| Equality of outcome is a fool's errand and a quick path to authoritarianism. What we need is equality of opportunity. We don't need to even strive for a 50/50 M/F split in STEM, parenting, dance, healthcare, martial arts, etc. for everything we do in society. The majority of men and women might have very different interests and we want people doing what they're interested in and what gives them joy, not pushing them to do something the majority of their gender isn't usually interested in. But, when it's not close to a 50/50 split it's fair to ask why. Are men and women being given the same opportunity to join and be successful? If it's because men and women on average are different then nothing is wrong. But if it's because men aren't hiring women because of a bias then something is wrong. And historically we've been willing to give special treatment to those who are underrepresented to help correct past biases. So, yes the pendulum might swing from a bias to a quota before it goes back to equality. We see this in college admissions and people are starting to want to swing it back to equality which is fine once the initial biases in the system become rare enough that striving for diversity becomes the biggest bias in the system. Of course this is very difficult to measure and is largely influenced by culture and wether you've historically received preferential or biased treatment. |