why few women are in positions of power "A lot of great ideas expresses in his answer to a question about how to move forward with equality. From understanding that once basic needs are met, money correlates very little with happiness, to explaining that men and women make different choices in life."
Jordan Bernt Peterson is a Canadian clinical psychologist and a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto.
I'd never heard of him either, so I watched several of Peterson's videos since this thread started. I have mixed feelings. Most videos are very long, but this one is short and simple. His final conclusion I like, but there's a catch. You would first have to be aware of what is truly your best part, and not just what you want to hear. "Surround yourself with people who want the best, for the best part of you."
I don't really understand the whole female inequality thing. I've always been paid just as well and received possibly more promotions than my male counterparts. If anything, the inequality went to the guys because they didn't wear the high heels. Just saying.....
Agree. And I suppose the feminists would stone me, but I believe that some jobs are just better suited to men. If my house is burning down, I don't want some 5' woman coming to save me... send the 6'2" burly fireMAN, please.
A lengthy discussion of Peterson's views on the pay gap (just in case anyone is interested in plowing through it). I actually agree with a lot of what he says, but not everything. He is a clever debater. My aunt worked her whole life at Goodyear Tire, on an assembly line, where everyone does the exact same thing. Women were getting paid less than the men and she took her grievance to the union. I was a kid and all I remember was it was a hot topic of conversation back then in our family. Times have surely changed since then. Many women now don't appreciate those who went before them. One comment Peterson made that was interesting, and I believe to be true, unfortunately. He said women tend to be more agreeable than men, and that's one of the reasons they get paid less. And that women who are harder to get along with generally get higher pay, all other things being equal. Lovely. So women need to learn how to be more disagreeable.
No doubt Jordan Peterson has made a few indisputable points when it comes to real, which I'd call extreme, top positions like running a billion or even trillion dollar company or positions where you are woken up at 3 in the morning to try and solve a problem on the spot. (lawyer). Yet is that really what people have in mind when they deplore the lack of women in top positions? After all, there are different top positions. Those just mentioned but what about upper management positions in SMEs or million dollar companies? These are also top positions - of these particular enterprises. It seems to me that discussion has been focusing on certain mechanisms inherent in recruitment practices rather than on some extreme cases as he mentions in his talk. There are a lot of powerful top management positions that are just as demanding but which still allow you to survive and for which men are naturally preferred. Why not make further changes there?
Yes. He is one of the more clever opportunists, also recognizing some pent up frustrations he can take advantage of. The things he says are mostly true, point by point, but he leaves out so much. That is the main criticism of him. You come away saying, what just happened here? I'm not just trying to be agreeable. I'm trying to give him a fair hearing because he has credentials. That's all.