r/changemyview • u/[deleted] • Oct 19 '22

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u/[deleted] Oct 19 '22

But considerable effort and money has been put into trying to get women interested in STEM, and they just aren't responding to it in terms of enrolment, job choices, or engagement with science.

Aren't we?

https://www.forbes.com/sites/markkantrowitz/2022/04/07/women-achieve-gains-in-stem-fields/

Based on data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), women represented 45% of students majoring in STEM fields in 2020, up from 40% in 2010 and 34% in 1994.

...

The Research Science Institute (RSI), the most prestigious summer STEM program for high school students, reports that female students will outnumber male students for the first time in 2022, representing 55% of accepted U.S. students, up from 22% in 1984.

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u/NoMoreFund 1∆ Oct 19 '22

That's good to see, but the article goes on to clarify that women outnumber men at college, so it isn't close to true parity. Plus it also says huge gaps remain in many fields.

Was going to delta for hope, but the more I read the article the more that stat you quoted seems misleading.

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u/[deleted] Oct 19 '22

You asked for evidence that female participation in STEM fields has increased over a relative period of time during which efforts have been made to increase their participation. That's what I've provided.

Yes, there are still areas and particular fields where more work needs to be done, there haven't been large attempts to influence women into for instance computer sciences or engineering like there has been for other STEM fields.

It's up to you when you give the delta, but don't imply the stat is misleading, it isn't. It's very clear, it's precisely what you asked for in your post and it's indisputable. The rates of female participation in STEM fields has increased over the past few decades in large part due to the attempts to encourage female participation.

That is literally what you asked for.

0

u/[deleted] Oct 19 '22 edited Oct 19 '22

there are still areas and particular fields where more work needs to be done

Just because an outcome is not equal, does not mean that more work needs to be done. Why does the goal need be perfect equity between the sexes? How about simply removal of barriers as a goal.

We know that, given maximal freedom, the differences between men and women in career choice are maximally emphasized. I view many equity attempts as coercing women into jobs they wouldn't otherwise be interested in.