it's social engineering.
- cobbzilla 8y agoI never watched Big Bang Theory - what is it about the show that you think got it banned in China?
- creep 8y agoMaybe it's cultural differences, maybe it's preference. I will provide an anecdote. I'm a woman who enjoys coding, and is currently in a math degree. Growing up, my toys were never pre-selected although my mother encouraged my love of puzzles (lego and toys like that). Still, I had an obsession with dolls as most girls seemed to, and I remember genuinely enjoying those things. There was no pressure, I simply liked caring for and dressing up tiny models of myself and my friends. I think for most girls this is genuinely a true preference that carries on into adult life. In fact, I'm still toying with either becoming an independent developer or a math teacher for young children, and often wonder if I'd even like to be a stay-at-home mom and do some freelance stuff. I don't think we can say either way what it is that "keeps" girls from science, but I honestly lean towards the preference angle. There are differences between males and females and that's okay.
- kbart 8y agoExactly. I grew up in quite poor family and shared room/toys with my sister the whole time - we played the same Lego sets, I made dresses from cloth scraps for dolls, we both collected toy cars and Kinder sets. Still, since the early childhood the differences were already clear and the gap only increased with the time. I strongly believe that the key reason on why we have few women in IT (or math, physics, engineering for that matter) is natural preferences combined with peer pressure, so simply making childhood sex neutral won't make a real difference.
- seanmcdirmid 8y agoChina has just as large, if not larger, challenges in getting women into and keeping them in tech jobs. The overtime cheerleaders don’t help matters. Also, Big Bang theory is really popular in China, my wife had already seen every episode when we were living in Beijing (I don’t have any intrest in the show). The reason for the ban (which doesn’t affect piracy sites) is probably more financial than cultural.
- bitcoinisqueen 8y agoThe differences in personality in more egalitarian societies is due to biological and psycho-social reasons. When women are less constrained, then they follow their passions (ie: biological instincts and passions to work with people vs. things) Follow Hanlon's Razor: Do not ascribe to oppression which could more simply be explained by exercising Freedom of Choice. Why do we not discuss how women vastly outnumber men in Nursing and Teaching? The disparity there is remarkable. What about Military? The fact is that we have biodiversity (taller vs shorter people, brown hair vs lighter) and it we also have psychological diversity as well.
- binjo 8y agoOr it was banned in China for basic economic reasons as highlighted in this article? http://adage.com/article/global-news/real-reason-china-banned-big-bang-theory/292927/ http://adage.com/article/global-news/real-reason-china-banne...