Why more men specialize in science or engineering than women?

Answer 1

The right side of the women's brain is stronger , and this side controls creativity and nurturing

The left side of the male brain is stronger and this controls logic , spacial awareness and analysis .

Ergo , in general , men's brains are biologically wired to be better at science and engineering

Answer 2

Harvard's ex-president, Lawrence Summers, stated that innate gender differences may help explain this difference.

The problem with this statement is that it is politically incorrect and unproven. Since America has such a strong history of discrimination, it may not be a good idea to voice these opinions especially when you are in a position of leadership.

We allow our criminals to be innocent until proven guilty and we need to afford this same benefit to innocent people. Therefore we have to assume that the female and male brain are on equal footing until proven otherwise.

One popular study of hands showed that most males have longer ring fingers than pointer fingers and that most females have longer pointer fingers than ring fingers. Women and men with the opposite patterns were exposed at some point to more sex hormones of the opposite sex. What would be interesting is to see if men in traditionally female fields have a higher percentage of the female finger pattern and if women in traditionally male fields have a higher percentage of the male finger pattern. That might prove Dr Summers statement correct.

I'm a female with a male finger pattern. I went to an engineering/business school and ended up in computer programming. One person doesn't prove the point, though.

Answer 3

Men are inately more linear. Science and engineering exist in the linear world where all things can be created, put together or taken apart. I think this is why erector sets are still sold today...linear. Women on the other hand live in a more obscure world. Things are not necessarily there unless we investigate as to "why" they would be there at all. Two different species.

Answer 4

I think that it's because for so many years women were told that they couldn't do those jobs and even though things have changed a lot of girls are afraid of showing boys how smart they are in those area's for fear of making the boy feel less smart.boys still don't like to be shown to be less smart than girls it's getting better but we still have a way to go. When men get more comfortable with smart women and when girls learn that they have a right be as smart as men than we will have both men and women in both those fields.

Answer 5

Up until a few decades ago, many math and science courses and degree programs were open only to women. That made it "slightly" difficult for most females to progress beyond the "Arithmetic For Homemakers" coursework that they were "allowed" to take back then! : ) Women en masse are catching up, though, in just two generations in what took men 40,000 years to learn. In nations that encouraged women to enter math and science fields, such as in the old Soviet Union, women today dominate those fields. And, in the U.S. military, women today consistently score higher on the average in all math and science fields. What seems like a male dominance in math and science turns out to have been largely only men repressing the opportunities for women to learn. For example, researchers found that fathers allow their young sons to play with scissors an average of six months earlier than they allow their daughters. Something as simple as that begins a girl's cultural indoctrination and limitations that cascade into weaker math and science abilities.

There is a slight neurological favoring for math in males, but research finds that the slight advantage does not result in reality in male math dominance over female math and science scores when both genders are allowed equal opportunity to learn, which is due to males behavioral problems that prevent them from achieving their potential.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_and_intelligence

(When I showed up the first day of an advanced math class once in high school during the 60's that I had to fight to be allowed to take, the instructor gave a hissing speech about how inappropriate it was for a "cun . .t" to be taking a seat away from a boy. He was livid. Outraged. Women got that warm welcome a lot back then when we ventured too far into the "boy's" sacred academic territories. I finished top in the class, got an attorney and got the "pric . .k" fired. I might add, that, even though I was top in that class, when an early computer project was made available, the three top male students behind me in class order were selected to conduct a project with it, and I wasn't chosen. I protested and had my lockers vandalized. Then, I learned, after a lifetime of hard work, serious study and becoming an athlete in the dream of working for NASA someday, that women weren't welcomed in those days at NASA. Does this help to answer your question?)

Answer 6

If I had to guess, I would say it was because in previous centuries, only men were accepted into those roles and, even though that has changed a good deal, we still are experiencing the after effects of it. Because of that and similar situations, society has developed a sort of barrier on to what different genders should and shouldn't do.

Answer 7

Some women go into those fields . . . most women prefer other types of jobs. I am not sexist or anything but there are just jobs more suited for men and some more suited for women.

Answer 8

men and women have different views and their psychology is different. Just because we have the same rights doesn't mean we have no differences. Men are more logical thats why most of the prefer science, math, engineering, chemistry ect.
Women will tend to major more in music, art, literature, acting ect. Men major in that too, but mostly women.

Answer 9

I think it is because men usually think more analytically and this is not something that you can just decide to do, everyone is born with a way of thinking, like some think logically.

Answer 10

Check any books catalogue or library,
there are no books written by women.
It is a man's job.

All engineering inventions were done
by men.