General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: "We raise girls to cater to the fragile egos of men." [View all]kmlisle
(276 posts)I have a biology and chemistry double major with graduate work in biochem and biology. Got hired at a rural milk plant lab with a staff that was all women. We set up tests, maintained standards and did daily testing for contamination and had a male traveling FDA agent who did oversight. He was collegial and we saw him every week or so. But the women ran the lab including the quality checks and setting up new protocols which require an background in chemistry. We were all paid several dollars an hour less than the male janitors in the plant.
I worked there several years until I got a teaching job. My replacement was male and when he came in all the salaries went up to match those out in the plant. I missed a substantial raise of several dollars an hour! By the way we were Teamsters and had tried to go through the union to get equal pay so they used that as the pretext to give the raise when men started working in the lab.
I hope my daughter's opportunities are better and believe they are. But 25 years in middle and high school classrooms teaching science showed me that as the girls reach puberty and show an interest in boys being "too smart" is considered a turn off to the boys, especially in the male areas of math and physical science.
We have a long way to go and it is going to require systemic change.