Women in Science, cont'd....
A new paper published in Science holds that the reason there are fewer women than men in the sciences is because of discrimination, not because of innate differences in aptitude between the sexes, as Larry Summers proposed last winter.
The Associated Press runs this quote: "We're not too stupid to do science, but there are real structural and attitudinal impediments to the advancement of women that create an unfair playing field," says Jo Handelsman, a University of Wisconsin microbiologist who is lead author of the paper.
But not everyone thinks the paper is good scholarship.
"It's simply a political statement. I don't see any evidence of original research," said Stephen Balch of the National Association of Scholars.
But then, the NAS itself seems like a political group, judging by this "Open Letter to Lawrence Summers" posted on its website, which begins:
"As badly as Nancy Hopkins and her ilk behaved in berating Lawrence Summers for his provocative remarks about male-female aptitudes...."
Nancy Hopkins and her "ilk"? What exactly are you trying to imply there, NAS? Doesn't sound very scholarly to me....
