[killedbydeath]

Are women not taught to compete? I do not remember girls being any less competitive (in school, in sports, etc.) Almost everyone wants to stand out and be better than others in some aspects and is proud when they can achieve that. Life is very competitive, I am not sure why need to de-emphasize it to much. Making it "us" vs "them" is the more problematic part, but individual competition is a pretty constructive force overall, for men and women of all colors.

[Danihan]

Do you have a Casino nearby? They usually have weekly poker tournaments.

Go to one and tell me how many women are competing.

Here's a typical picture: http://i.imgur.com/h6cDkDB.jpg

There are zero hiring biases at a poker tournament.

So why isn't the gender distribution close to 50/50, instead of 99/1?

[killedbydeath]

Poker is a niche hobby, not some metaphor of competition in life. That picture says more about poker as a way to spend time than about competing. You might as well show pictures from a fly-fishing competition. I don't play poker, yet I am pretty competitive in many aspect of life. All I know is that pretty much every woman I have talked to wants to be more popular, more famous, more successful. And I have seen girls compete for influence, and grades, and victory in sorts from a very young age.

[Danihan]

So, women and men are both competitive, but are competitive in different arenas and typically for different reasons.

I believe that's what Damore was saying in the first place.

[SandersAK]

Everyone is taught to compete. But I don't think competition is the sole driving force, or even the major one that makes sense for humans. Collaboration seems to always be better for people than conflict.