Jeffrey M. Birnbaum
Aug 9, 2017 · 1 min read

Stacey,

I don’t understand this paragraph:

“If you don’t see that white men have an advantage over women, people of color and basically everyone, I can’t make you. The repeated exposure of men behaving badly in tech, in media, in manufacturing and in myriad other examples isn’t going to change your mind.”

What exactly does “bad” behavior have to do with “an advantage”. Bad behavior is bad behavior and has little to do with having an advantage. I fail to grasp the connection you appear to be making between the two: advantage and bad behavior.

The google memo is interesting because it does highlight some things that I find curious. I studied Electrical Engineering and of the 300 students that started only 100 finished. About 10% of the graduating class was female and I honestly don’t recall the percentage of females that were in the initial 300. It is a fair question to ask why only 10% of the class was female. However, I do believe that these percentages directly relate to the percentages in the work place.

I also have a 19 year old daughter. She is very bright, scored very high in Math and studies very hard. I would have liked for her to study engineering. She even liked programming but said “i just can’t imagine doing this stuff all day long”. She opted for pre-med. I have no idea why females are not attracted to engineering in the same numbers as men but I don’t believe it has anything to do with “advantage”.

    Jeffrey M. Birnbaum

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