Women were denied genius

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

Why are there few women among philosophers and physicists? Why is the percentage of the fair sex among scientists generally low? American psychologists decided to clarify these questions and eventually came to interesting conclusions.

Experts from the University of Illinois surveyed 1,800 graduate students, candidates of science and professors working in 30 disciplines (natural, technical, social, humanities), on the subject of what they consider the main criterion for successful work in various sciences. The scientists' answers were divided into two groups: some called genius and efficiency the main thing, others pointed to patience and work. And then it turned out that women are the worst represented in the sciences, where the so-called cult of geniuses dominates, for example, in physics and philosophy, writes Lenta.ru.

It is widely believed that women are not genius at all.

“We are not saying that genius is bad. Nor do we assert that women are deprived of it. Our data does not address these issues. This is about something else: when you inspire your students that you need extraordinary abilities to succeed in your scientific discipline, it affects women and men in different ways,”said the head of the research group.

Now researchers are trying to understand: do female students and graduate students deliberately refuse to make a choice in favor of science, where the cult of genius prevails, or whether their supervisors and university staff discriminate against women based on their own ideas about their abilities.

Previously, other researchers found that gender discrimination in science remains a serious problem. In particular, women scientists, on average, earn less than their male colleagues. In addition, in physics and engineering, the proportion of women declines less as they move from students to professors.