The "Gender" Equality Paradox
I've mentioned this before. It's actually about sex, not gender, but whatever. In more affluent and egalitarian countries, women tend to choose more stereotypically female careers and to be less likely to to into STEM careers. The current lead hypothesis is: men and women really do tend to be interested in different things. In less-affluent countries, however, women go into STEM because they have to worry more about having a secure and lucrative career. In more affluent and egalitarian countries, women are more free to do what they actually prefer.
posted by Winston Smith at
11:19 AM
3 Comments:
STEM are not the most lucrative careers...fairly secure, yes, but not "lucrative":. Unless one works ones way high into the structure of a company, owns ones own company, or consults.
Does it have to be the *most* lucrative, though, for the explanation to work?
I'm not sure if it works or not (no snark). I don't know enough about motivation and other factors in different countries to have a truly informed opinion. However, there are more lucrative options in the developed countries, that don't involve Physics, Chemistry and Calculus...and countries like China are emphasizing science to the point women in those countries might see it as a much greater opportunity than those in the west do. REally, I just dunno.
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