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| ALdotcom: Girls in Science and Engineering |
I don't think it arrogant to apologize for an entire half of a species, since many of the sins of that part I am member - male - I can recall in myself, and constantly seek penance when I recognize certain behaviors I may have consciously, or unwittingly participated in.
I follow the blog "Female Science Professor" (who also hosts Scientopia). Her posts lead to a study by Yale School of Management Professor Victoria L. Brescoll, who authored a paper titled: "Who Takes the Floor and Why: Gender, Power, and Volubility in Organizations." A summary of its findings from Bob Sutton's insightful blog:
- In a study of United States senators (using data from 2005 and 2007), more powerful male senators talked quite a bit more on the senate floor than less powerful male senators. But there were no significant differences between how much powerful female senators talked compared to less powerful female senators.
- This finding was replicated in a controlled experiment -- again, more powerful men talked more, more powerful women didn't. Additional analyses suggested that powerful women hesitated to talk more because they were concerned about "potential backlash," that they would be seen as less likable, "out of line," domineering, too controlling, would lose power, and be less effective.
As our three branches of government goes, so goes academia, industry; innovation.
That's concerning, because by mid century we will reach a population of 9 billion, meaning as with our birth rates, our problems will multiply exponentially and will need competent technologists to solve them. Women will constitute a majority in the sciences and engineering. I don't see how this moribund, draconian, Neanderthal base attitude can continue, and our competitiveness on a global scale "goes forth" unimpeded as if by the magic of Manifest Destiny!
In a sense, Fred and Barney haven't quite left the cave in mythical Bedrock.
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