Women of Color Working in STEM Fields Are Frequently Mistaken for Janitors(bitchmagazine.org)
bitchmagazine.org
Women of Color Working in STEM Fields Are Frequently Mistaken for Janitors
http://bitchmagazine.org/post/women-of-color-working-in-stem-fields-are-frequently-mistaken-for-janitors
8 comments
It seems to be that it's not about racism but rather probability. This concept is described here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensitivity_and_specificity
If I may, I want to comment on the name of this media company. It seems akin to starting another one called Real N!gg@s in order to promote equal rights for blacks. Or something. I don't know.
Some might call it a publicity stunt, but I call it bad taste.
And I don't see this statistic as anything more than insignificant. As an Indian, I've been mistaken as a worker at hardware stores a couple of times.
So what?
This is nothing more than a phony attempt at intensifying race-based bigotry.
That's perhaps even more tasteless than the name of the publication.
Some might call it a publicity stunt, but I call it bad taste.
And I don't see this statistic as anything more than insignificant. As an Indian, I've been mistaken as a worker at hardware stores a couple of times.
So what?
This is nothing more than a phony attempt at intensifying race-based bigotry.
That's perhaps even more tasteless than the name of the publication.
[deleted]
Heck, I'm a white male, and I've gotten mistaken as en employee at the big box hardware store dozens of times.
I note that the article doesn't compare the experience of women of color versus any other demographic.
As Lord Kelvin said: "“When you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meager and unsatisfactory kind; it may be the beginning of knowledge, but you have scarely, in your thoughts advanced to the stage of science.”
I note that the article doesn't compare the experience of women of color versus any other demographic.
As Lord Kelvin said: "“When you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meager and unsatisfactory kind; it may be the beginning of knowledge, but you have scarely, in your thoughts advanced to the stage of science.”
What about this makes you jump to defend the status quo?
It's obviously a far more hurtful experience when it happens somewhere you actually work, and when you're already a minority in a white male dominated environment. But I don't really think the point of this is to suggest we get better at identifying janitors. It's to point out a symptom that suggests a larger problem.
The report does compare the same figures to white and Asian-American women, which reported the same experience at 32.4% and 22.3% respectively. I'll leave it to you to find figures for men (they may not exist, for a reason).
If you're interested, you should read the full report. It's based on a survey of 500 female scientists. It's not just anecdotal evidence. http://www.toolsforchangeinstem.org/double-jeopardy-report-v...
It's obviously a far more hurtful experience when it happens somewhere you actually work, and when you're already a minority in a white male dominated environment. But I don't really think the point of this is to suggest we get better at identifying janitors. It's to point out a symptom that suggests a larger problem.
The report does compare the same figures to white and Asian-American women, which reported the same experience at 32.4% and 22.3% respectively. I'll leave it to you to find figures for men (they may not exist, for a reason).
If you're interested, you should read the full report. It's based on a survey of 500 female scientists. It's not just anecdotal evidence. http://www.toolsforchangeinstem.org/double-jeopardy-report-v...
... you see how it's different, right?
People believe they can fight sexism with sexism and racism with racism, based on what amounts to faith, as near as I can tell.
> 48% of Black women and 46.9% of Latinas report having been mistaken for administrative or custodial staff.
But obviously, the assumption still reflects really poorly! :/