The Gender Gap and the Thought Police

Slate's Will Saletan writes a very interesting article breaking down the current feminist furor over Larry Summers. Speaking at a conference on women in science and engineering, the Harvard president had suggested that the under-representation of women in these professions may have roots other than chauvinism and discrimination, and (in the really controversial part) that a role might even be played by intrinisic differences in the way men and women tend to think. Despite the fact that Summers was clearly speaking in support of helping more women to succeed in S&E, and that (as the reliably liberal Saletan explains) it's not at all obvious that he was wrong, the usual suspects have been screaming long and loud in the media, with the result that Summers has been forced to issue an apology and may suffer even worse consequences. Does anyone else find this kind of witch-hunt to egregiously conflict with the supposed liberal advocacy of free thought?

I particularly appreciate the point that looking simply at the gender gap (or the race gap, for that matter) in the professional ranks is putting the cart before the horse. We need to look very carefully, and concentrate our efforts, on correcting disparities at the elementary school level, and work up from there. I tend to agree with the classic arguments against broad-based affirmative action, that it's fundamentally unfair and brands the beneficiaries (whether women or other forms of minorities) as not fully qualified, even if they would have succeeded without help. AA at the collegiate and professional levels may have been a fine policy 40 years ago, when overt discrimination was widespread and gender and race gaps were catastrophic at all levels, but it can never be more than a stopgap solution while reforms at the primary levels have time to do their work.

But I may not be a very good conservative on this issue either, as I think the disparities that still exist in primary and secondary education (especially with regard to race, with its ultimate root in economics, though perhaps with gender as well) are practically criminal -- certainly in conflict with the conservative's supposed desire for "equality of opportunity" -- and cry out for energetic changes. Furthermore, I think affirmative action based on a person's economic opportunity (I suppose I've now strayed away from gender issues, as this only really applies to race-based AA) may still be a good and needful idea.

P.S.: Laura just saw someone ski down our street. That's definitely a first. :)

P.P.S.: See further comment, 2/19. 

Posted by Matt on 1/22/2005 02:54:00 PM