Elsewhere (192)
Stephen Beard on women in STEM, absent males and the Great Diversity Hustle:
Most large organisations — certainly universities — now have Diversity Officers, Diversity Consultants and Women’s Officers. Many of these Officers and Consultants and the like have academic backgrounds in gender or women’s studies… Perhaps this is why diversity bosses have chosen to focus on the four areas in STEM [out of eight] where men still make up the majority, rather than education, where men make up less than 25% of undergraduate and post-graduate students. This is a much more alarming statistic, given that only one-in-four British primary schools have a single male teacher, and there are over a million children in the UK growing up without a father. With the possible detrimental effects of not having positive male role-models, this is a much more pressing issue than the concerns of middle-class academic women seeking special privileges in their career.
The STEM fields in which women outnumber men are, oddly enough, not deemed biased or bothersome.
Kyle Brooks on competitive outrage on campus:
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater has been enmeshed in controversy over the last few weeks in the wake of its chancellor mistaking a photo of two white students donning beauty facial masks as blackface and falsely accusing the students of being “racist.” […] Since the incident – which one student activist labelled “Bloody Sunday” – the campus has hosted diversity forums at which students have accused the campus of being steeped in racism and suggested administrators are not doing enough about it. One Black Student Union member even told peers she missed several days of school because she was too distraught by the blackface picture to attend class.
Related, their failure to know stuff is entirely due to your racism:
Protesters interrupted the University of Wisconsin system’s Board of Regents meeting for a third time last week, demanding the end of “blatantly oppressive” standardised testing.
You see, the student protestors are ethereal beings of exquisite sensitivity, such that they are emotionally crushed by any hint of mockery – say, when laughed at for gathering in a “healing circle” – and are rendered tearful and distraught by any testing of their abilities. Such as they might be.*
And Andrew Follett on the “feminist glaciology” hokum recently doing the rounds:
The University of Oregon historian who wrote a study claiming glaciers are sexist said in an interview on Friday that the general public isn’t educated enough about feminism to understand his research. In the interview, Dr Mark Carey claims that when his studies are “described to non-specialists, the research can be misunderstood and potentially misrepresented.” […] The research was financially supported by taxpayer dollars. The National Science Foundation (NSF) gave Carey a five-year grant to write his “feminist glaciology” paper. He has received a total of $709,125 in grants from the NSF, according to his curriculum vitae. Carey did not address the huge sum of money he received in the interview.
Feel free to share your own links and snippets in the comments. It’s what these posts are for. [*Added via the comments.]
The STEM fields in which women outnumber men are, oddly enough, not deemed biased or bothersome.
“Today’s Feminism, the movement that claims to be about equality, is actually just a gynocentric lobby group preoccupied with the first-world concerns of a very small number of women.”
That.
I have no links or snippets, but plenty of outrage after reading the three summaries 🙁
That.
Well, the professed concern for gender parity – as some natural default from which any deviation must be caused by egregious sexism and therefore corrected – does seem rather selective and self-serving. As Mr Beard notes, the fact that a majority of British primary schools now have no male presence in the classroom – at all – apparently isn’t regarded as an issue of any kind. Likewise, the large female majorities in other areas – say, psychology and mental health services – doesn’t seem to concern those who insist on the importance of gender parity. When male psychologists are hard to find, this couldn’t possibly present any problems for men seeking counselling because apparently women know everything there is to know about male psychology.
When male psychologists are hard to find, this couldn’t possibly present any problems for men seeking counselling because apparently women know everything there is to know about male psychology.
You mean men and women sometimes think differently? #Outrage #ThoughtCrime
#Outrage #ThoughtCrime
Quite. The idea that there are statistical differences in how men and women think and what they prioritise is in some quarters deemed heretical. Even though it’s a feature of almost every married couple in the history of married coupledom.
The graph in the second link is familiar to me – architecture and planning 3rd (worst?) after computing science and engineering? How? It’s an ‘arts’- based profession!
I work for a (biggish) firm of London Architects. Unusually, it’s over 50% female professionals. I asked some of them (women in their 20s and 30s) ‘is there really a macho culture here?’
They said:
1/ Length of time to qualify as architect in UK is minimum 7 years; by the time they qualify, most intend to leave to start a family. Only two women here returned after having children. The two female directors, coincidentally, are childless.
2/ Building sites are male dominated – not surprisingly, since they involve much physical effort and are often dangerous. This isn’t going to change.
So architecture is not seen as an attractive profession by women.
Sam Bowman on the medical profession’s authoritarian tendency:
I’ve known a number of doctors and pharmacists whose attitude was something close to that of a priestly caste, rather than someone providing a service to a customer.
I despise the BMA. Their ‘ethics committee’ is treated like Moses coming down the mountain with The Law, when it truth it’s comprised of politicos with a medical degree and a Calvinist desire to tell others what to do. Many BMA folk can’t hack it in clinical practice to gravitate to committee work and general bossiness. They’re the type of shits who spent time in student union politics. Narcissicistic killjoys.
Most doctors who treat patients regard their prodnose antics with contempt. Doctors nights out tend to be awash with booze and the medical Royal Colleges have vast wine cellars. Thankfully.
When male psychologists are hard to find…because apparently women know everything there is to know about male psychology.
You can’t spell psychotherapist without psycho the rapist, which is all they need to know.
The University of Oregon historian who wrote a study claiming glaciers are sexist said in an interview on Friday that the general public isn’t educated enough about feminism to understand his research.
Of course.
“diversity officers”
More traditionally known as Political Officers.
More traditionally known as Political Officers.
Or commissars
In my experience, admittedly limited, most women don’t think – they emote.
In my experience, admittedly limited, most women don’t think – they emote.
Shots fired
[ Retreats to a safe distance from mojo. ]
Perhaps the male-female disparity in STEM exists because in those fields, autoethnography is not a favored research methodology.
[ Gathers sandbags, canned goods, toilet paper. ]
I’ve known a number of doctors and pharmacists whose attitude was something close to that of a priestly caste, rather than someone providing a service to a customer.
Doctors are more like car mechanics. It is their job to fix your body when it goes wrong and – perhaps – offer occasional advice on how to get the best out of it.
It is not their job to tell you where you can drive to, or to criticise how you decide to go from A to B.
At my son’s STEM university, the number of diversity initiatives, recruitment efforts and scholarship opportunities for women is astounding. These programs have existed for over ten years and more are added all the time. Still, sixty-five percent of the students are male. How then, is discrimination responsible when the university bends over backwards to admit female candidates?
(BTW, in such hotbed of testosterone, one would expect “rape culture” to be on full display. Yet, according to the campus police, the worst crime on campus in the last five years was a stolen laptop. Do you think feminists are pulling our legs?)
What David Hadley said, pretty much.
If you choose to drive at 80mph in 2nd gear, take corners at 100mph or put diesel in a petrol engine, your call.
[ Retreats to a safe distance from mojo. ]
Fear is for wimps.
Someone needs to go full Henry VIII on these guys: perhaps the Universities, like the monasteries back then, still have some positive attributes, but surely we’d be better off without them
1. Oregon students demand hike in minimum wage (‘social justice’, yadda yadda).
2. State hikes minimum wage.
3. Oregon State University now cutting 700 student jobs.
http://www.thecollegefix.com/post/26598/
Oregon State University now cutting 700 student jobs.
I can’t help thinking that a lot of disappointment and wasted time and effort could be avoided if students learned some basic economics before shouting their demands.
I think “economics” is selling it a little short. “Consequences” seems to me to be the more general problem, that the Progressive Left makes its demands while rarely thinking through how people might react if those demands are passed. There seems to be a wide assumption of a static world where taxes and subsidies have no effect, shouting at people won’t encourage them to leave, and being a ruddy ingrate will have no effect on one’s support.
At my son’s STEM university, the number of diversity initiatives, recruitment efforts and scholarship opportunities for women is astounding. These programs have existed for over ten years
Luxury. In my day, we had it tough.
The Canadian STEM university where I earned my engineering degree 25 years ago was well in the throes of Women in Engineering pandering 25 years ago. After 25 years of this, female enrollment in engineering is down 5 percentage points. At this point, if the women aren’t there it’s because they don’t want to be.
Feminism is not about sexual justice but about revenge.
I know a couple of female civil engineers. One (recently retired) forged a successful career in town planning; the other (much younger) is working at the hard-hat end. Both of them needed a lot of bloody-minded determination to get recognition in a male-dominated profession. Kudos to them for that. However, they were fighting a different, adult, kind of prejudice.
At the other end of the scale, it’s no surprise that there are so few male teachers at primary/junior level, given that physical contact with a schoolchild is now proscribed. For any teacher, it’s hard to rein one’s natural instincts and conform to the current hands-off policy. If a child is crying, or has fallen in the playground, or needs comfort for whatever reason, a reassuring hug is beyond the bounds. For male teachers, it’s even worse: dare to comfort a distressed child and you’ve laid yourself open to charges of paedophilia.
I can’t repeat this enough:
Developing software is something that only certain people can do: people whose brains fall somewhere on the Asperger/Autism scale.
Period.
It’s not that “men are better at software development,” it’s that ASPIES are.
And the Asperger/Autism phenomenon occurs more often in boys than in girls.
Full stop.
Men who are not Aspies cannot develop software. Women who are Aspies can.
The only way to achieve gender parity in software development is to induce Asperger’s Syndrome in female fetuses, or to kill off Aspie boys so that their numbers equal those of female Aspies.
I wish I could say that either option is too absurd to be considered, but readers of this blog know otherwise.
GOD, I hate third-wave feminists.
I know a couple of female civil engineers. . .
There are many women in STEM. I’m sure there are exceptions, but the ones who are there deserve to be there and have the portfolios of success to back it up. A competent woman in a STEM field can write her own ticket. The reason there are not more of them is because of lack of opportunity or encouragement or as the result of some nefarious plot to keep vaginas away from suspension bridges. It’s because more don’t want to be there. Where’s the role of choice in all this?
I think you’re missing a ‘not’.
Regarding AS, while I agree there is a correlation, I disagree that non-AS men cannot develop software. Unless we take a very, very loose definition of AS as applying to all such. Just for one contrary perspective (and forgive me for taking this from Wiki but it is sourced from some research I’m sure can easily be looked up) consider:
One rather annoying (well to non-engineers anyway…and to some engineers as well) aspect of the SW geek is the joy they get sharing some obscure idea or a solution to a problem. The intricate detail that others are not interested in they can go on and on about with considerable “this is sooo cooooool” excitement. Now granted, this does indicate a degree of social awkwardness but I don’t see it as being much different than wtf my wife blathers on and on about while I nod my head after a long day at work. However, I digress from what I originally meant to state here which was…hmmmm…..
Observation that I noticed over many years but kept my mouth shut about until it came up at lunch with the boys one Friday was how, at least in our company but found this to approximately apply elsewhere, the software development staff consisted mostly of men. When women were good at it though, they tended to be very good at conceptualizing and also were the better coders with GUI design. Men more on the server/middleware sort of things. In the requirements gathering area it tended to be fairly evenly split with maybe a slight edge to the women. But when it came to the testing group, women predominated along with gay men. Not saying the majority of men who were in testing were gay but I would guess 90% of the men who were gay (granted, some of this was based on the rather weak gaydar of some of my lunch buddies). Which fit the sexist pattern of men doing, women both setting expectations and complaining. And of course I have now demonstrated my own social obtuseness. But you gotta give me credit for shutting up about what I’ve been seeing for 20-30 years. A guy can only hold it in so long.
damn…post fail again…that should read:
I would guess 90% of the men who were gay were in testing, possibly one or two gay guys in development. And that latter was heavy on speculation.
Can we please move on from equating being very careful and thorough with Asperger’s. There are lots of pedantic men out there that can write software well. They struggle in social situations because of their pedantry, and not being much fun, not some imaginary Asperger’s.
Most of the Asperger’s kids I’ve met love computers, sure. But they can’t write code because they are sloppy.
I, too, find the “men who are not Aspies cannot develop software” assertion suspect. There seems to be a rush to turn everything into “pathology” these days. It’s that inclination which leads to the inevitable “Thunder Dome Victim Derby” which we regularly mock.
Meanwhile, on campus, their failure to know stuff is entirely due to your racism:
Apparently, the student protestors are ethereal beings of exquisite sensitivity, such that they are emotionally crushed by any hint of mockery – say, when laughed at for gathering in a “healing circle” – and are rendered tearful and distraught by any testing of their abilities. Unless, of course, they’re just opportunist, whiny and dim.
[ Added to post. ]
rendered tearful and distraught by any testing of their abilities.
The race card is also an excuse for being thick card.
Protesters interrupted the University of Wisconsin system’s Board of Regents meeting for a third time last week, demanding the end of “blatantly oppressive” standardised testing.
Do any of these losers *ever* get punished or expelled?
Mojo – Methinks your contact with the opposite sex is limited, perhaps only to screeching harpies. Go get more experience, dude.
I would add more but I am crying inconsolably and bleeding, just absolutely everywhere, out my lady cloaca. I need to go eat yoghurt and nag someone to calm down.
Do any of these losers *ever* get punished or expelled?
I can’t offhand recall an example.
But I suppose this is what happens when an institution extends special license to people whose skin is deemed sufficiently brown. Whether in terms of favouritism in admissions or fawning indulgence whenever the word ‘race’ is invoked, however improbably or dishonestly. Arrogance and a sense of impunity are likely to follow, especially among people for whom such things offer a perfect excuse. And so we get the beneficiaries of this special treatment walking out of class to disrupt someone else’s private meetings – again and again and again – with no consequences whatsoever, except to further their narcissism and pretensions of victimhood.
And note that some of the weeping incompetents, the ones who gather in “healing circles” and who refuse to listen to any reply to their ludicrous demands, see themselves as “future educators.”
I am crying inconsolably and bleeding, just absolutely everywhere, out my lady cloaca
Well played, madam.
You see, the student protestors… are rendered tearful and distraught by any testing of their abilities. Such as they might be.
Snork.
Snork.
And as we’ve seen, there are leftist academics, schooled in “social justice theory” and “pedagogies of dissent,” who claim that because being expected to keep up with the pace of lessons and deliver course work on time can induce feelings of discomfort in those less able and conscientious, this is an “exclusionary effect” and therefore unjust. And so tardiness and incompetence are to be excused, even encouraged, at least among those deemed sufficiently brown and exotic. Because… er, “social justice.”
As I hope I’ve shown over the last nine years or so, egalitarian dogma is corrosive to realism, like piss on a snowball.
Unless, of course, they’re just opportunist, whiny and dim.
Unsurprisingly, the six students in the photograph on the Campus Reform website don’t look like the sharpest knives in the drawer.
like piss on a snowball.
Peeing on snowballs is a sign of male privilege.
Peeing on snowballs is a sign of male privilege.
I denounce myself.
“Administrators have ordered the removal of swastikas from a high school production of The Producers, the famous Mel Brooks film that makes fun of Nazism. The New York school district that oversees Tappan Zee High School considers the inclusion of a swastika to be offensive and, possibly, a hate crime—regardless of the context.”
http://reason.com/blog/2016/03/13/high-school-censors-swastikas-missing-en
Dr Cromarty,
“Most doctors who treat patients regard their prodnose antics with contempt. Doctors nights out tend to be awash with booze and the medical Royal Colleges have vast wine cellars. Thankfully.”
You know you have a drink problem when you can drink half as much as your GP and the reason doctors drink so much is it gives them something to do when they’re not smoking.
@jones
Genuinely don’t know any docs who smoke.
Re doctors and pharmacists:
I was in a pharmacy this morning when a woman, about seventy years old, was trying to buy a small packet of aspirin. The pharmacist, who was obviously having to follow guidelines, asked her if she was on any medications. She laughed and said she was on so many that she couldn’t list them. He then said he couldn’t sell her the aspirin if she didn’t give him the information. She said it was ridiculous and that she refused. Her husband was standing nearby. These were two sane, lucid people in their early seventies. Her husband came over and said he would purchase the aspirin as he was on no medication at all. The pharmacist, poor guy, still had to say there was a problem and that it could be dangerous for him to sell the aspirin as it could interact with some medications. Her husband started to get a bit wound up and pointed out that he was actually a chemist and that he knew perfectly well what was and wasn’t dangerous.
And so it went on.
Aspirin was eventually purchased.
Meanwhile, we have another call for feminist quotas, this time in the judiciary. Charlotte Proudman doesn’t want wait 50 years to be a judge:
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/mar/15/british-women-50-years-justice-quotas-senior-judiciary