toto wrote:
> On Wed, 9 Feb 2005 14:44:21 -0500, "Jayne Kulikauskas"
>  wrote:
>
> >While *some* women may be brilliant mathematicians and scientists,
trying
> >to enforce that half the people working in these fields are women is
clearly
> >unjust and foolish.  Hiring ought to be done on the basis of merit
rather
> >than gender.
>
> If there were some way of hiding the gender of the candidates
> that would be fine.
>
> There have been research studies that indicate that if those who
> are making the decisions don't *know* the gender or race of the
> candidates, women and minorities are often chosen over male
> candidates.
>
> One study was done on musicians applying to classical orchestras,
> for example.


    It is clearly a long stretch between this situation and most of
real life. For one thing, a huge percentage of orchestral muscical
professionals are gay men .. who might be showing a preferrence for
having guys in their orchestras for reasons other than ordinary sexism.

 When a screen was placed so that the judges could
> not see the candidates, women were chosen much more frequently
> than when the judges could see the candidates.


   And I bet straight men choose good looking women over any other sort
of applicant.


>
> The same is probably going to be true in almost any endeavor because
> for the most part, the judges have their biases against women in the
> fields.

   This conclusion does not follow from anything you have established.
It is, of course, highly convenient to make this claim because it would
tend to justify all sorts of things which harm men.
   But you are nowhere near establishing it. For one thing, if such a
strong bias really existed, it would be easy for entrepanuers to
exploit - by hiring all of those superior  yet passed over females and
out performing the competition. Doing that should be easy money, if
what you claim is true.


>
> I don't think that any *quota* should be set.  OTOH, I think that it
> is very difficult to keep the people who are accepting candidates
> from knowing the gender or race of the candidate.  Until some means
> to do this can be devised and until the biases fall away due to new
> people in positions of power who have been formed in a less biased
> culture, we will need some means of equalizing the playing field that
> may be somewhat unfair to *some* men.


  Since your conditions are un-meetable, you are arguuing for
permanent, built-in advantages for women at mens expense.
  And I bet you think of yourself as fair-minded.

>
>
> --
> Dorothy
>
> There is no sound, no cry in all the world
> that can be heard unless someone listens ..
>
> The Outer Limits



--- UseNet To RIME Gateway {at} 2/9/05 10:43:48 PM ---