[Taxacom] Gender equality in science

[Stephen Thorpe]

There are a couple of points worth noting: 

Firstly, for most teaching subjects, there is nothing to suggest that the diversity of "different views, ideas, opinions that individuals bring to their teaching" increases with gender, ethnic, sexual orientation, etc. diversity of teachers. Also, the extent to which different views, ideas or opinions of teachers should influence the teaching of many subjects is a moot point anyway, particularly in science teaching. What about religious diversity of teachers when it comes to teaching biology (evolution, etc.)? Some things sound nice and PC to say (e.g. we need greater diversity of teachers to enrich students learning experiences!), but it is unclear if they have any basis in fact.

Secondly, just a final note on quotas to force 50:50 gender representation in employment. The fallacy here seems to be that although a 50:50 gender split would be a natural CONSEQUENCE of no discrimination, forcing it only gives the appearances of no gender discrimination (since it requires discrimination to enforce). It is somewhat analogous to a story I once heard (no idea if true) about a hospital in some tin pot dictatorship country which claimed that nobody ever died within the hospital. Apparently, this claim was true, but only because they would drag the dying outside to die!

Stephen


--------------------------------------------
On Sat, 9/6/18, Richard Jensen <rjensen at saintmarys.edu> wrote:

 Subject: Re: [Taxacom] Gender equality in science
 To: "Frederick W. Schueler" <bckcdb at istar.ca>
 Cc: "Taxacom" <taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu>
 Received: Saturday, 9 June, 2018, 6:55 AM
 
 Fred wrote: But in the case of
 gender and ethnic-background equality, in a
 research institution it may well be valuable to
 have folks with as diverse
 points-of-view as
 possible, just to be sure problems are considered in as
 many ways as possible.
 
 I believe it is equally, if not more, important
 for gender equality in
 teaching
 environments.  Students of all genders need the opportunity
 to
 experience courses taught by a diversity
 of individuals (not only gender,
 but
 cultural, ethnic, etc.).  The different views, ideas,
 opinions that
 individuals bring to their
 teaching provide expanded learning experiences.
 
 Dick J
 
 On Tue, Jun 5, 2018 at 8:27 PM, Frederick W.
 Schueler <bckcdb at istar.ca>
 wrote:
 
 > On
 05/06/2018 7:54 PM, Stephen Thorpe wrote:
 >
 >  At the end of the
 day, we want the best candidate to get the job.
 >>
 > * well, I wonder.
 And I wonder if in the high-pressure kinds of
 > competition that hiring for academic jobs
 currently involves, if the
 > selection
 process can even remotely identify the "best"
 candidate for a
 > position, since a
 criterion for "best" might include "not
 wanting to do the
 > kind of
 self-promotion needed to apply for the job."
 >
 > But in the case of
 gender and ethnic-background equality, in a research
 > institution it may well be valuable to
 have folks with as diverse
 >
 points-of-view as possible, just to be sure problems are
 considered in as
 > many ways as
 possible.
 >
 > It is
 said that studies of avian courtship shifted from mostly
 focusing on
 > male combat to focusing on
 female choice when women moved into animal
 > behaviour studies in the early 1980s...
 >
 > fred  (totally
 inexperienced in employment).
 >
 ------------------------------------------------------------
 >          Frederick W. Schueler &
 Aleta Karstad
 >          Fragile
 Inheritance Natural History
 > Mudpuppy
 Night in Oxford Mills - http://pinicola.ca/mudpup1.htm
 > 'Daily' Paintings - http://karstaddailypaintings.blogspot.com/
 > 4 St-Lawrence Street Bishops Mills, RR#2
 Oxford Station, Ontario K0G 1T0
 >   on
 the Smiths Falls Limestone Plain  44.87156° N 75.70095°
 W
 > (613)258-3107 <bckcdb at
 istar.ca> http://pinicola.ca/
 >
 ------------------------------------------------------------
 > "Feasting on Conolophus to the
 conclusion of consanguinity"
 >  -
 http://www.lulu.com/shop/frederick-w-schueler/feasting-on-
 >
 conolophus-to-the-conclusion-of-consanguinity-a-collection-
 >
 of-darwinian-verses/paperback/product-23517445.html
 >
 ------------------------------------------------------------
 >
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 > Nurturing Nuance
 while Assaulting Ambiguity for 31 Some Years, 1987-2018.
 >
 
 
 
 -- 
 Richard
 Jensen, Professor Emeritus
 Department of
 Biology
 Saint Mary's College
 Notre Dame, IN 46556
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