To add to the many "you can't make this .... up" category, the White House apparently has taken its royal authority to rewrite Title IX. Now it applies to academics. Reuters states:
The White House announced
new measures Wednesday to help increase the number of women in
the science, math and technology fields as part of a celebration
for the 40-year anniversary of a law prohibiting discrimination
in education based on gender.... The new guidelines are reinforcements to the law, known as
Title IX.... They include the Department of Education broadening data
collection in public schools for more accurate analysis of the
gender and minority gaps in enrollment, graduation rates and in
science classes....New guidelines will also be issued to grant-receiving
universities and colleges to help institutions comply with Title
IX rules in the science, technology, engineering and math
fields. ...Obama adviser Cecilia Muñoz, director of the White House
Domestic Policy Council, said more work was needed to ensure
equal access in academics.
If you are trying to create a highly competitive country in an ever growing global economy the worst thing you could do would have the Government dictate who gets graduate education in science and engineering. If this piece is correct it appears to do two things:
1. Exclusive of Congress it take Royal power to the extreme by using a law intended to assist sports and apply it to say qualifying exams for PhDs. Yes there are fewer women in EECS, it is hard, it is competitive, and it is at the very heart of our survival. So we want proportional representation of degrees rather the the best possible! Never before in our society has there been such a grab of power for power's sake.
2. Creating the best is a competitive event. The fastest runner is the fastest runner. The top 10% on the qualifying exams take the next step. NOT the top 10% or men, then top 10% of women. What if that second top 10% is the lower 10% overall? Darwin did have a few points to remember. And our economic enemies work in the competitive domain, not this "social justice" domain.
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