Google vs. Race Car Drivers

onederfultime
Aug 23, 2017 · 2 min read

James Damore’s main point is factual, fewer women are programmers and engineers. Stating that is not equivalent to sexism or other biases.

Let’s illustrate this point with another example, race car driving. Few females are top-level race-car drivers. Is this because of sexism and implicit bias or because of general interest on the part of females?

Because the outcome is skewed does not mean that there is something flawed regarding opportunity. There might just be nothing wrong with the system.

Another example, there are few nude/strip clubs where males are strippers and females are clientele. Is this sexism and bias? Maybe this can be wholly explained by supply and demand. If fewer women want to go watch men strip then how can someone operate a business with such low demand?

In the NFL, 70% of the players are black men, yet black males are roughly 6.5% of the general US population. If then, they make a disproportionate 70% of NFL players and almost 75% of NBA players, then are pro-team franchise owners racist against so-called ‘whites’, Asians, and Latinos?

Over 90% of nurses are women. Do hospitals and medical offices prefer female nurses or are there just a higher percentage of females in that field?

What does this numbers game tell us about identity agendas?

In Damore’s case, the ratio of male to female programmers is not 50/50 and that does not mean that Google is biased towards hiring men. And it does not mean women are inferior. However, hearing Damore’s actual message above the hubbub of activist journalism is a greater challenge beyond mere manipulation of numbers with identity to assert some inherent bias.

The facts are neither mean nor chauvinistic. They simply convey an observation. In Damore’s case the observation was backed with mounds of research and footnotes.

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