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Originally Posted by Molten
As long this is the opinion of the majority, those that believe in equality will have failed. To truly support equality you must try to remove the differences that are already there, not instigate new ones to balance the problem. Yes, you can allow for about the same opportunity by doing this but in the end everyone is just going to be prejudiced against in different ways.
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Equality is not a zero-sum game. Do you really think men are suffering on an institutional level (equivalent to how women currently suffer) just because of a few all-girls STEM programs? Given that the whole rest of the universe is already giving men/boys a much larger leg up culturally, I honestly don't see how a handful of girls-only FIRST teams could possibly do that much damage. The idea of these teams isn't to teach girls that boys are bad or inferior, but simply to give girls room to expand their horizons without feeling the pressures of being judged by their gender. Equality for women doesn't require the loss of equality for men.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Molten
I firmly believe in equality in its purest form. If you want to make things "fair" eliminate the cultural advantages given to the white males. Teach your little girl to use a power drill and other tools. The only way we'll ever have a truly equal situation is if we start giving our girls lego's and our boys dolls. Treat them the same, and in their eyes they will be. Anything less isn't true equality at all and to some extent abandonment of the original goal.
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In a perfect world, I would simply wave my magic wand and instantly make all parents raise their children without prejudice. How do you propose to magically remove the cultural advantages given to males without making any real concerted effort to level the playing field?
I agree with you that parents should raise their children equally, but how do we convince people that equal treatment is necessary? The only way to do that is by shattering the stereotypes and demonstrating to the world that women and girls CAN make great scientists and engineers, and that raising them differently on the basis of their gender is patently wrong. And how do we do that? By giving more women and girls a safe space in which they can pursue those dreams, where they are at least somewhat protected from the harsh judgements of a sexist society. Certainly co-ed teams are capable of providing that safe space, but not ALWAYS. And that is why all-girls teams can play an incredibly important role in transforming our culture.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Molten
I know its hard to have a co-ed scenario where the girls and boys have equal treatments. I'd suggest rather then separating the two completely, to find a way to work together. The real world has made it work, why can't we? In the business world, a person who makes sexist/racist comments is fired. Why shouldn't we be similar? It could be immediate removal from the team depending on the nature, but at the very least sent home from the meeting or reassigned to a less favorable task. A year working on shirt designs and PR would certainly make the guys think twice before suggesting a girl be better suited there.
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Again, you must think we live in some kind of dream world where every instance of sexism and racism is dealt with swiftly and justly. I can tell you from personal experience in engineering that this is not the case. If it were possible to ensure that no sexism was ever allowed to occur on any FIRST team ever, then yeah -- obviously there wouldn't be any need for all girl-teams. But until that day -- when we have stamped-out all forms of sexism -- we need to keep trying to effect positive cultural change, and many of the all-girl teams have proven themselves quite effective at doing just that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Molten
In short, treat the problem not the symptoms. Otherwise the problem will never be solved.
Jason
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Nearly two decades ago, a man named Dean Kamen saw that there was a very troubling problem with our society. Our nation's young people were losing interest in the things that mattered, and instead were devoting their attention to mindless entertainment -- numbing themselves to the ways in which the world needed them. He could have just tried shouting at the top of his lungs -- "Stop raising your children this way! Make your children care!" But he knew that simply telling people wouldn't convince them. He needed to show them, adults and children alike... and that is why FIRST was born.
Likewise, we can't just tell people to stop being sexist (i.e. attacking only the "problem")... but we can show them why and how stereotypes fail by giving young women room to grow without judgement. The more visibly successful women there are in STEM, the more people's prejudices will begin to break down. In this way, I don't see how we could view the mitigation of the "symptom" as anything other than a success.