Yeah, I’ve read that and think there are very good points in there. I think I’d actually thought the graph said “physics” rather than “physical sciences,” so I now realize I misread it a bit. I do think that SSC piece leaves two questions open though:
First, do we think that EA should be more like physics or more like medicine? This probably speaks to the E vs. A question Kelly addressed above. I think EA could benefit from having more people in it emphasizing the A. This is something we should all talk about at length, though.
Second, even if there are gender differences in interest that mean that an equitable distribution in a field would be unequal, the gap may be larger than what the differences suggest. I think that’s actually what we should expect: in fields that men are more interested in, the higher concentration of men should breed more sexism, and the gap should be inflated.
Yeah, I’ve read that and think there are very good points in there. I think I’d actually thought the graph said “physics” rather than “physical sciences,” so I now realize I misread it a bit. I do think that SSC piece leaves two questions open though:
First, do we think that EA should be more like physics or more like medicine? This probably speaks to the E vs. A question Kelly addressed above. I think EA could benefit from having more people in it emphasizing the A. This is something we should all talk about at length, though.
Second, even if there are gender differences in interest that mean that an equitable distribution in a field would be unequal, the gap may be larger than what the differences suggest. I think that’s actually what we should expect: in fields that men are more interested in, the higher concentration of men should breed more sexism, and the gap should be inflated.