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Re: [Phys-l] Women Earn 46% of Undergraduate Math Degrees but Represent Only 8% of Math Professors ??



At 08:29 -0600 6/2/06, JMGreen wrote:

What are we supposed to ascertain from this?

Should we assume that women and men are "equal" in some way -- that
women have the same thinking as men -- that they have the same goals
and values -- and that there should be an equivalent number of female
professors -- so something must be wrong in these cases?

Or should we realize that women have better sense than to go into
education -- that they have different goals and values than men?

And are we supposed to ascertain from this that these are the only two possible options?

It also seems quite possible to me that a male-dominated faculty will not be as likely to hire a woman without some pressure from the outside.

This pattern has been repeated many times in other professions and other disciplines--the existence of qualified women is ignored and then when the recognition that there are qualified women out there is finally inescapable, the argument is made that women "don't want to do this sort of work, so they don't apply for the positions." The fact is that if women (or various ethnic minorities) don't apply is is likely that it is because they have been rebuffed so many times already that they don't see any point in it. Or they see no particular advantage to them to be the "token female," or don't look forward to the snide remarks of colleagues that the got their job "based on reverse discrimination in favor of their sex," or even more insidious, that the "slept their way into the job."

Unless you are a women (or African-American or Latino, or some other un-favored minority) you can have no appreciation of the subtle and often degrading barriers that are erected to discourage various categories of applicants from pursuing their desires.

I suggest that you discuss this with some women who have made the attempt to break into previously all-male fields, including those who have been successful at it, and ask them if they had any problems like those I described above.

Hugh
--

Hugh Haskell
<mailto:haskell@ncssm.edu>
<mailto:hhaskell@mindspring.com>

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