UK: "Quotas and women-only shortlists aren't popular, but they work"

And there you have it. I thought it was supposed to be about equality? I guess I was wrong.

Feminism actually has many definitions for different people at different times. Their is a gender equality strain of feminism, socialist democratic feminism, practical feminism, radical feminism, etc. . . one of the central problems I've come across in regards to feminist notions of equality is that they frame equality narrowly as wage equality, without taking a broader look at equality issues (ie: Amartya Sen, "Inequality re-examined"). In terms of something like "equality of capability," I think that generally men have greater physical (athletic capability) - remember I say "generally," not "universally" (those women in the CIA are some tough chicks), and as well, men have a greater propensity to feel sexual pleasure, SO, and "equality of capability" would begin with the difference in sexual needs and capacities between the sexes. Just a thought :).

Men researching about men, for men.

"Without friends no one would choose to live, though he had all the other goods." Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, VIII.1155a5.

cwondermagic1, I'm interested in what data you have that "men have a greater propensity to feel sexual pleasure." I haven't actually seen any research on the matter, but I'm told the research says women generally feel more pleasure during sex while men generally have a stronger desire for it (drive), which, if true, is a bit unfair to men.

You're right, I don't have any "data" to prove my claim, other than, as a man, when I have sex I'm pretty much gaurenteed to have a powerful orgasm, whereas for women, my understanding was that many women never experience an orgasm, some women think they have, and that some women use mechanical devices to try to achieve orgasm. I am as familiar with the discourse of social science as anyone, and I hate the word "data." Everything you read is political, like statistics. For example, feminists in the 80's manufactured statistics that said most women feel harassed, so men made statistics that said most men feel harassed. At the end of the day, I believe about 2% of what I read. As I said, though, men experience powerful orgasms, while the female orgasms is mythical. It also appears to me that women police and compete amoung themselves about enjoying sex, while many of them not only don't enjoy it much, but feel tremendous anxiety regarding sex. Also, many women, to my understanding, are terrified of male sexual violence.

"Without friends no one would choose to live, though he had all the other goods." Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, VIII.1155a5.

From the article: "Quotas, women-only shortlists and any form of positive discrimination are often disliked equally by men and women, but they work."

Uh..who exactly are they working for? Certainly not the business owners, the employees or other candidates; or in cases of political boards the voters/general public would be limited in their choices and possibly served by a under qualified person.

Many of the comments posted in the "equal pay for women act" thread could also apply to this. There is no conspiracy keeping women out. If they are qualified, have proven work record and want the position, an employer or voters would have no problem appointing them. My dad works in business and serves on many boards. I recently have heard him talk about qualified people not wanting a board position because they take the blame for everything, and with so many business struggling in this economy, no one wants their name on the board. There is a risk associated with it. (generally women tend to stay away from risk)

Another quote from the article: "Rwanda has a bigger proportion of women in its parliament then we do."

And how is that working for Rwanda? Does the UK really want to emulate Rwanda?

There is so much wrong with the article I could go on and on. Businesses do not need any more government interference; and for political positions voters should have the freedom to vote for whomever they want.

This proposition hurts everyone.

I think of measuring sexual pleasure as trying to measure who enjoys pizza more. It is very subjective, Plus one thing I know is that sexual pleasure is a topic that people lie about the most. I would not trust anything I read on it.

Slavery worked for centuries too but just because something subjectively "works" doesn't mean it is right.

from quotas and short lists to orgasms?

my roommate always said that the ones that wake the neighbors aren't faking.

can't argue with that.