Gender and Learning -- Summary

Reserve Reading
Sarah Glazer

There is a difference between the amount of men and women in every subject at every level, be it a huge difference or one that is almost indefinable. At each stage, in each field, arguments are being made that these differences are caused either by biological or social/environmental factors. In the 1800's more than women used to be in science which sparked a trend in teaching to favor boys, now the opposite is true and teaching is changing again. At the moment, recipients of bachelors degrees have evened out in general, although there still are more men than women receiving engineering and computer science degrees.

This can be put down to women's lack of interest in the subject, which can be because they are socially trained not to be interested or because they biologically aren't wired to like that kind of learning. Or it can be put down to discrimination at any age, starting from the way that parents view their children and act toward their children, to who mentors female students and how they do so. Millions, probably billions of collars have been poured into evening out the playing field in sciencs, but some people still argue that you can't even it out if women don't want to even it out.

Summers, the president of Harvard, made a comment about intristic apptitudes, leaning towards the biological view that women are just not as interested in or worse at the natural sciences. After four months of arguments and demonstrations, Summer put $50 mil into hiring female faculties into tenured positions and more. Instituions across the country reevaluated their own departments in the face of this.