Re: Effect of Gender in Learning Ada - OT

[Robin KAY <komadori@myrealbox.com>]

Frode Tenneb� wrote:

> On Sunday 27 April 2003 01:41 Robin KAY wrote:
>
>> Frode Tenneb� wrote:
>>
>>> You would if it meant a greater probability of safer software being
>>> installed in the planes you fly or the subways you take, wouldn't
>>> you?
>>
>> But it doesn't mean that at all, rather the opposite. People should be
>> hired purely based on their ability to do the job.
>
> Which, sometimes, may depend on their sex. "hired purely based on their
> ability" is not very objective. Also, if two candidates, one male and
> one female, had identical "abilities to do the job", _I_ would chose,
> independent of quotas, the female candidate purely based on the
> not-documented-but-in-my-experience effect of, on average, females
> outperform males in the field of engineering.

Ability can be measured objectively, at least to some extent. On the 
other hand, selecting a candidate based (at least in part) on their sex 
is subjective, influenced by whether you believe that a particular sex 
is superior or inferior at performing a certain task. In practice it may 
be necessary to sometimes make such educated gueses, but still I regret 
its necessity.

>> Quotas are a form of discrimination in themselves - a
>> legal one perhaps, but dubiously moral and nothing that will make the
>> software in planes or underground trains any safer.
>
> Have you worked in an all-male environment (dislaimer: Robin being a vry
> neutral name)? The only thing worse is perhaps an all-female
> environment (or so have I been told). :) Even if all those males
> possessed better abilities than their female rivals, I would never have
> such a composition in my (hypothetical) department.

Given that the abilities of an average male and female candidate are 
roughly equal, then a fair and non-discrimatory hiring process should 
result in roughly equal numbers of male and female empolyees. A single 
sex enviroment of any significant size is indicitive of something having 
gone wrong.

-- 
Wishing you good fortune,
--Robin Kay-- (komadori)