Is this headline subtly sexist..?
Not just sexist, but also demeaning - as in cooking curry is some kind of pityful/shameful thing or something.
Rocket woman: How to cook curry and get a spacecraft into Mars orbit
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Re: Rocket woman: How to cook curry and get a spacecraft into Mars orbit
#22Is this headline subtly sexist..?
just the opposite - it's highlighting the sexism she has to face, where she is expected to put in a full day's work and also do housework, including cooking for eight people.
Presumably she had some control over her fecundity? She could also, partner with someone willing to cook meals?
The whole "demanding to spend your life in work, like men have traditionally had to do" and then complaining that now you've got work and family to manage is bizarre. There's only a certain amount of time -- spend it working or raising a family, you really have to choose.
Re: Rocket woman: How to cook curry and get a spacecraft into Mars orbit
#23Is this headline subtly sexist..?
I was gonna comment the same, so thanks for getting all the downvotes :)I think it's not that sexist but at first I was shocked. Now I think it is just using way too many stereotypes in one sentence. I think they realized it was sexist but thought "but we're the BBC, they will know we don't mean it like that" (which is probably true).
Re: Rocket woman: How to cook curry and get a spacecraft into Mars orbit
#24I’d think an engineer and surgeon could hire a housemaid to help out with the cooking. In the USA, it’d be a household income of > $600k. I saw a documentary a few years ago. The woman cooked breakfast, then after the husband left, immediately started lunch. Brought lunch to the husband in a stacked lunch-pail, them immediately started with dinner. They cooked all day; crazy. Of course Indian food takes a long time t…
"Could financially" doesn't necessarily mean it's socially acceptable.
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Re: Rocket woman: How to cook curry and get a spacecraft into Mars orbit
#25Related: Why women in Stem may be better off working in India and Latin America: https://www.theguardian.com/guardian-professional/2015/jun/2... What India Can Teach Silicon Valley About Its Gender Problem: https://www.wired.com/2014/08/silicon-valley-sexism/ India and Italy have the highest percentage of female developers: https://blog.hackerrank.com/which-countries-have-the-most-sk...
I'm not sure that it's a net win to work at more gender-balanced company in exchange for living in a far more sexist society and taking a 50-90% pay cut.
Could the US take some lessons from other countries? Likely. Would women be happier moving to those countries? Less likely.
Re: Rocket woman: How to cook curry and get a spacecraft into Mars orbit
#26Related: Why women in Stem may be better off working in India and Latin America: https://www.theguardian.com/guardian-professional/2015/jun/2... What India Can Teach Silicon Valley About Its Gender Problem: https://www.wired.com/2014/08/silicon-valley-sexism/ India and Italy have the highest percentage of female developers: https://blog.hackerrank.com/which-countries-have-the-most-sk...
I work in the Indian tech industry (a large service based company in the past and some small-ish startups), so perhaps I can share some insights on this topic.
The reason for the somewhat balanced gender ratio here is much more mundane than what these articles would make you believe.
In India, engineering is one of the "default" career paths for most poor/middle class families children for leading a stable life. It's pretty depressing honestly, children spend the first 20-22 years of their life being a book-worm and they get to choose from a set of "acceptable" careers (Engineering, Medicine, Business). Any unorthodox career paths are out of question unless you are the rebellious kind.
What effect does this have on the workforce? You get people (both men and women) who are barely interested in what they do. Programming/Computers doesn't mean anything to them, it's just a day job which helps them provide for themselves. This is the main differentiation between the US/European workforce and ours. It's not that women here enter the CS industry in greater numbers because of their own interest in the field, it's just that nobody gives a shit about it so the ratio is equal. This is the case with the service based companies which comprise a huge portion of the workforce. The number of women in startups (which people join on their own volition) is comparable to the US counterparts. The current company where I work, out of ~60 engineers, 4 are women.
In US/Europe, you have greater freedom and choice when you consider your career, which you generally choose based on your own interests. IMO, inculcating tech/computers as a hobby at a young age in girls and dispelling the fact that it's only for "nerds" will do a lot more to equal the numbers than any affirmative action hiring ever will.
Re: Rocket woman: How to cook curry and get a spacecraft into Mars orbit
#27Related: Why women in Stem may be better off working in India and Latin America: https://www.theguardian.com/guardian-professional/2015/jun/2... What India Can Teach Silicon Valley About Its Gender Problem: https://www.wired.com/2014/08/silicon-valley-sexism/ India and Italy have the highest percentage of female developers: https://blog.hackerrank.com/which-countries-have-the-most-sk...
I work in the Indian tech industry (a large service based company in the past and some small-ish startups), so perhaps I can share some insights on this topic. The reason for the somewhat balanced gender ratio here is much more mundane than what these articles would make you believe. In India, engineering is one of the "default" career paths for most poor/middle class families children for leading a stable life. It's…
Is it possible to earn enough in an acceptable career to then later pursue what one would like to?
Re: Rocket woman: How to cook curry and get a spacecraft into Mars orbit
#28I’d think an engineer and surgeon could hire a housemaid to help out with the cooking. In the USA, it’d be a household income of > $600k. I saw a documentary a few years ago. The woman cooked breakfast, then after the husband left, immediately started lunch. Brought lunch to the husband in a stacked lunch-pail, them immediately started with dinner. They cooked all day; crazy. Of course Indian food takes a long time t…
In my experience, having dated legit Indian women, housemaids are extremely common. Even low income families, had someone of even lower income working for them. Having food cooked for you by someone else is very much a norm for a lot of Indians.
>very much a norm for a lot of Indians
Not at all true.
Re: Rocket woman: How to cook curry and get a spacecraft into Mars orbit
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
I work in the Indian tech industry (a large service based company in the past and some small-ish startups), so perhaps I can share some insights on this topic. The reason for the somewhat balanced gender ratio here is much more mundane than what these articles would make you believe. In India, engineering is one of the "default" career paths for most poor/middle class families children for leading a stable life. It's…
Is it possible to earn enough in an acceptable career to then later pursue what one would like to?
...not really. It's pretty hard to jump to a completely different career when you are 30-35, I'd presume it's the same in US too.
Though people here are quick to jump to a managerial position since it's less stressful and the pay is more.
Re: Rocket woman: How to cook curry and get a spacecraft into Mars orbit
#30Earlier quoted context omitted.
In my experience, having dated legit Indian women, housemaids are extremely common. Even low income families, had someone of even lower income working for them. Having food cooked for you by someone else is very much a norm for a lot of Indians.
>very much a norm for a lot of Indians Not at all true.
It is :)
70-80% of the middle class homes have daily part time maids. At least they do dishes, wash clothes then move to the next home. Not all maids cook or allowed to cook.