Being female puts you at risk for believing weird things, according to researchers at the annual gathering of AAAS.

Carol Susan Losh, an associate professor at Florida State University, explained why pseudoscience provides better ways for women to achieve success.

For many women, says Losh, their chances of having a good life still depend on the wage-earning capabilities of whomever they marry.

Losh noted, “What does astrology speak to? Love relationships.” That explains why horoscopes (and astrology) are favored by women and barely register for men. It explains why most New Age ideas are marketed to women, although they have less money to spend: the same reason that most scams are aimed at the poor.

And it explains women’s fascination with McFengshui, which is largely concerned with finding a suitable mate — and women’s traditional occupation, housekeeping.

Are you part of the solution, or just in denial?

Substantive research suggests that culture and stereotypes keep women mired in magical thinking like astrology and McFengshui. (We can see some of our own concerns in mirror-image when we read about women in Mauritania.)

Indoctrination in career-limiting thinking begins at a very young age. Between 6 and 8, children start eliminating career choices because the career isn’t considered the “right” choice for their gender.¹

• More personal computers are typically purchased for homes with boys than for homes with girls.²
• Few girls and women are willing to challenge stereotypes, to be considered daring, risk-taking, or adventurous; and thus avoid entering fields that pay well but where they may be in the minority.³
• The US Bureau of Labor Statistics says that nearly 75% of future jobs will require use of computers, but fewer than 33% of participants in computer courses and related activities are girls.⁴
• Math and science have the strongest effect on self-esteem in young women. As they absorb societal cues that they are “not good” at these subjects, their sense of self-worth and their aspirations deteriorate.⁵

  And there go the high-paying jobs. Although more US women than ever before are in the workforce, 59% of those in the workforce are in sales, clerical, and service positions (low-end work), according to the U.S. Dept. of Labor.

• Women in traditionally female occupations earn less money. For example, in 1996, an engineer earned an average of $949 a week, while an elementary school teacher on average earned $662 a week — about 30 percent less.⁵

  What about equal pay for equal work? In 1997, women employed in industry and services anywhere in the world typically earned 78% of what men in the same sector earned, though in some countries it was as low as 53% and in others as high as 97%, according to the UN Development Fund for Women. If you can, avoid living where you earn 53% or 78%, and go where you can earn 97% of what your male colleagues earn.

Get off your as-trology

You can play it safe, work on your New Age housekeeping, and meet a guy who will take care of you until midlife, when he’ll replace you with a trophy wife. Or you can take risks, challenge yourself, earn your own way, find someone on your own terms, and live a richer, happier life.

References

1. W. L. Stitt-Gohdes, “Career Development: Issues of Gender, Race, and Class,” ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education. 1997
2. R. Hartigan, “Girls Byte Back,” Teacher Magazine, April 1999; and N. Bloom, “Why Do Fewer Women Choose Computing Careers?” Boston Software News, March 1999
3. S. Silverman and A. Pritchard, “Building Their Future: Girls and Technology Education in Connecticut,” J. of Technology Education 7 (1996)
4. Bureau of Labor Statistics (U.S. Dept. of Labor). Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2000-01 Edition. February 2000
5. Greenberg-Lake: The Analysis Group. Shortchanging Girls, Shortchanging America. American Association of University Women, 1991.
6. National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education. Title IX at 25: Report Card on Gender Equity. 1997.