Women Skip Math/Science Careers To Have Families

hessian notes a Cornell survey, published in the Psychological Bulletin, of 35 years of sociological studies that concludes that women tend to choose non-math-intensive fields for their careers not because they lack mathematical ability, but because they want flexibility to raise children or prefer less math-intensive fields of science. "'A major reason explaining why women are underrepresented not only in math-intensive fields but also in senior leadership positions in most fields is that many women choose to have children, and the timing of child rearing coincides with the most demanding periods of their career, such as trying to get tenure or working exorbitant hours to get promoted,' said lead author Stephen J. Ceci... The authors concluded that hormonal, brain, and other biological sex differences were not primary factors in explaining why women were underrepresented in science careers, and that studies on social and cultural effects were inconsistent and inconclusive. They also reported that although 'institutional barriers and discrimination exist, these influences still cannot explain why women are not entering or staying in STEM careers,' said Ceci."

Comments

Less pressure

[Joebert]

My theory is that they do it because it's less stressfull to stay at home than it is to provide.

you're intellectually dishonest

[circletimessquare]

women grow children in their bodies, then are biologically attached to children via breasts and natural and social proclivities for an extended time period afterwards

in other words, they ARE special, and they DO need some consideration for that contribution

but you wish to tell us that any consideration women ask for is unfair. so: they contribute more to child rearing biologically... but hey don't deserve any consideration for that?

biology is unfair. society is trying to correct that imbalance. doesn't that seem noble to you?

of course, you could respond to me by saying women should just choose children over careers, that society has no obligation to make special considerations for women, and that's that, end of story

ok, fine. but then it is you who are like the saudis: that any mental gifts a women possesses, any contributions she can make to the advancement of math or science should be forfeit, given up. this is what your position is telling us. just because she's the one with the womb

so i say it to you: why not give women, who bear children, special consideration for that? why not? really: what is the big deal with giving women special consideration for contributing more biologically to the growth of children? why are you so antagonistic to this idea? to allow them to have children AND pursue their mental gifts, and thereby potentially enrich the society you live in? what exactly is wrong with that goal?

why do you have this axe to grind that says women deserve no special treatment, when in fact, due to their much larger biological and social contribution to child rearing, they DO deserve special consideration for that?