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Study: Belief That Some Fields Require "Brilliance" May Keep Women Out

Posted by samzenpus on from the you-can-go-it dept.

sciencehabit writes Certain scientific fields require a special type of brilliance, according to conventional wisdom. And a new study suggests that this belief, as misguided as it may be, helps explain the underrepresentation of women in those fields. The authors found that fields in which inborn ability is prized over hard work produced relatively fewer female Ph.D.s. This trend, based on 2011 data from the National Science Foundation's Survey of Earned Doctorates, also helps explain why gender ratios don't follow the simplified STEM/non-STEM divide in some fields, including philosophy and biology, they conclude.

2 of 218 comments (clear)

  1. Like a supermodel by camg188 · · Score: 1, Troll

    "in which inborn ability is prized over hard work"

  2. Re:Families by Shadow+of+Eternity · · Score: 0, Troll

    Men aren't given the CHOICE to do that.

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