Open AccessComment on “Righting the balance: Gender diversity in the geosciences”
Author(s) -
Herbert Floyd
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
eos, transactions american geophysical union
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.316
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 2324-9250
pISSN - 0096-3941
DOI - 10.1029/2004eo130004
Subject(s) - diversity (politics) , balance (ability) , fraction (chemistry) , athletes , gender balance , political science , mathematics , sociology , law , gender studies , chemistry , medicine , physical therapy , organic chemistry
To say that the fraction of geoscientists who are women is too small, as a recent Forum ( Eos , 5 August 2003, p. 292) did, is mathematically equivalent to saying that the complementary set, male geoscientists, is too large. Does this mean that many of the male geoscientists should be eliminated? A similar article in Science [ Mervis , 2002] proposed that Title IX should be used in science as it was in college athletics, when a comparable quota requirement forced the elimination of a large fraction of the male athletes in order to reach a male/female ratio less than one.