Thursday, February 03, 2011

Some New Gender Gaps/Gender Disparities

1. Wikipedia - The NY Times reports that "less fewer than 15 percent of its hundreds of thousands of contributors are women," and the reporter describes that outcome "as an intractable obstacle for the online encyclopedia."

And Sue Gardner, executive director of Wikimedia/Wikipedia, "Has set a goal to raise the share of female contributors to 25 percent by 2015, but she is running up against the traditions of the computer world and an obsessive fact-loving realm that is dominated by men and, some say, uncomfortable for women."

2. National Geographic Bee - GW law professor Jonathan Turley reports that Minot State University professor emeritus Eric Clausen has been battling the National Geographic Society (NGS) in federal court over his claims that the national contest discriminates against girls because virtually no girls have won the national title, and because he was subject to retaliation from the National Geographic Society when he complained about the gender disparities in state winners and national finalists.

According to Professor Clausen only 2 out of the state winners in 2009 were girls and only one girl advanced to the national finals in 2010. Clausen also claims that the “NGS knows and has known since the Geographic Bee competitions began that the contests do not provide girls with an equal opportunity to participate in the higher-level competitions.”

Take a daily National Geographic Quiz here, at "apprentice" or "expert" level, quiz changes daily. See if you can detect any gender bias.

MP: Maybe it's all of the boys who have won the National Geographic Bee contests over the years who grow up and become Wikipedia contributors. According to one way of thinking, perfect, statistical gender parity is always the ultimate goal for all outcomes, competitions, contests, job choices, wages, etc. whether it's Wikipedia entries or winners of the Geographic Bee. Except of course for those outcomes for which women are over-represented like for earning associate's degrees, bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and doctoral degrees, see previous CD posts on the selective concern for sex imbalances here, herehere, here, and here.

10 Comments:

At 2/03/2011 1:41 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think "less than" 15 percent . . . is correct in this case because it refers to an unknown (uncountable) number calculated from a mass noun that can't be counted (hundreds of thousands . . .).

But it would be "fewer than" 15% of 1000 contributing women (we know that has to be fewer than 150 women, so it's countable). That's just my opinion :)

 
At 2/03/2011 1:57 PM, Blogger Jason said...

The second and third "here" point to the same link...

 
At 2/03/2011 2:27 PM, Blogger juandos said...

Oh dear!

Two useless people looking to make their lives count by searching out 'supposed' victims of bullying males...

When will this sort of crapola quit being foisted off as news?

 
At 2/03/2011 2:48 PM, Blogger Ron H. said...

Oh dear! is right. It appears some people have too much time on their hands. They are causing mischief.

Prof Clausen was subject to retaliation? Oh my! Did Nat Geo cancel his subscription?

I failed to find any gender bias in the quiz at the link provided, but I did find that it discriminates against those who, like me, are not very good at geography.

 
At 2/03/2011 2:48 PM, Blogger Eric H said...

Juandos,

Did you keep looking for a reference to the Onion?

 
At 2/03/2011 3:10 PM, Blogger juandos said...

"The Onion?"...

No dude, the Onion is about as funny as Jon Stewart...

 
At 2/03/2011 5:16 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Here's another one making the rounds across the health policy blogs... a gender gap in starting physician pay.

http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2011/02/03/gender-gap-in-starting-physician-salaries-is-growing/

At least "discrimination" isn't the first/only explanation tendered.

 
At 2/03/2011 5:27 PM, Blogger Ron H. said...

From the "health Affairs" article. I think this about covers it:

"But Lo Sasso believes that the divergence in starting salaries may have more to do with the fact that women physicians are seeking greater flexibility and family-friendly benefits, such as not being on call after certain hours. He suggests that women may be negotiating these conditions of employment at the same time that they are negotiating their starting salaries."

 
At 2/04/2011 12:21 PM, Blogger Tom said...

Liberalism is a mental disorder. Psychosis: Loss of contact with reality.

In this case, using the power of government to alter outcomes in order to "repair" reality perceived as "unfair".

This form of "thinking" created the subprime crisis, ethanol food inflation, $4 gasoline, 14% minimum for new credit cards, and takeover of the medical industry, among catastrophes.

The prime enemy of liberal psychosis is the free market economy.

 
At 2/08/2011 9:34 AM, Blogger OBloodyHell said...

> and an obsessive fact-loving realm that is dominated by men and, some say, uncomfortable for women.

Geez: "Oh, F*** you!"

Men like facts, trivia, and knowledge more than women, and somehow that's the MEN'S FAULT?!?!?!?

I repeat: "F*** you!".

> Prof Clausen was subject to retaliation?

Yeah, was it anything like the retaliation that Larry Summers experienced?

No?

> From the "health Affairs" article. I think this about covers it

Indeed --
Why Men Earn More: The Startling Truth Behind the Pay Gap -- and What Women Can Do About It -- by Warren Farrell

 

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