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from the doesn't-stem-student's-interest dept.
Research into the obvious, but someone has finally done it: Three women researchers have studied the behavior of undergraduates in STEM fields, and concluded that there basically is no problem. From the abstract:
"The results show that high school academic preparation, faculty gender composition, and major returns have little effect on major switching behaviors, and that women and men are equally likely to change their major in response to poor grades in major-related courses. Moreover, women in male-dominated majors do not exhibit different patterns of switching behaviors relative to their male colleagues."
Furthermore current recruitment efforts to attract more women tend to be counterproductive. In an interview, the primary author says:
"Society keeps telling us that STEM fields are masculine fields, that we need to increase the participation of women in STEM fields, but that kind of sends a signal that it's not a field for women, and it kind of works against keeping women in these fields."
One of our female students told me that the women are interviewed endlessly, for one project or another: "tell us about your experience", "are you doing ok", "have you experienced sexism", and on, and on. That alone is enough to make them question their career choice.
(Score: 1) by anubi on Friday September 08 2017, @10:29AM (1 child)
Yeh, I got into this because as a kid, I was insanely interested in what made things tick.
But, you know, I sunk a helluva lotta time, energy, and money into doing this.
It would have been a bad decision if I had gotten into this solely for money. Learning the skills to compel others to do stuff for me would be have been a more economically productive use of my time, albeit not nearly as much fun as doing the stuff myself. Same reason I don't like televised sports. If I am involved, I am doing it, not watching someone else do it.
But then, that is a moot point, for if I had spent my time learning techniques of compelling others to my will, I would have never acquired the technical skills I now possess. If that had been the case, all I could do is compel is the production of bullshit.
All I ended up doing was whoring myself to men wearing suits who were looking for the lowest-cost provider. Its hard to sell technical skills when they suit-guy is looking for presentation skills.
I trained to be the monkey prancing around with my cup while the organ grinder decides what I will get to eat. My skills being so specialized I just about had to work under a corporate system. Until retirement. Now, I can work on my own terms. If the guy thinks his impressive suit and car mean something to me, well, let me say at this point in my life, I want to be paid like a gentleman if I am going to implement his dreams instead of implementing mine.
I believe the women are smarter than this when it comes to the economics of a career in STEM.
But men, well, we like to do things that are fun. I know I do. I like to design and build things. Things that have never been seen before. I despise ass-kissing. For me, respect is an earned thing, not something I do because I am told to do it.
I will obey others under veiled threat of economic penalty or physical violence if the guy doesn't get his way, but respect them? No.
Respect is earned. Its not something that can be required of me. Obedience can, but not respect.
I find it hard to commit myself to something I do not believe in personally. And frankly, a lot of modern corporate types come across like a TV ad pitchman. While they may know all sorts of weaseltalk, I know the onus is on me to make it work. If I have to be subordinate to a weaseltalker, I may as well hang it up right then and there.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Friday September 08 2017, @03:54PM
I believe the women are smarter than this when it comes to the economics of a career in STEM.
I don't think it's just that, I think there's also a large component that women in this society are typically more social than men are, and STEM jobs are seen as not-so-social (though that's changing with all this open-plan-office bullshit), and in reality, STEM jobs really do involve less talking to people on average.
Same reason I don't like televised sports. If I am involved, I am doing it, not watching someone else do it.
I agree entirely about this one. I like playing some sports, but I have no interest in watching someone else do something I could be doing myself, even if I can't do it half as well as they can.
But I have noticed that an extremely large number of women in the dating market are huge sports fans. What's with that? They also seem to love big dogs and hate cats too. Honestly, I'm not sure why they're still single, especially at this age (I'm talking 35+ here), and my only hypothesis is that the stereotype of men being beer-swilling big-dog-loving sports fans might by an incorrect stereotype only applying to a small minority of men, and that more women fit this stereotype than men. In this very liberal east-coast city (DC), finding dateable women who aren't pit-bull and sports loving alcoholics is a real challenge.