I sent the other
day an article from The Chronicle of
Higher Education, “The Subtle Ways Gender Gaps Persist in Science,” to a
friend. She pointed out that even in the “social sciences” the gender gap persists
in a very obvious way, and perhaps for a reason. She thinks most research there
has become so reductionist and quasi-autistic, that “extreme male brains” must
be naturally attracted to and likely to excel at such work. And, of course,
they also tend to hire and promote kindred souls (for lack of a better word),
despite occasional bitter rivalries. According to my friend, this self and
other-selection keeps even many men out – and only women who can at least
imitate the modus operandi of the male cognitive outliers can put a foot in the
door. Apparently, this problem is particularly acute in economics, where the
proportion of female tenure-track and tenured faculty is lower than in
computers and pure math.
P.S. A NYT piece says blacks and Hispanics are "conspicuously absent" from tech jobs - just as women are. It seems males from a few racial/cultural groups are overrepresented in nerdy jobs across the board - and, of course, in the high-stakes gambling that is now called "investment." So "the best and the brightest" won't go away, no matter how many satirical jibes they need to suffer.
P.S. A NYT piece says blacks and Hispanics are "conspicuously absent" from tech jobs - just as women are. It seems males from a few racial/cultural groups are overrepresented in nerdy jobs across the board - and, of course, in the high-stakes gambling that is now called "investment." So "the best and the brightest" won't go away, no matter how many satirical jibes they need to suffer.
