Book Review...

Hey folks,

I recently read an interesting book called "The Sexual Paradox". I can't remember the author, but it's a very interesting read. No, it's not a book about relationships and intimacy, it's a look at women in the workforce and the decisions they make, in comparison to men. I have been long been fascinated with this topic since I was in the seventh grade (I actually did a Science Fair project on this issue).

To really understand the point this book is trying to say, you have to look at the feminism movement that took place in the 60's and 70's. This movement is largely responsible for the increased role women have in the workplace, politics, and decision making that we see in the 21st century. Change for the better, to be sure. However, what has troubled researchers that look at trends is that despite the increased role of women there is still a significant gap at the top of organizations, and in certain professions. The point that is consistently being made is that these gaps are not closing as fast as they should be. The book I read takes a close look at some of the reasons why.

What the 60-70s brand of feminism did was say that Women and Men are not only equal, but alike. That essentially said that women and men can do the exact same tasks equally well which was an effort to attract women outside of traditional female professions such as education and nursing. While it has worked to a certain extent, as there are more women accountants, lawyers, and doctors than ever, there are still significant gaps in some areas. A side effect of this "alike" concept was that it has become taboo to imply that women are wired different then men and therefore, in general, are not attracted to the same professions.

Two main areas of concern are engineering and the computer sciences. Both are lucrative, well respected professions that are still dominated by men. Less than 20% of University Grads in these areas are women. The book explores why this gap does not seem to be closing. A knee jerk response may be to say that "Men are traditionally better at Math and Science". This is actually not the case. A study that was cited in the book indicated that men and women's performance in Science are equal, and men scored marginally better in math. Looking at these stats, one would think the gap should be closing. It isn't, it is actually widening.

With that, there has to be another reason. What the book seems to indicate is that, in general, women don't enter these professions because they aren't as interesting to women as they are to men. Women tend to gravitate towards professions that allow them to assist or help people in some fashion. It comes from the biological maternal instinct and empathy. The book indicates that women tend to get frustrated in their professions if they don't see themselves as makign a difference in other people's lives.

To show this, case studies of the legal profession were looked at. Right now, more women graduate law school then men. And the same proportion end up working at big law firms right out of University. Law firms are not discriminatory these days, they covet brilliant women as much as brilliant men. However, what is startling is the number of women that LEAVE the legal profession after 10-20 years. This number is much more then men, and the "family" argument only explains some of it.

What seems to be happening is that women join the legal profession to make a difference and help people. After several years, they discover that their current path is not taking them to the end goal, and they leave the profession or leave the big money in corporate law to work in the public defender's office. One can imagine a corporate lawyer dealing with corporate taxes, big lawsuits, and endless paperwork could get jaded. Not saying that men do not have that same goal for getting into law, but as a trend they are able to adjust their expectations to fit the reality of the legal profession and overall find compensation as more of a motivator then women do.

There is a lot more in this book, but this is a summary of the main thesis.

Cheers.