Journal: News & Comment

Why women ditch science

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Philip Greenspun can be a cranky bastard, but he is often brilliant. In response to the question of why there aren't more women in science, he writes this stinger:

Having been both a student and teacher at MIT, my personal explanation for men going into science is the following:

• young men strive to achieve high status among their peer group
• men tend to lack perspective and are unable to step back and ask the question "is this peer group worth impressing?"

Or:

Adjusted for IQ and working hours, jobs in science are the lowest paid in the United States [so there is one more] possible explanation for the dearth of women in science: They found better jobs.

I have a science degree, in marine biology. I came out of it in 1990 realizing that I was qualified to wash glassware in someone's lab unless I went to grad school, in which case I might be qualified to order the glassware for not much more money. Now I'm a writer, editor, web guy, drummer, and dad. I'm probably happier and better paid than if I had become a scientist. It's sad.

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