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So would you agree that the current achievement gap between women and men in school is a social/cultural bias or privilege? Or would you argue instead that wom

by smky80 14y ago

So would you agree that the current achievement gap between women and men in school is a social/cultural bias or privilege? Or would you argue instead that women are just smarter? Sorry to hear about your father.

mnicole 14y ago
I don't want to make the statement that women are smarter as it may be more related to what each gender accomplishes with their education. Men are physically more capable at labor-intensive roles that don't necessarily need the type of education currently provided in K-12 outside of vocational schools and shop classes. That doesn't mean they're not smart, it just means they may know what they want out of life and know what it takes to do it (i.e. taking over his father's business). I'd love to see our education system provide both academic- and career-oriented pathways that bring back apprenticeships. While I think women would still take more academic courses than their male counterparts, I believe it would really help alleviate gender-based assumptions about intelligence and capabilities.
- smky80 14y ago
  We can agree to disagree. If you're going to put forward the view above though, you can't really complain if someone were to argue that the lack of women in tech is more due to their own interests and aptitude than it is widespread sexism and "male privilege". I'm not arguing this subject, except to say that I don't think the OP makes a good argument that "it sucks to be female" in this industry.
  - mnicole 14y ago
    Interests and aptitudes are relative to pre-determined ideas of capability and who is already in those fields, who we imagine when we think about those roles and who is therefore inspired the most by them. Women had no issue pulling their weight in manufacturing and computer engineering when we needed them to during times of crisis. Blog post after blog post show and surprise readers with images of women working on airplanes and doing technical work in factories. Somehow, even today, the idea of women not only taking these jobs, but doing so in mass numbers and enjoying the work impresses people. I think the fact that we're having these conversations at all - and consistently so - signals that it can "suck to be a female in this industry".
    - deleted 14y ago
      [deleted]
    - smky80 14y ago
      To be honest, I think anyone who believes 67% of college graduates should or at least will naturally be women, will be having these conversations consistently anyway, regardless of the merit of the argument. But I agree with your last point, in that it CAN suck to be anyone in any industry. So there's a point of agreement. :) And I'm finished with this thread.

by smky80 14y ago

mnicole 14y ago

I don't want to make the statement that women are smarter as it may be more related to what each gender accomplishes with their education. Men are physically more capable at labor-intensive roles that don't necessarily need the type of education currently provided in K-12 outside of vocational schools and shop classes. That doesn't mean they're not smart, it just means they may know what they want out of life and know what it takes to do it (i.e. taking over his father's business). I'd love to see our education system provide both academic- and career-oriented pathways that bring back apprenticeships. While I think women would still take more academic courses than their male counterparts, I believe it would really help alleviate gender-based assumptions about intelligence and capabilities.

smky80 14y ago
We can agree to disagree. If you're going to put forward the view above though, you can't really complain if someone were to argue that the lack of women in tech is more due to their own interests and aptitude than it is widespread sexism and "male privilege". I'm not arguing this subject, except to say that I don't think the OP makes a good argument that "it sucks to be female" in this industry.
- mnicole 14y ago
  Interests and aptitudes are relative to pre-determined ideas of capability and who is already in those fields, who we imagine when we think about those roles and who is therefore inspired the most by them. Women had no issue pulling their weight in manufacturing and computer engineering when we needed them to during times of crisis. Blog post after blog post show and surprise readers with images of women working on airplanes and doing technical work in factories. Somehow, even today, the idea of women not only taking these jobs, but doing so in mass numbers and enjoying the work impresses people. I think the fact that we're having these conversations at all - and consistently so - signals that it can "suck to be a female in this industry".
  - deleted 14y ago
    [deleted]
  - smky80 14y ago
    To be honest, I think anyone who believes 67% of college graduates should or at least will naturally be women, will be having these conversations consistently anyway, regardless of the merit of the argument. But I agree with your last point, in that it CAN suck to be anyone in any industry. So there's a point of agreement. :) And I'm finished with this thread.