Comment by wcunning | Hacker News Reader

Comment by wcunning | Hacker News Reader

The bigger question in my mind is how much geography matters inside one country. For comparison's sake, I think the point of the article works even better to compare a woman in America to a woman in Saudi Arabia. On the other hand, it's a bit apples and oranges -- the kingdom explicitly disallows women to do many things without a man, whereas if there are effects like that in America still, they're definitely much more subtle than being enacted in law. So how does the apples to apples comparison work out? Does geography play nearly as large a role in a country? Does it play as large a role in a smaller, more homogenous country (Sweden, say) than in America?

Hugely matters even from one block to the next - https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2019/06/raj-chett...

As for the American women Vs Saudi women question check out Tara Westover's book Educated (which Gates has also recommended). We are all usually and blissfully unaware of things we don't see even if they are happening right next door.

The answer is a lot, in the US. That’s because the real predictor is not the piece of land you were born on, but who your parents are, and what kind of resources they (and therefore you) have access to. Here’s a nice website showing data for the US:

https://www.opportunityatlas.org/

That was and interesting site, albeit depressing. What I found interesting was the better outlook for those born in the rural midwest compared to almost all of the south.

Once you stop comparing developed and underdeveloped countries, social class has the major weight. It determines the environment of your upbringing, your social circles and so on. Geography in a big, relatively developed country also plays a role as some areas are more densely populated, with better access to good education and healthcare, for example.

A lot. The article has an example comparing one region in India to another.

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