From: starbuck@ucru1.ucr.edu (Aaron J. Greewnood)
Newsgroups: alt.feminism
Subject: Re: Unequal Representation and Systematic Discrimination
Date: 27 Aug 92 04:16:43 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: University of California, Riverside

In article <1992Aug26.132511.4328@bnr.ca- grey@bnr.ca (Bryan Miller) writes:
-
-Scott Probst brought up the example of lack of childcare
-support for grad students as a clear case of sexual
-discrimination, in response to Paul Mackenzie's request
-for examples. Perhaps some of you can provide some insight
-on an issue I've struggled with for an awfully long time.
-

First of all the "lack of childcare for grad students" is clearly not
a case of sexual discrimination.  Clearly a need now exists for childcare
for all students, not just graduate students.  But this need has developed
in the present time.  It did not exist in the near past.

One of the first questions to ask is who is responsible for a person's 
childcare.  Should the educational institutions provide child care and 
if so who will pay for it?   How great is the need?  How many are taking
care of their own need?  Are their ways for parents to help each other?

-How do you deal with issues where unequal representation
-is the norm? This issue begins with a question of whether
-childcare support should be offered to grad students. The
-fact that the sexes are unequally represented brings
-discriminatory overtones to the decision.

It is not clear what you mean by "unequal representation".  Do you mean
gender of the student poupulation?  If so I posted the most recent stats
(in soc.men,soc.women), that showed that for at least seven years women 
have earned more Bachelor's and Master's degree's than men.  The trend will
place women at 54% of those degree's shortly after the turn of the century.  
Women lag in Phd's but will be at 40+% about the year 2000.  So perhaps by
2010 it women will be equal in numbers.   Twenty years is nothing on the
scale of things.

You see a need and that need is more a need of women than of men.  So you
see discrimination.  As I stated in my opening paragraph the need of child
care is something that has developed in the past decade or so due to the
fact that more single parnets, the majority women have decided to go to
school.  So if these individuals have decided to gain an education on their own
volition, who is respondsible for what they decide?  The problem came about 
due to the collective decisions made by these people.  It is not disciminatory 
of the schools to not have childcare for these people.  It is a life problem 
that has to be worked out.

Note that many schools have provided family housing since WWII and that 
housing is both cheap and available to all student families.  Many schools
have children's centers.  I lived in family housing and worked out child
care with other parents.  We covered each other.  It wasn't easy but we 
found a way.  Sometimes I took my daughter to class with me.  I aways choose
to take jobs that I could take her with me when I needed to.  I wasn't a
single parent but my wife has her own schedual and we share parenting.

Another thing you need to consider is that not every women is a victim nor
every single parent helpless.  Sometimes it is a struggle to take care of
yourself and a family but it is done everyday by millions of single parents.
I know many.  Note I do not make it a women-only issue due to the fact that
it is not.

-Do we become over-zealous in our effort to eliminate
-systematic discrimination, and does this lead to a
-compensatory system in which groups are ill-treated in
-one respect, and compensated in another due to greater
-representation? Does this perpetuate the very
-representational problems that cloud the issues?
-Is this addressing systemic injustice or does it promote
-favoritism?

One has to be able to tell the difference between real discrimination and
what is not discrimination.  By taking a life problem that has developed
because of a changing society and calling it systematic dicrimination you
cause social tension without need.  Were you serious you would form a group
and study the need, and if found to have merit build support and  get you
institution to take action.

-The obvious solution to me would be to eliminate the
-unequal representation and leave the 'issue' for resolution.
-Given that this is not a solution likely to be realizable
-in the short term, how do we address it?
-

See above.  Try to solve the real problem instead of you manufactured one.
The real need is for childcare and that is where you should put you effort.

-Bryan

starbuck