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For a profession that is all about being an meritocracy, the willful blindness displayed here in the comments to the actual data presented in the article, is di

For a profession that is all about being an meritocracy, the willful blindness displayed here in the comments to the actual data presented in the article, is disturbing, if not unsurprising. We have a shortage of scientists in this country. The fact remains that in science, and ultimately in the technology companies that men who grow up in these distorted academic norms found and run, there are things that can be changed. This benefits everyone, and doesn't require lowering standards. There's a ton of data shared here, and in stated Hacker News tradition, I'd prefer to see a robust discussion of that vs kneejerk reactions. It's a long article and worthy of serious consideration.

eli_gottlieb 13y ago
We have a shortage of scientists in this country. Not according to the labor markets we don't.
- melindajb 13y ago
  Do you include computer science in your assessment?
  - eli_gottlieb 13y ago
    For computer scientists rather than software engineers? Yes, yes I did. Compare how many CS PhDs end up as full-time research scientists versus how many end up as engineering/development staff of various kinds.
spalecti 13y ago
It is true that no system in the world has or could ever have a perfectly accurate merit assessment system... but has any one noticed that improvements in merit assignment and lower barriers to entry lead to less representation of women at the top, not more? In highly structured environments with statistical ranking systems, the portion of women at the top is miniscule. For example, women make up about about 55% of registered players in the American Scrabble Associations raking system, but on some occasions there are no women in the top 50 ranked (the most there has ever been was just a few) [1]. Currently, I count 6 women's names in the top 100 [2]. The only places where women are highly represented at the top are places with strong diversity programs. For example, Rwanda leads the world in terms of women's representation in parliament, but that is because a very large number of seats are reserved exclusive for female candidates, while the rest are open to anyone [3]. 1. http://rcm-papers.net/scrabble-ratings-gender.html http://rcm-papers.net/scrabble-ratings-gender.html 2. http://www.scrabbleplayers.org/cgi-bin/ratings-byrank.pl http://www.scrabbleplayers.org/cgi-bin/ratings-byrank.pl 3. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7620816.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7620816.stm

eli_gottlieb 13y ago

We have a shortage of scientists in this country. Not according to the labor markets we don't.

melindajb 13y ago
Do you include computer science in your assessment?
- eli_gottlieb 13y ago
  For computer scientists rather than software engineers? Yes, yes I did. Compare how many CS PhDs end up as full-time research scientists versus how many end up as engineering/development staff of various kinds.

spalecti 13y ago

It is true that no system in the world has or could ever have a perfectly accurate merit assessment system... but has any one noticed that improvements in merit assignment and lower barriers to entry lead to less representation of women at the top, not more? In highly structured environments with statistical ranking systems, the portion of women at the top is miniscule. For example, women make up about about 55% of registered players in the American Scrabble Associations raking system, but on some occasions there are no women in the top 50 ranked (the most there has ever been was just a few) [1]. Currently, I count 6 women's names in the top 100 [2]. The only places where women are highly represented at the top are places with strong diversity programs. For example, Rwanda leads the world in terms of women's representation in parliament, but that is because a very large number of seats are reserved exclusive for female candidates, while the rest are open to anyone [3]. 1. http://rcm-papers.net/scrabble-ratings-gender.html http://rcm-papers.net/scrabble-ratings-gender.html 2. http://www.scrabbleplayers.org/cgi-bin/ratings-byrank.pl http://www.scrabbleplayers.org/cgi-bin/ratings-byrank.pl 3. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7620816.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7620816.stm