Rod Liddle in the Sunday Times today

[MargeH]

Go Rod...

"My favourite politician, Harriet Harman, has come up with an ingenious plan, as is entirely typical of her. She has suggested that the next Labour leadership election should be contested only by female candidates. The men, she says, can “jostle” for the position of deputy.
This is presumably an attempt by Harriet to stop the macho bullies of Momentum winning the race. But there is a problem she may not have foreseen. Labour’s National Executive Committee recently decided that all-women shortlists can include people who identify as women but are not, actually, women. So the next leadership election may be your first and last chance to see Andy Burnham wearing a gingham frock or Sadiq Khan resplendent in a niqab. Men are endlessly inventive when it comes to getting their own way."

"Two psychologists last month published a paper showing that in countries where women are least discriminated against, women are most under-represented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The percentage of STEM graduates who are female is twice as high in Turkey, Algeria and Tunisia as in Finland, Sweden and Norway. It appears that the more freedom girls have, the less likely they are to choose STEM subjects."

Per an article I read a couple of years ago, girls in these countries are pushed into doing STEM subjects, particularly medicine, because it makes them highly prized on the marriage market. They are unlikely to put their degrees and qualifications into practice. I will try to find it online.

(I have actually seen this exact decision-making adopted by an Indian mum of my acquaintance here with regard to her daughter's subject choices).

Totally @mumsnet

Also they are all Arabic cultures vs Western European and developing vs developed. Multiple reasons why different choices might be made. Also I don't believe that the gender stereotype that girls are bad at maths/engineering is a universal one and it would be interesting to look into that idea. I don't think they have that opinion in China or Korea for example.

Counter example mumsnut would be women in the old Eastern block.

Lots of STEM women. Control over reproductive rights. Good work life balance.

Lucky really as you’d be put in prison for disagreeing.

Me: Rod Liddle is an outspoken journalist who is not afraid to say that the Emperor has no clothes.

GnotherGnu: Remember that next time he comes out with some misogynist rant. Because he inevitably will.

A man is not an adult human female. This fact does not change, no matter how many misogynistic rants RL has. This fact does not change, even if you disagree with every single other thing that RL has ever said, or ever will say. This fact does not change, even if you don’t like the way that RL has said it.

Recognising something as fact does not imply that you agree with any opinions that someone else has. Conversely, sharing someone’s opinions (or not) should not blind you to facts.

I am an old-school leftist and former Labour Party member. This means that I share many opinions with, say, Owen Jones, despite his misogyny and belief that women can have penises. Likewise, I imagine that I would also share many political opinions with Lily Madigan (although as Madigan mainly seems to talk about the alternate trials and fabulousness of being Madigan, and how horrid everyone else is, I can’t actually point any out!).