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From: robertp@weitek.UUCP (Robert Plamondon)
Newsgroups: net.politics,net.social,net.women,net.flame
Subject: Re: Discrimination and Affirmative Action
Message-ID: <213@weitek.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 5-Jun-85 12:55:35 EDT
Article-I.D.: weitek.213
Posted: Wed Jun  5 12:55:35 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 8-Jun-85 03:08:45 EDT
References: <566@sphinx.UChicago.UUCP> <879@mnetor.UUCP> <394@mtxinu.UUCP>
Organization: Weitek Corp. Sunnyvale Ca.
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Xref: watmath net.politics:9295 net.social:607 net.women:5591 net.flame:10346

In article <394@mtxinu.UUCP>, ed@mtxinu.UUCP (Ed Gould) writes:
> 
> A study just released by a group at Stanford shows that women in technical
> fields make less than men, and hold fewer management positions, by *more*
> than the natinal average.  In other words, discrimination in the high-tech
> world is worse.

...The unstated assumption being that discrimination is the *ONLY POSSIBLE*
source of differences in the number of women managers, or in average pay.

Other reasons come to mind.  One is that many women are too nice for their
own good.  These women don't lean on their employers for raises, they don't
do the kind of manic job-hopping that's so common in Silicon Valley, and
they aren't agressive enough to wedge their foot in the door when it comes
time for a promotion.

There are men like that too, of course, but in this culture most women have
been raised to be "nice," not aggressive, and it's a handicap in a lot of
situations.  People who wait patiently for others to discover their sterling
qualities are often disappointed.

In an ideal world, your all-seeing supervisors would have the wisdom to see
your worth and diligently shower you with promotions and raises. In reality,
they're just as fallible as you are.

-- 
		-- Robert Plamondon
		   {ucbvax!dual!turtlevax,ihnp4!resonex}!weitek!robertp