Gender Differences, Essay Example

A1. Even though I do not agree with Harvard Cognitive Scientist, Steven Pinker that a host of differences in mental abilities explain the difference in achievement levels between men and women in scientific fields, he has raised a very important point that ‘sameness’ should not be a requirement for equality. The goal of science should be to find the fact even if the fact turns out to be politically incorrect and if science does prove differences between men and women then we should accept it. But in my opinion, differences in mental capabilities cannot alone explain the difference in achievement levels. Just because men and women have different mental capabilities doesn’t imply that mental capabilities by men are superior to those of women. Almost every profession requires a host of skills and both genders have specific strengths that are needed for scientific progress. But I have personally observed that claiming differences in gender capabilities often attract claims of racism and we need to change the social perception that fairness means same capabilities. Fairness just means giving equal opportunity to both genders.

A2. I used to think that knowledge and prejudice have an inverse relationship which is why the article has really shocked me by revealing the widespread existence of prejudice in the scientific community. The author does have an advantage of personal experiences because he has worked both as a women and men and while his capabilities remained same, his performance as well as access to opportunities really improved as a man. Similarly, many experiences described by the author such as being accused of getting the problem solved by a boyfriend and being ignored in the presence of male colleagues were hard to believe. It seems that prejudice is even widespread in the scientific community because male scientists may desire to preserve the status quo they have enjoyed historically. It is also possible that they base their opinions too much on the statistical data which shows higher achievement levels by male scientists and simply attribute it to their intellectual superiority instead of investigating other factors that may explain the difference in achievement levels.

A3. If I have the opportunity to come back in the next life as the opposite gender, I will embrace the choice. This doesn’t change the fact that I am still feminist but I believe that being a male will give me certain advantages in the struggle towards equal opportunities for women. First of all, I will be able to establish my neutrality because the fight for equal rights for women will not personally benefit me. Second, we are able to make more difference when we are in a position of power or have greater resources. Being a man will give me access to greater opportunities as well as leadership positions and, thus, I will be able to use my power and resources more effectively towards achieving the goal of equal opportunities for women. I am optimistic that greater opportunities will result in higher achievement levels among women. This may finally establish the fact that even though there are gender differences in intellectual capabilities, the historical differences in achievement levels have primarily been the outcome of prejudice and bias. I think Spelke gives a brilliant historical example regarding the absence of Chinese and Indian scientists in 19^th century science which is surprising given the fact that both countries now produce brilliant scientific minds.