I was just talking about this!

[thisficklemob]

Via txvoodoo: Where women are under-represented, men see over-representation:

Davis cited a recent study that examined the ratio of men and women in groups, explaining that researchers “found that if there's 17 percent women, the men in the group think it's 50-50. And if there's 33 percent women, the men perceive that as there being more women in the room

Comments

[kazzy_cee]

Yes, I saw that and it's interesting isn't it. It would be interesting to see if the same is true in forums etc where people don't know what gender someone is.

[thisficklemob]

I remember reading a comment by a woman who'd been posting under a gender-neutral name at a sports forum... and she was just stunned by the experience. Men there assumed she was male. She said she played into that by making her language more terse than she usually used.

The insight she gained wasn't that men weren't saying sexist things to her, but that they were praising her. She would say the coach should so such-and-so, and he would, and it would work, and the guys on the forum would tell her she called it, say, "You da man!" She said she realized how much sexism isn't just actively denigrating women and their ideas, but withholding praise.

There are plenty of places on the internet I wouldn't admit to being female.

[enigmaticblues]

I had heard that before, and it really is shocking. I think a lot of women are trained in that way, too, unless you actively notice the lack of representation.

[thisficklemob]

Yeah -- I remember reading a teacher saying she thought she was calling on boys and girls equally, and was surprised to learn she wasn't. Even those of us who notice probably still have blind spots.

Ruth Bader Ginsberg was good on this -- someone asked her how many female SCOTUS justices would show we'd reached gender equality. She said, "Nine." Because at any time the nine finest legal minds in the country might be women.

Way to turn assumptions on their head, Notorious RBG.

[enigmaticblues]

RBG is my favorite.

[brunettepet]

RBG is awesome.

[velvetwhip]

It's scary, isn't it? I've read about those studies and they remind me of all the times I've been hushed or denigrated and told I talk too much when I'm not talking more than anyone (male) else and... yeah.

Gabrielle

[thisficklemob]

Urgh. That's shitty. I'm sorry people did that to you.

[brunettepet]

Most men don't see this as a problem which is infuriating.

[thisficklemob]

It is. And like Davis says, movies may be part of the training that get people to see under-representation as normal.

[gillo]

Dale Spender wrote about that study - about thirty years ago! It's true that in a mixed class boys get unsettled if the question ratio even approaches parity.

[thisficklemob]

I knew it was at least a decade since I'd heard of it. I'd like to think things have changed now, but... sadly, in some ways, I think we're regressing.