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If temporarily increasing the concentration of women panelists contributes towards permanently reducing discrimination, then it's a net gain for humanity, even

by ksmiley 14y ago

If temporarily increasing the concentration of women panelists contributes towards permanently reducing discrimination, then it's a net gain for humanity, even if it's a net loss for panels in the short term.

oh_sigh 14y ago
And what makes you think that will be the case? Just because you have good intentions doesn't mean that your ideas will achieve those intentions.
- ksmiley 14y ago
  I figured we were taking it as a given, since no one refuted it when it was implied in gte910h's post. I'll try to support the idea anyway. There was a study performed on young students, concerning their perception of STEM fields. Most respondents indicated that "techie" people are all white males in lab coats, and that the respondent wouldn't fit in well with that group. (Sorry, I don't have a link to the study. But I know I saw it in the last 8-12 months) If more women are publicly visible in tech fields, then young people's perception of techie people will swing away from "homogenous white male group" towards a heterogeneous group that is necessarily less discriminatory. This should cause a corresponding increase in enrollment by non-white non-males who would otherwise have been dissuaded from joining.
phaylon 14y ago
Not only that, but in the long run 50 males + 50 females will have a larger amount of talent than 50 males + 1 female. That's a direct plus for the communities. If everyone waits for the rest of society to change, it never will. Note that I'm not saying any one proposed solution is the right one, but it is an important discussion.
- oh_sigh 14y ago
  To that same point, 50 males + 1 female with have a larger amount of talent than 45 males and 1 female. That's a direct negative for the community. Just because you have good intentions does not mean that any random idea you put forth will achieve those good intentions.
  - phaylon 14y ago
    That's exactly my point. A larger pool means more talent. So what's speaking against working towards women having an easier time becoming part of the community and exercising their talent?

by ksmiley 14y ago

oh_sigh 14y ago

And what makes you think that will be the case? Just because you have good intentions doesn't mean that your ideas will achieve those intentions.

ksmiley 14y ago
I figured we were taking it as a given, since no one refuted it when it was implied in gte910h's post. I'll try to support the idea anyway. There was a study performed on young students, concerning their perception of STEM fields. Most respondents indicated that "techie" people are all white males in lab coats, and that the respondent wouldn't fit in well with that group. (Sorry, I don't have a link to the study. But I know I saw it in the last 8-12 months) If more women are publicly visible in tech fields, then young people's perception of techie people will swing away from "homogenous white male group" towards a heterogeneous group that is necessarily less discriminatory. This should cause a corresponding increase in enrollment by non-white non-males who would otherwise have been dissuaded from joining.

phaylon 14y ago

Not only that, but in the long run 50 males + 50 females will have a larger amount of talent than 50 males + 1 female. That's a direct plus for the communities. If everyone waits for the rest of society to change, it never will. Note that I'm not saying any one proposed solution is the right one, but it is an important discussion.

oh_sigh 14y ago
To that same point, 50 males + 1 female with have a larger amount of talent than 45 males and 1 female. That's a direct negative for the community. Just because you have good intentions does not mean that any random idea you put forth will achieve those good intentions.
- phaylon 14y ago
  That's exactly my point. A larger pool means more talent. So what's speaking against working towards women having an easier time becoming part of the community and exercising their talent?