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Comment by Tichy | Hacker News Reader

Girls always have a plan B: get pregnant and stop working altogether. Just ask some random female students whether income perspectives had any bearings on their choice of profession. More often than not, the answer is no (they might not even know what salary they can expect). It would make sense if men thought about that some more (since families need money), so they might tend to pick the more prospective subjects.

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Attention, Projectileboy: upthread, you said

I, too, have never felt or seen bias against women in IT, once we're all adults.

I hope you enjoyed that while it lasted.

So I displayed bias against women in IT how exactly? Also, is bias always wrong? Would it be biased to say "women tend to have boobs"?

You presented an irrelevant argument which is based on imagined evidence; therefore it's easy to assume that bias underlies the argument. Whether it does or not, I won't judge.

What makes you think it is irrelevant? It's true that I didn't conduct and publish a study for this though.

But if the article says "girls just do what they like", I feel my argument is relevant, because it could explain why they can do what they like.

Your comment reads as: "go ask some women if they've ever thought about their future, and they'll say no because they can always just get pregnant." And now you've just asked, "isn't it equally true that women don't think about their future as to say that women have boobs?"

This explains why you've, "never felt or seen bias against women in IT." You can't hear it even while you're saying it.

It wasn't me who wrote the "never felt bias" thing.

Of course not every women is the same, but I have heard many woman who were frustrated with their job say "maybe I'll just get pregnant". Among other things. Sure it is a bias. I am not ashamed to believe that men and women ARE different. I also did not say that every woman would be indifferent to financial prospects of her career, just that many would be.

Also I did not say "isn't it equally true", I was merely trying to make the point that bias is sometimes correct. Of course it doesn't prove my suggestion that women worry less about their career path. If I had a proof, I would not be writing here, I would publish a scientific paper.

Why did you even ask how you displayed bias, since you're perfectly not-ashamed to admit it now?

Bias is not the same as "bias against", also I never even mentioned IT. What is your problem with bias? Also bias is merely an expectation, not a judgment. If I expect women to have longer hair than men on average, it is not the same as discriminating IT women at the workplace.

The way I was quoted, I interpreted as if I have some negative attitude towards women, which is not true.

As for women in IT, to be honest I haven't even met one for years now. Do they even exist?

You might find some at 3boobs.de, it's probably a site you're familiar with. As far as I'm concerned, that counts as showing a negative attitude towards women. You don't have to mention IT when you're showing bias against women in the workplace full-stop.

Meh, getting shades of "someone is wrong on the internet"[xkcd]. I don't think this thread is going anywhere productive. It's probably down to cultural differences, saying that most women don't want to think about their future careers because they are women in a culture which values financial independence sounds a lot like bias against women, and certainly doesn't jibe with my experiences.

"As far as I'm concerned, that counts as showing a negative attitude towards women."

Well that's fair enough, if that is your opinion. Nothing to argue about, just different viewpoints. The 3boobs women are not IT workers, though (not that I know, anyway).

Which is more common: men stopping working to raise children or women stopping working to raise children?

You are being overly sensitive.

Okay, so despite me being a girl with zero interest in having children (at most considering adoption), desperately wanting my girl bits out (if it wasn't going to be a hormonal disaster), being on hormonal contraceptives all the time and not sleeping with men, I have the option of getting pregnant and stop working?

Even if I were considering that preposterous option at any time, it sucks to say this but it is really hard to live off of one person's income today.

What does "wanting girl bits out" mean?

Obviously there also girls picking maths and so on, so your one example doesn't really prove anything (statistics). Sorry for your plight with the hormones. Hint: if you don't sleep with men, you could actually stop taking the contraceptives.

Also, what is preposterous about having kids and staying at home to take care of them?

The income issue is easily solved by trying to marry a man with more income, or making him work more.

If you don't have children then two people can live off of one person's income far more easily. It is children that are the huge money sink. Just saying.

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