Maya Forstater

Really interesting @BBC_Analysi on the science and history of #women’s biases against #women. Explains a lot of what happened around #sausagefest cc @tamoneil @_alice_evans @MForstater @fp2p @m_clem #genderequity http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09pl66d …

This is SUPERB. Thank you for sharing! It's certainly what my research has found: We develop beliefs thru our observations. If predominate in socially valued roles, we assume they're more competent Our bias only weakens thru prolonged exposure to in socially valued roles.

But herein lies a huge coordination problem: Men's predominance in socially valued roles reinforces widespread bias. So we regard them as more competent: we listen to them, venerate them as leaders. This perpetuates men's dominance The beliefs and behaviour persist.

Targeting people's beliefs (through implicit bias tests/ gender sensitisation/ awareness-raising) are of limited impact Because they don't change the world we observe everyday. So really we need a big exogenous push to increase exposure to women in socially valued domains.

Historically, this has included: - worsening economic security (leading families to support women's employment) - civil wars (exigencies of the time make us more accepting of women combatants) - gender quotas - urbanisation (we see more diversity, heterogeneity)

Those processes have all catalysed greater flexibility in gender divisions of labour. Then through prolonged exposure to women demonstrating equal competence in socially valued domains, we come to see them as more competent. But this process takes a lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng time.

If we want to speed it up, then absolutely we need to amp up exposure to women in socially valued domains. Quotas to cap men's dominance would be fantastic. As is the World Bank's current DEC lecture series, chaired by @Shanta_WB http://www.worldbank.org/en/research/brief/dec-lecture-series …