0
0

Science has a girl problem


 invite response                
2012 May 4, 1:59am   37,576 views  86 comments

by Tenpoundbass   ➕follow (7)   💰tip   ignore  

No Stephen Hawkins didn't knock up one of the strippers at the Nuddie bar.

http://money.cnn.com/2012/05/04/news/economy/women-science/index.htm

"High school senior Mimi Yen spends a lot of time thinking about worm sex. "

I don't see the problem.

Though as Brational commented...

"I'm a woman. I taught biology for 30 years. I am not concerned about the ratio of men to women in science fields. I want future scientists to be people who are in science fields because they simply can't imagine doing anything else.

That there are fewer women in the sciences doesn't necessarily mean that we have done anything wrong or that somehow women are being purposefully directed away from the sciences or that we should try to push women into the sciences. "

I'm in agreement.

Comments 1 - 40 of 86       Last »     Search these comments

1   New Renter   2012 May 4, 12:40pm  

For once I am with you. There is NO shortage of scientists in this country, male or female, there hasn't been since the 60's if even then. If there was you'd see a LOT more campus recruiting, flexibility in what employers are willing to accept, on the job training, higher overall pay, starting bonuses, etc.

This is not to say kids should not be encouraged to study science, just don't let them make careers out of it.

2   Danaseb   2012 May 4, 12:45pm  

The men of the field, would not be men of science if they let their gut feeling exclude qualified and smart people.

But there IS problem, one that is not fixed by the usual methods of force equality.

The problem is our society teaches women to be insipid. A girls social front line such as adult family members and female friends will instill shame for showing any aptitude for anything that is not stereotypically female. Growing up female you are bombarded subliminally to repress critical thinking and be just as dumb as everyone else. At school you are expected to get straight A's, but it's only okay to make a career out of it if you still make time for grandchildren and take care of grandpa and grandma

Not always the case, but for three out of four girls it usually is.

3   New Renter   2012 May 4, 3:14pm  

Danaseb says

The men of the field, would not be men of science if they let their gut feeling exclude qualified and smart people.

Hiring decisions are not always made by "men of science".

4   bmwman91   2012 May 4, 4:27pm  

I don't buy the "boy's club" argument about STIM fields. I, and every other guy in my engineering program, would have loved there to be more girls. It was easy enough to meet them at parties & in general campus life, but it was always nice to run into a girl that could hold a technical conversation on a date (what...real engineers ARE nerds!). yeah there were a couple of sexist guys in the program. I knew just as many or more that were in liberal arts programs, too.

I think that it is mostly a nurture vs nature thing. Girls generally aren't raised to be interested in science. At this point, boys don't seem to be all that much either. It's about sports and "making money." Anyway, the way to "fix" the lack of females in STIM fields is not affirmative action. Pushing in uninterested, unqualified participants does nothing productive. Parents & society need to make the change. No guys are going to turn girls away from engineering as far as I can tell, because it is hard enough to meet chicks in those fields as it is. Most guys are well past the "girls are dumb" mentality anyway, and someone's work speaks for them rather than something superficial like gender.

And of course, who is to say that STIM fields are "broken" anyway? So what if there aren't girls in them? There isn't active discrimination in western nations stopping them. Science & engineering are functioning fine as it is. When society stops treating girls like girls, they will be more interested in STIM. Until then, they won't.

5   New Renter   2012 May 5, 9:22am  

bmwman91 says

it was always nice to run into a girl that could hold a technical conversation on a date (what...real engineers ARE nerds!).

Yes, I know - I married one :) Of course that means our dinner conversations usually involve materials characterization experiments and bioanalytical instruments. For some reason we don't get invited to too many dinner parties anymore....

Seriously though in most companies I have worked in I've seen my fare share of women scientists, especially in the biological sciences. One problem is most science jobs are not anywhere near 9-5 and put a big strain on the family life. Couple that with long commutes and the potential decade or more lost in graduate school + post docs and its no wonder women aren't exactly flocking to the sciences. They're smarter than men!

6   Dan8267   2012 May 5, 9:42am  

CaptainShuddup says

Science has a girl problem

Correction: Girls have a science problem.

No science student has ever done anything to discourage girls from entering science. Hell, that is every science nerd's fantasy, that some girl would actually find science interesting instead of dorky.

Girls, not science students, are the bigots.

If you want to blame someone, blame Hollywood for making scientist, engineers, and other intellectuals out to be socially inept, or better yet, the female students for being bigots. Don't blame the male students who are performing well and being passionate about science for the bigotry that they had to endure, particularly from women.

If you want more women in science and engineering, then recognize male scientists and engineers as the sex gods they are. As long as adolescent girls view scientists and engineers as lepers, you shouldn't be surprise that those girls don't go into science and engineering.

7   Dan8267   2012 May 5, 9:48am  

Speaking of engineering:
The engineer drop-out problem and yet engineers are still treated like crap and companies outsource any engineering job they can because "any monkey can code". Either engineering is hard or any monkey can code. You can't have it both ways.

8   bmwman91   2012 May 5, 3:42pm  

Not all coding is engineering...just nitpicking. There's a difference. Lots of "engineering" work isn't really engineering as far as I can tell.

I completely agree with your statement that, "girls have a science problem."

Society has such an amusingly inaccurate portrayal of scientists and engineers in popular culture. It seems that it always has. Yeah, there are some of those awkward folks that don't seem to bathe regularly, wear dirty plaid shirts and can't hold a conversation about anything. Most engineers and scientists are pretty "normal" though: GASP! In fact, many of them are avid athletes, entrepreneurs, pick-up artists, musicians and other various "cool" stuff. If anything, maybe society is butt-hurt because these folks look at those activities analytically and figure out how to be better-than-average at them. That's a real stretch, I'll admit lol.

The last "cool" scientist/engineer I can think of in popular culture was Robert Downey Jr in the Iron Man movies. Nevermind the way that various impossible technological achievements were developed in an earthen Al Qaeda cave with a soldering iron, or that a guy in a wife beater used a home-brew particle accelerator to make a cold fusion reactor of some sort with a pipe wrench...at least it made inventing science'y stuff look COOL!

9   Dan8267   2012 May 5, 6:13pm  

bmwman91 says

Society has such an amusingly inaccurate portrayal of scientists and engineers in popular culture. It seems that it always has.

Personally, I'm just sick and tired of idiots blaming men for there being few women in science and engineering when the men are the real victims of bigotry. It was the same in the politically correct 1990s. None of the articles talking about the dearth of women in engineering and science would dare mention that it was because high school and college aged women looked down at math, science, engineering, and those who excelled at those subjects. That's the real reason there are few women in science and engineering. Always has been.

10   Eliza   2012 May 6, 3:29pm  

For whatever reason, girls in mixed gender schools start falling behind in math around middle school. Girls in all-girl environments do not fall behind. Whatever it is that happens to girls in mixed gender environments at that age, that's the problem.

11   nope   2012 May 6, 4:27pm  

Every single person I know in STEM has these things in common (well, except for the chinese and indians who's parents forced them into it late in life):

- Lots of exposure to sci fi and fantasy fiction as children
- Typical toys: Legos, video games, chemistry sets

Interest in these fields is cultural, and the fact of the matter is that our culture actively avoids appealing to girls. Even legos aren't being marketed to girls anymore -- they've come up with barbie-ized versions that don't even let you build anything.

When you raise your daughters to be princesses and home makers, they're going to believe that being a princess and a home maker is what they're supposed to do.

Give your daughters video games and legos and I can guarantee that they're just as likely to grow up interested in STEM as your sons.

I don't blame men for the lack of women in STEM, but I definitely blame parents.

12   Dan8267   2012 May 6, 8:45pm  

Kevin says

When you raise your daughters to be princesses and home makers,

Nobody raises their daughter to be a home maker.

Kevin says

Give your daughters video games and legos and I can guarantee that they're just as likely to grow up interested in STEM as your sons.

Give your son a barbie and he'll use his T-Rex figure to tear it limb from limb and eat it. Some things are biological. You can't turn boys into girls or girls into boys by giving them the right toys.

If you want more people, particularly females, to enter science and engineering, then the following must be done.

1. Scientists and engineers should be respected in the same way that so-called "pillars of the community" are. They should be respected as much as doctors, lawyers, athletes, and the military. Who wants to go into a profession that is sneered at by society?

2. The stereotypes of socially inept math, science, and engineering nerds must be vanquished once and for all.

3. Stop outsourcing. If there isn't a market for engineers, they will not be graduates in the field. No one wants to enter a field that is being relocated to China and India. That's why no one today goes into manufacturing. People choose their careers based on what they see as a sustainable job market.

Kevin says

I don't blame men for the lack of women in STEM, but I definitely blame parents.

Why doesn't anyone blame the women? If women are suppose to be carrying their fair share of the scientific and engineering work, then who is deciding to keep them out of these fields? Only themselves. The women everyone complains aren't being engineers are the ones actively choosing not to be engineers. But I guess it's not politically correct to put the blame where it really belongs.

Either accept that women as a whole aren't as interested in math, science, and engineering as men are and that's ok, or blame the women themselves for not pursuing these fields because it's not ok. Women have been free to choose their careers for decades. It's a lie to blame anyone else for their career choices. Either accept the women's choice or bitch to them about it. Don't blame anyone else but the decision maker.

Personally, I don't give a rat's ass whether or not women choose to enter one field or another. We aren't encouraging women to be coal miners even though that field is dominated by men. I say let women do for a living whatever they want, but don't bitch and moan when women tend to prefer some fields over others and those fields aren't the ones you want them to pick. They are adults and should decide for themselves what they are interested in doing for a living.

13   thomas.wong1986   2012 May 7, 5:29pm  

Kevin says

Interest in these fields is cultural, and the fact of the matter is that our culture actively avoids appealing to girls. Even legos aren't being marketed to girls anymore -- they've come up with barbie-ized versions that don't even let you build anything.
When you raise your daughters to be princesses and home makers, they're going to believe that being a princess and a home maker is what they're supposed to do.

Thats why they grow up being Doctors, Accountants, Lawyers, Investment Bankers...

The girls figured out very early why Barbie dolls was wearing Gucci, living in Malibu, and were driving a Vettes, certainly wasnt going to be from being a engineer... they learned to get a real job!

14   thomas.wong1986   2012 May 7, 5:33pm  

Dan8267 says

2. The stereotypes of socially inept math, science, and engineering nerds must be vanquished once and for all.

Good Luck on that one!

http://www.youtube.com/embed/zypIEHVuq2o

15   MisdemeanorRebel   2012 May 8, 1:51am  

Dan8267 says

The women everyone complains aren't being engineers are the ones actively choosing not to be engineers.

Word. The women who complain the loudest about the lack of Women in STEM jobs are sociologists, women's studies profs, journalists, etc. - those who did not choose STEM careers - or even a STEM-based education - for themselves.

There are apparently hard-wired difference in men and women when plotting paths and navigating. This may give men a leg up in certain fields where abstracting time, space, and distance in the mind is a key factor (like engineering or cartography or plain old map reading).
http://psychology.illinoisstate.edu/cbs/readings/saucier_et_al_2002.pdf

16   Rin   2012 May 8, 2:53am  

People, here's a little 'open' secret ... medical school, M.D. program, is a graduate school for the biosciences. Yes, the first two years of every M.D. class comprise of masters' level courses for advanced degrees in physiology, biochemistry, etc. That's why the MD-PhD is a condensed joint program because the PhD part is mostly pure research than coursework.

Now, if women were not studying ... ahem ... science, then why are more than 50% of medical school classes comprised of women?

Here's my answer ... doctors earn six figure salaries and more importantly, have near lifetime job security. STEM jobs have low-to-ordinary pay, minimal job security, expected unpaid overtime, & constant threat of offshoring. Instead, I would imagine more practical young women, opting for finance/accounting BS programs and then, an MBA, over any science or engineering program, simply because in terms of salaries and job security, STEM work can't compete.

17   MisdemeanorRebel   2012 May 8, 2:56am  

A Doctor is a Helping, Social profession that has many aspects that we would consider to be in an archetypical Female wheelhouse.

One interesting question: What is the ratio of female research doctors to practicing doctors?

18   Rin   2012 May 8, 3:23am  

thunderlips11 says

A Doctor is a Helping, Social profession that has many aspects that we would consider to be in an archetypical Female wheelhouse.

One interesting question: What is the ratio of female research doctors to practicing doctors?

This is true but consider this ... if the average internal medicine salary dropped from $200K+ to $75K, the chances are that it would be a male dominated field like chemical engineering, tough coursework but with ordinary payoff. Thus, my suspicion is that as opportunities for women grew in the 60s, medical school classes, within a generation, equilibrated to 50/50 Male/Female ratio due to the economic prowess of the profession.

As for research MDs, from my three stints at medical centers, I'd seen less than 15% female MD researchers. And from my personal experiences, every female MD-PhD (top grades/top MCATs/top research pubs) did it to get a free MD, paid for via the fellowship.

19   Danaseb   2012 May 8, 3:50am  

Unless you grow up female you do not know what societies pressures are upon women. Some women rise above it, but regardless of gender four out of five people do not rise above what their upbringing groomed them to be.

I'm four years into a relationship that I intend to stay in until the rest of my life. The man I fell in love with still wears thick glasses, wore braces headgear a few years and was very socially awkward as a kid.

I love all things related to STIM, I know many other women that do. I also know many women who are NOT into STIM, academic at all, but date and find so called 'nerd attractive'. However I know from my dating years that the 4 out of 5 comes into play, as in 4 out of 5 people you meet are single for a very good reason and will likely remain so entirely from their own doing for a long time.

Blaming women for 'hating' nerds is the hallmark of a bitter forever alones. We do a much better job of working around people of the opposite sex we find repulsive, so even if that was the case it would not remotely justify the lack of women in the sciences. Its because we are taught that if we like things not earmarked as 'female okay' people will think we are weirdos, the insecurity is often sewn in by our very parents and close family. I suspect many many great dancers, actors and designers never came to be because it was not male enough someones pride of the family son

No its not normal for boys to be into dolls, but its not really that unusual either, I mean GIJoe, same thing difference accessories. And trust me my sister and cousins and I loved those too in the rare instance we wanted to play something different.

I loved video games and computers at school as a kid, my parents despite easily being able to afford it; could not understand and refused to buy me anything related to it. Rather I kept getting horse riding equipment and clothes clothes and more clothes every Christmas. Wasn't suffering, but at the same time growing up in rural public schools was not able to grow in that direction until I bought my first computer.

Ask any gamer girl and unless she grew up with masses of brothers, where her parents couldn't possibly quarantine her activities; and thats it. The main concern of socially active children in their formative years is fitting in, many interest die in that pursuit.

20   Rin   2012 May 8, 4:21am  

Danaseb says

Unless you grow up female you do not know what societies pressures are upon women. Some women rise above it, but regardless of gender four out of five people do not rise above what their upbringing groomed them to be.

I'm going to make one gender bias observation and that's that women understand the nature of power and in modern times, it's about the amount of time studying vis-a-vis economic compensation. In other words, if it isn't an authentic money generator ... don't bother studying it. And here's a great indicator of this phenomena, in Japan, where women are not encouraged to be stock traders, cadre of housewives have become self-made currency experts, some earning 7-8 figures, trading (or advising) from home.

Thus, the archetypical male STEM (non-MBA track) person is more a hobbyist type than one who's geared towards the acquisition of power and wealth. Possibly, the alpha males in this arena have already hit the hedge funds and had left STEM work for good. Others, more risk averse, probably opt for an MBA to stay marketable as a team lead/project manager.

21   Rin   2012 May 8, 5:00am  

Danaseb says

so even if that was the case it would not remotely justify the lack of women in the sciences

I'd done my undergrad degree in Applied Chemistry & Chemical Engineering. My concentration was more on the chemistry side than process engineering.

In my graduating major of 35, there were 10 women. Of all the women, one went for a PhD at MIT. This person was offered fellowship money from every program she'd applied for including Northwestern, Univ of Illinois, MIT, etc. Thus, it was paid for PhD at America's top school.

The others, I knew 6 of them personally, went to work for a few years and then, went back to school for an MBA. But upon returning to work, they went into sales and marketing, for either the cosmetics or chemical sectors. Not a single women stayed in STEM work.

Thus, I don't buy into any theory that women don't have access to STEM career opportunities like men. They do but decide not to pursue them as a career, for the long term.

22   Dan8267   2012 May 8, 5:10am  

Rin says

doctors earn six figure salaries and more importantly, have near lifetime job security. STEM jobs have low-to-ordinary pay, minimal job security, expected unpaid overtime, & constant threat of offshoring.

All true, but that applies to men as well. The difference between men and women is that men still go into a profession that is socially stigmatized. Women don't.

Doctors are highly respected. Engineers are not. And it's really sad because being an engineer is as difficult and as useful to society as doctors are. Engineering is the 21st century field.

23   Dan8267   2012 May 8, 5:14am  

Danaseb says

Unless you grow up female you do not know what societies pressures are upon women.

Completely untrue. Both men and women are capable of empathy. In fact, in general it is not only possible to understand the trials that groups you do not belong to go through, it is essential to do so.

There is nothing magic about imagining yourself in a different position and subject to different circumstances. If the human mind can understand quantum mechanics, it can understand what it's like to grow up in a different gender, race, culture, etc. It's not rocket science.

24   Rin   2012 May 8, 5:21am  

Dan8267 says

men still go into a profession that is socially stigmatized. Women don't.

Doctors are highly respected. Engineers are not. And it's really sad because being an engineer is as difficult and as useful to society as doctors are.

Women, meaning the ones who are into academic work, see engineering as *the best door* into a business profession. For example, it's easier to get hired from an Applied Chem/Chem Eng program into a Proctor & Gamble internship, then fast track career, where one gets to learn about product development, sales, or marketing strategies but then later, that person can apply to Northwestern or Columbia business schools and laterally move into a director or senior position in marketing or strategy consulting. Why would this person ever stay in R&D?

25   MisdemeanorRebel   2012 May 8, 5:24am  

Here's the simple difference between men and women, and I think Rin touched upon it:

Men have a love for THINGS. Boats, Cars, Planes, Nuclear Reactors, etc. in a way that only a few women have. I have never seen a woman fawn over a car, tenderly replace hubcaps, polish the chrome, replace components for maximum performance, etc. like a man does. That's why I believe men are more attracted to physical science and applied physical sciences like Physics and Engineering; it is fueled by a love of artifice that few women share.

There are probably some good reasons why this might be for men and not women. We do know that men and women are both capable of euclidian and landmark navigation, but that men do the former better, and women the latter better. It's been tested over and over again in many cultures, and the results are similar. Maybe it's more important for the hunters and warriors to be really "into" shaping spear heads, and more important for the gathers and, for most of human history, the distributors, to have more intuitive social skills.

Humans are not "Blank Slates" with minds of infinite mallebility, kept from broadening their preferences only by social forces. The social forces came from somewhere to begin with. Humans come "out of the factory" with many "pre-programmed" traits: Aversion to snakes, attraction to white toothed smiles, preference for large genitalia in partners, etc. These are not cultural; they are found in all cultures at all times with pitifully few exceptions (Certain Japanese emperors had bad teeth, so for a while all the courtiers dyed their teeth black), including in cultures that have been sealed from others for countless millenia (Highlands of New Guinea).

All this being said, as a Liberal I support the idea that women can engage in any field they wish without prejudice - even infantry. I wouldn't want the next Joan of Arc missing out on joining the US Army. It's also fine to expose girls to many careers.

Just because we endeavor to broaden the options, doesn't mean we're still illiberal because most don't choose the new options available. We can't force women to be free.

26   Dan8267   2012 May 8, 5:30am  

Danaseb says

Blaming women for 'hating' nerds is the hallmark of a bitter forever alones.

Also complete bullshit. Adolescent girls and young women are extremely prejudice against STIM and the people who study it. This is a cold hard fact. And the reason this fact is brought up in this discussion is because a lot of women have been falsely accusing men of being the real reason that women are not entering STIM. This false accusation is pure hypocrisy and is highly offensive. And that's why it is completely appropriate to point out this falsehood whenever some idiot makes it.

Danaseb says

Blaming women for 'hating' nerds is the hallmark of a bitter forever alones. We do a much better job of working around people of the opposite sex we find repulsive

Oh, the bigotry is apparent. The fact that you find "nerds repulsive" is exactly the problem. First of all, nerds is as much of an n-word as nigger. There have been many adolescent boys who have committed suicide as the result as being called a nerd.

Second, imagine if we redirected your statement to another group without changing the underlying content. Blaming women for 'hating' niggers is the hallmark of a bitter forever alones. We do a much better job of working around people of the opposite sex we find repulsive. Now do you see how offensive it is? Just replace one arbitrary group with another and the bigotry shines through.

The fact is that so-called nerds are responsible for hauling our asses out of the dark ages, virtually eliminating childbirth deaths for both mothers and children, over tripling the life expectancy, and improving the quality of life. Nerds have done more to improve the quality of your life than all the rock stars, athletes, and actors put together.

27   Tenpoundbass   2012 May 8, 5:32am  

thunderlips11 says

Men have a love for THINGS. Boats, Cars, Planes, Nuclear Reactors, etc. in a way that only a few women have. I have never seen a woman fawn over a car, tenderly replace hubcaps, polish the chrome, etc. like a man does. That's why I believe men are more attracted to physical science and applied physical sciences like Physics and Engineering; it is fueled by a love of artifice that few women share.

There's not much difference in what men do with gear and mechanical stuff, that what women do with scrap books and crafts. Other than of course at the end of the day, you can't crank up that flower arrangement and drive to the store for a six pack.

28   Dan8267   2012 May 8, 5:36am  

thunderlips11 says

Humans are not "Blank Slates" with minds of infinite mallebility, kept from broadening their preferences only by social forces. The social forces came from somewhere to begin with. Humans come "out of the factory" with many "pre-programmed" traits

True, but in the case of STIM, American (possibly Western European as well) culture does play an important part in influencing people about whether or not they enter the field.

The "nerd" bigotry you see in the U.S. simply does not happen in many other countries, particularly in Asia. And surprise, surprise, Asia is where all the tech growth is. Even the field of computer science used to be dominated by women. It started during WWII when all the men were fighting overseas. However, during the 1970s the number of women entering the field plummeted at the exact same time as the Hollywood nerd image took off.

Culture matters in this case.

29   Rin   2012 May 8, 5:39am  

Dan8267 says

And the reason this fact is brought up in this discussion is because a lot of women have been falsely accusing men of being the real reason that women are not entering STIM.

Yes, I concur with the above.

Right now, most applicants to US graduate (not undergrad, not medical, not business) applied science & engineering programs were either US/Green Card males or international students (both genders).

In my own experience, aside from the MITer in my personal class, other American women, who wanted to go for PhDs in the sciences, have been offered money from very prestigious schools like Univ of Penn, Carnegie-Mellon, Univ of Chicago, etc. In contrast, these programs don't need to recruit American men, as there are already enough US based guys and Intl ones, who'll work for reduced stipends or even have corporate sponsorship.

Danasep has a faux victim status mentality.

As we speak, what's preventing any woman in America from downloading course materials from here: ocw.mit.edu ?

30   MisdemeanorRebel   2012 May 8, 5:48am  

CaptainShuddup says

There's not much difference in what men do with gear and mechanical stuff, that what women do with scrap books and crafts. Other than of course at the end of the day, you can't crank up that flower arrangement and drive to the store for a six pack.

Scrap Books are for memories, and crafts are generally to give to people, no? What else do women collect? Dolls, horses, dogs, cats? All living things or representations of living things (or relationships!).

31   Dan8267   2012 May 8, 5:49am  

Rin says

Danasep has a faux victim status mentality.

Worse still, she blames the actual victims for the crimes.

32   Tenpoundbass   2012 May 8, 5:54am  

Alls I know, anytime a man thinks he's got wimerns figured out, he ends up on the couch giving him self a hand.

33   MisdemeanorRebel   2012 May 8, 6:01am  

Dan8267 says

True, but in the case of STIM, American (possibly Western European as well) culture does play an important part in influencing people about whether or not they enter the field.

I see your point about the demonization of "Nerds". You mentioned Hollywood, and that's a factor for sure. I think maybe it's part of that whole "Mysticism" crap that came along in the 60s.

But you're right, not only in Asia, but in most European countries, being an Engineer or Mathematician is considered very "manly".

I think there's a backlast against males in pop culure, and fathers in particular, that began with TV and I wonder if it has more to do with the realization that Females are the primary buyers of a household, and that single mothers are the heads of households. That's why we get ridiculous commercials where women are shown programming VCRs or using wireless connectivity while the men (esp. Dads) are clueless.

One interesting thing post-Apocalyptic shows never address, but would be an entertaining sub-plot, is the gender balance of power that would take place.

34   Dan8267   2012 May 8, 6:02am  

CaptainShuddup says

Alls I know, anytime a man thinks he's got wimerns figured out, he ends up on the couch giving him self a hand.

http://tinyurl.com/7wpab89

But that's another subject altogether.

35   Rin   2012 May 8, 6:06am  

Here's my theory ... if MD salaries dropped by 50% (70% if surgical specialty), I'd estimate that the MD class would go from 50/50 M/F to 70/30 M/F.

BTW, this won't effect the PA and nursing programs, as many of them are already earning senior engineering salaries.

The smaller pool of male MD students, who'd leave, would opt for Hedge Fund/Trading, Patent/Corporate Law, or top ten b-school, all sort of type A personality-oriented professions with a large payoff & plenty of personal responsibility/ownership.

The vast majority of women would probably leave for nursing, PA, or pharmacy, as those fields are similar enough to being a doctor but pay a salary which is solid and nearly guaranteed.

I don't think as many men will opt for those areas, as their original motivation to be in medicine was in controlling their lives and being a type of "leader in the clinic", than a person who's simply there for a paycheck.

36   Danaseb   2012 May 8, 6:18am  

Dan8267 says

Rin says

Danasep has a faux victim status mentality.

Worse still, she blames the actual victims for the crimes.

Are you people for real here? This is hilarious, the thinly vialed pent up misogyny in this thread is funny.

This thread originally was about the inarguable FACT that societal pressures changes what careers and even inner interest we have, how its strongly effects women from the offset of their lives. But, nope you had to just twist this whole thing into how women are evil and don't like you because you're too smart.

Forever alones being bitter forever alones.

37   Dan8267   2012 May 8, 6:35am  

Danaseb says

This is hilarious, the thinly vialed pent up misogyny in this thread is funny.

Calling a specific woman on hypocritical bullshit is not misogyny. Falsely accusing men of misogyny is, however, a manifestation of misandry.

The fact remains that women are the sole reason that women are not entering into STIM fields. I have no problem with a person who takes the stance that it doesn't matter what fields women go into. Different strokes for different folks. I also have no problem with a person who does consider this a bad thing and places the blame where it belongs with the women who decide that STIM and STIMers are beneath them.

I do, however, have a problem with someone passing judgement based on hypocrisy and bigotry. And to accuse STIM men of misogyny when the dearth of female STIMers is entirely due to the prejudices of women is hypocritical bigotry.

And Danaseb, the more you attack STIMers on this issue, the more you look like a bigot. And your attacks on "smart" people is utterly despicable. America has a long history of being anti-intellectual and glorifying stupidity. That's a large part of the reason that few women enter STIM. The last thing America needs is people like you promoting stupidity and chastising intellectual accomplishments.

The very notion of chastising intellectual accomplishments is retarded. Finding a cure for cancer, solving the energy crisis, and bringing peace to the Middle East would all be "intellectual accomplishments". What kind of low life would derogate such things?

Just imagine a 12-year-old girl reading Danaseb's comments. She would think, "I don't want to be 'forever alones being bitter forever alones', so I better not let anyone think I'm smart." Great message to send, Danaseb. You are the problem.

38   Tenpoundbass   2012 May 8, 6:44am  

Dan8267 says

Just imagine a 12-year-old girl reading Danaseb's comments. She would think, "I don't want to be 'forever alones being bitter forever alones', so I better not let anyone think I'm smart." Great message to send, Danaseb. You are the problem.

????

I think you guys give crap spewed on the internet WAYYYYY to much accreditation.

39   Dan8267   2012 May 8, 6:49am  

CaptainShuddup says

I think you guys give crap spewed on the internet WAYYYYY to much accreditation.

I think you underestimate how impressionable 12-year-olds are.

40   Rin   2012 May 8, 6:56am  

Danaseb, when you're done with your 'Home Alone' bickering with Dan8227, do you have anything to say about the actual career paths of women, who did in fact, study science & engineering, to later pursue careers in business?

Comments 1 - 40 of 86       Last »     Search these comments

Please register to comment:

api   best comments   contact   latest images   memes   one year ago   random   suggestions