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Old 26-August-2008, 01:54 AM
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Drunk Vegan Drunk Vegan is offline
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Now, tell me again why Summers is justified in wondering if, from the Wiki, "many factors outside of socialization could explain why there were more men than women in high-end science and engineering positions"? Still think that was not a brainless remark for a university president who has authority over hiring faculty and accepting students? I'm baffled.
"Many factors other than socialization" does not imply "girls are not as good at math as boys."

Socialization suggests that girls are being held back in math because they were told they could not do it and believed it.

How about:

1. Institutional bias against accepting female applicants to university science programs and engineering programs?

2. Instiutional bias against accepting female applicants for engineering and science jobs?

3. Life choices - choosing to have a family and stay at home instead of using exceptional skills to gain employment in those fields.

4. Domestic violence, which happens much more often to women than to men, and causes homelessness and unemployment?

5. Depression and other motivation-crippling disorders, which women have been shown to be more susceptible to, causing women not to get the degrees needed for jobs in those fields.

Any of those could be considered "other factors"

But no, the kneejerk reactionaries chose to read his statement as "girls are not as good at math, because they're icky."
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