And it wouldn't hurt to put on some make-up, either.

[astra_nomer]

ayekamn has a great post about a recent study's findings on why women leave science. To quote from the article, "The reported contributing factors to this disparity fall into two categories: family responsibilities and self-confidence."

As ayekamn notes, there's no mention of institutional barriers that block women - the old boys' network, biased hiring practices, or even outright hostility to women in the workplace. Maybe that all falls under the category of "lack of self-confidence," as if all we had to do was fix the women and all would be well with the world. Well, I have news for you: all the self-confidence in the world isn't going to help you if you're still constantly judged as being less competent simply because you lack the smallest chromosome in the human genome.

Comments

[dcltdw]

That report is rather bizarre: Because women are more affected by family responsibilities, help during the transition from postdoc to tenured faculty — such as affordable, high-quality child care or the possibility to work more flexible hours — may encourage more women to stay in academic research, the study found.

"More affected"? Eh? Unless they're talking about the time being pregnant, how do they get to the assumption of more affected?

I feel like the report says "since 1+1=5, women should...".

I liked the original poster's comment to the effect of (I'm paraphrasing) "maybe women are just more realistic about their opportunities". *snerk* "No, dumbass, I wasn't rating myself; I was rating the f'ed-up system I'm entering."

[capsicumanuum.livejournal.com]

I tend to read things like Because women are more affected by family responsibilities as Because we live in a society that rewards shitty parenting on the part of men and demonizes women who don't spend all their time cooing over their pwecious widdle darlings, but this reporter is too damn lazy/asinine/wallowing in his privilege/taking care of her children/ignorant to challenge the sociological phenomenon, we will repeat the cockeyed notion that women are somehow essentially more responsible for "family responsibilities," whatever the fuck that means, than men are.

Not that I'm bitter or anything. And certainly my bitterness can't have anything to do with the (white, male) coworker who assured me that I will be a worse engineer after my wedding, because I will have to cook and clean for my future husband instead of staying on top of developments in the field.

Feh.

[dcltdw]

because I will have to cook and clean for my future husband

This is where you assure me that this guy hasn't spawned.

[capsicumanuum.livejournal.com]

He has not! And his wife is well into her 50s, so it is unlikely that he ever will!

[gnibbles.livejournal.com]

I briefly had this thought of "maybe he has a bastard child with a mistress or something"... I'm hoping that this is untrue. :)

[capsicumanuum.livejournal.com]

Ewwwwwww.

Well, as far as he is aware he has no kids, and I really think stupidity of the sort he demonstrated is learned, not inherited. Or at least, I desperately hope ...

[astra-nomer.livejournal.com]

Yeah, what benazeer said. And what ayekamn said about the f'ed up system. Maybe women are just being realistic about what society expects them to do at home as well as the attitudes they're facing at work.

[capsicumanuum.livejournal.com]

There are few things in this world that piss me off faster than essentialism. Argh.