back to article Are you a hot BABE in heels and a short skirt? SCIENCE is for YOU

The EU have clearly acknowledged that there is a problem with getting women into areas like science and technology. Issues such as educational bias, the lack of role-models and certain sorts of institutional sexism have all been cited as problems in the past, and at national level the topic has been discussed at conferences such …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Devil

    Bet they fall back on the smarmy bollix of "no such thing as bad publicity"

    Like most every ad exec justifies their spunking:

    * if the ad is liked then it's a success because it built positive associations, got people talking

    * if it's hated then it's a success because it lodged in your mind only to later steathily emerge to influence your subconcious. Oh, and got people talking

    * and if it left the public 100% "meh" then it's a success because it increases the general pervasive ambience of the brand and so will reap later rewards

    Such people are so ensconced in this that the only hope of getting them to rethink is a B.R.C. application:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naGOZoHxA-I&feature=related

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Bet they fall back on the smarmy bollix of "no such thing as bad publicity"

      I'm not sure about your third bullet point but advertisers do follow the Wilde law ("The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about at all"). They do it because it works, if you want that to change you'll somehow have to get the entire population to start responding differently to advertising.

      1. Don Jefe
        Meh

        Re: Bet they fall back on the smarmy bollix of "no such thing as bad publicity"

        That is not originally a Wilde comment. Double check your sources.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Wearing glasses

      I know they are wearing safety glasses but it still portrays women that are only intelligent if wearing glasses. Sexist in the extreme. They're not even stylish safety specs at that.

      1. steogede

        Re: Wearing glasses

        I think you have your stereotypes confused, it isn't that women can only be intelligent if they are wearing spectacles. The stereotype is that (otherwise) attractive people can only intelligent if wearing spectacles. Infact, the general rules are "attractive != intelligent", "spectacles != attractive" therefore "spectacles ~= intelligent" sex/gender doesn't come into it - other than that most women portrayed by the media are attractive.

    3. Tom 13
      Devil

      Re: Bet they fall back on the smarmy bollix of "no such thing as bad publicity"

      You forgot my favorite:

      By making an ad that provoked such a reaction, they got more free publicity for the ad because of how many news stations/blogs ran the vid, thus extending the value of your advertising dollar.

  2. jai

    "expecting bunsen burners to be like lipstick"

    You'll be more than disappointed, you'll be horribly scarred for life from the 1st degree burns to your face!!

    1. O RLY

      Re: "expecting bunsen burners to be like lipstick"

      I expect you meant 3rd degree burns, but yes, the image is horrifying.

    2. Aaron Em

      Re: "expecting bunsen burners to be like lipstick"

      Third-degree or worse, I think you'll find; it'd be hard to be "scarred for life" by a first-degree burn, which basically just means your skin's a little red.

      (FYI: There are actually six degrees on the burn staging scale; degrees four through six aren't often mentioned because they aren't often survivable, describing as they do burns which destroy tissue beyond the full skin thickness (epidermis, dermis, underlying fascia) described by "third-degree".)

  3. frank ly

    I was waiting for them to take their clothes off ......

    .... to investigate the action and relative effectiveness of different laundry powders; under controlled conditions with proper recording of results and cross checking by an independent peers.

  4. Pete 2 Silver badge

    The hard sell

    I doubt that kids from any time in the past 20 years, brought up on a diet of MTV and more extreme, would be the slightest bit affected by this video. The "problem" only occurs because older people think (wrongly) that this will influence them. It's the same sort of patronising, or merely ignorant, attitude that some people have towards smut: "It doesn't affect ME, but I'm concerned about the effect it will have on others"

    If the EU wants to get girls interested in science, they should get Adele to write a song about how sad it makes her feel. Or better yet, stop presenting science on TV (in fiction and in fact) as nerdy, geeky and only appropriate for social misfits

    1. Shakje

      Re: The hard sell

      People who are nerdy and geeky tend to be a social misfit as a result (less interested in social interaction). They also tend to be more inclined to study more, and get more excited by the wonderful world of science. I'd rather people that spent their time studying in science than people who were fooled into it because it looked cool.

      1. h4rm0ny

        Re: The hard sell

        Science *is* cool. The best thing you can do to encourage women (and men) into the profession is to lose this weird American cultural export of the "geek" or the "nerd". You don't get a social stigma attached to being a Doctor or an Architect. No-one says: "Oh, you're a dentist, you must like Star Wars". It's got nothing to do with, for example, C programming, but in the US media, that translates into "geek". Drop the stupid association. It puts people off. All that matters is whether you're interested in the subject and if you're good at it. Social factors should be minimised to allow people to chose it without acquiring other baggage.

        1. JEDIDIAH
          Linux

          Re: The hard sell

          ...which leads us again to the sort of "chick" that you see in this video. You end up with someone that fits into the Glamour or Cosmo mold but just happens to be a terribly geeky doctor.

          You end up with Dr. Isles, Queen of the Dead.

          "Feminist fashion magazines" are what really set the tone here, not mysoginists or brogrammers.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: The hard sell

        "People who are nerdy and geeky tend to be a social misfit as a result (less interested in social interaction). They also tend to be more inclined to study more, and get more excited by the wonderful world of science. I'd rather people that spent their time studying in science than people who were fooled into it because it looked cool."

        I was never particularly uninterested in social interaction, just uninterested in getting my teeth knocked out by some psycho who thought getting 10% on a test and skipping detention was a badge of honor (and that was just the girls) and abandoning the Career library / actual library or computer room increased the chances of that by a fair margin.

    2. Gannon (J.) Dick
      Trollface

      Re: The hard sell

      No need to pay for the Premium Package on the Taxpayers account.

      Just get Adele to write a song.

    3. Ole Juul

      Re: The hard sell

      I doubt that kids from any time in the past 20 years, brought up on a diet of MTV and more extreme, would be the slightest bit affected by this video.

      Indeed, advertising agencies first convince the client and if they manage that then they've made the only sale that matters to them.

      There are so many wrong assumptions going on. For example, why do they insist that there are no role models? There are plenty. That's not the problem.

      PS: I see the video is off-line now.

  5. JetSetJim
    FAIL

    What sweaty bureaucrat in Brussels came up with this campaign?

    Duh! A man, I'm guessing...

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: What sweaty bureaucrat in Brussels came up with this campaign?

      A man without any daughters, nieces, sisters, female cousins, female friends.......

  6. Big O

    Are you a hot BABE in heels and a short skirt?

    This is the internet right?

    Then yes, yes I am ;)

    Seriously though... such levels of fail....

    1. John G Imrie
      Joke

      Re: Are you a hot BABE in heels and a short skirt?

      So am I but only at weekends and only to my more discerning clients.

    2. Captain DaFt

      The inevitable MPFC response

      "I'm a hot babe in heels and a short skirt, and so's my wife!"

  7. vgrig_us

    Awesome!

    Now if only they figure out how to represent 0s and 1s as a "girl thing" (maybe with "Bulgarian airbags" and tampons) - the insult would be complete...

  8. Aldous
    FAIL

    yep

    this sort of thing is one of the main reasons why gender ratios are screwy. all it does is reinforce the idea that certain people are different and should be treated differently too based off gender/age/sexuality etc. heaven forbid that everyone be treated equally and sold on the idea as it actually is.

    a female colleague of mine was really annoyed about having to take time away from her work to go to a "young women in technology event" instead of doing the actual job she signed up for. people are people what reproductive organs you have, skin color or bedroom preferences are irrelevant to your ability to perform in a "thinking" type job (horrible phrase but couldn't think of anything different)

    just like all the " video game design" degree's that are trendy now advertising you can create your own worlds, be arty, amke millions. then the people bitch and whinge when actually they have to end up learning a bucket load of maths and coding.

    stop trying to "sex up" everything and acknowledge things for what they are. science's are neat and people that don't think they are will not go into them anyway (prefering the media studies-> call center route)

  9. Toxteth O'Gravy
    Thumb Down

    And why, I have to ask, does 'science' equal 'chemistry' here? OK, there's a tiny, tiny bit of electronics in there too, but mostly it's chemistry, yes?

    [No longer a scientist. Never a babe]

    1. Dave 126 Silver badge

      I don't know, except to think chemistry might offer more theatrical props and outfits for this video than, say some flavour of engineering.

      Anecdotally, I know quite a few women in science, but they tend to be towards the medical research / doctor / brain surgeon / veterinary side of the spectrum, ie not always in the high paid private sector engineering roles. It is as if their motivation has more to do with helping people than wearing high heels (though they might choose to dress as glamorously or wittily at the weekend -or odd week night- as the next person does or doesn't.)

  10. smudge
    FAIL

    Some footage missing

    They forgot:

    - the train going into a tunnel

    - the waves breaking on the shore

    - the chimney collapsing.

  11. That Awful Puppy
    Thumb Down

    In real life ...

    There are loads of eminently shaggable science students and scientists. But of course, having them take their kit off and posing for a calendar would be sexist.

    Hiring three models and having them behave like complete idiots, on the other hand, is EU-fecking-approved. After all, the video has the all-important racial diversity.

    1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

      Re: In real life ...

      "Studmuffins of DAMPT" isn't a calender anyone wants to see - trust me on this!

    2. myarse
      Trollface

      Re: In real life ...

      As a former Chemist I would have loved to agree but the women, much like most of the men, where socially inept neck beards.

      Maybe there was just less of them therefore less chance of deviation from the mean.

      1. That Awful Puppy
        Paris Hilton

        Re: In real life ...

        Not sure. In my class of about 60 people, there were about 35-ish women, of whom at least 20 were passable, with about 10 being quite lovely. One of these is now a proper, if slightly Gothic, MILF, and I've lost track of the others.

        That was Biochem, mind. Pharma, in our neck of woods, is renowned for having a world-class collection of totty, as is Medicine, while Chemistry, and anything that has to do with electricity, is really fecking awful.

      2. Voland's right hand Silver badge

        Re: In real life ...

        As another former Chemist - you _OBVIOUSLY_ did not graduate with Chemistry in Eastern Europe. I am not even going to mention Biology or Biotech.

        Which leads to a thought - was it that difficult just to go to a Eastern European Biology dept cafeteria and take some interviews of how does Ms Plague, PhD look like. No need of stupid videos with idiotic sexist lipstick sterieotypes and even more idiotic "science" stereotypes.

        1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

          Re: In real life ...

          Same in Italy and Spain - astronomy is a "girl's science".

          There was a union protest at a conference at Rome University - the picket line was like a supermodel catwalk !

          1. Dave Bell

            Re: In real life ...

            That's the sort of thing that suggests to me that some of this business about sexism is cultural. Whether the apparent attitudes in those countries are right or not. they don't have the same "nerd" problem. They don't see science as something different.

            It doesn't have to mean that the general attitude to women is "good".

            A lot of the current media standards that are presented as the ideal young woman don't work for me. Maybe nice to look at, but they're almost a caricature. Besides, there has to be something more. Sounds silly, but nobody in that video would provoke me into writing a sonnet.

            No, not even a limerick.

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I would ask those few women in science to try and make an ad, but won't.

    It's fairly natural to point to an obvious deficit and then tailor your campaign to target it. This has been tried before, with this very demographic, and hasn't fixed the problem then either.

    And the problem is wider: Boys seem to shun science too, if not as much possibly. But what if we tried to pull them both in together in a way that wouldn't put off either sex? Wouldn't that be a generally better approach? At the very least it'd force the ad makers to identify and then prune inherent off-putters to both sexes, including girls, from the advertising material. And once identified we can try and remove them from the science community in general. One would think that a longer lasting solution, no?

    1. Steven Roper

      You're right, and I agree with you, but...

      ...you're forgetting the War on Men that this sort of thing is designed to be a part of.

      Consider the screaming outrage if somebody published a video called "Teaching: It's a Guy Thing". Ooooh boy! Yet in most Western countries, men are significantly underrepresented in the teaching industry. But letting all those nasty perverted paedophile men near children is always a Bad Idea, right? I know because a few years ago in Australia there was a campaign (albeit an extremely brief one) to get more men into teaching roles, and the feminists went absolutely apeshit. Needless to say the campaign was hastily and quietly shelved.

      So when looking at these things, always remember that if it has any benefit for men, it's evil and must be prevented. Only if it's of benefit to women (or non-white ethnicities, but that's a whole other story) is it publicly acceptable.

      1. Loyal Commenter Silver badge
        Boffin

        Re: You're right, and I agree with you, but...

        I have to agree - another good case in point is Nursery Nursing - an almost entirely female occupation. On the face of it, there's no reason men should be any worse at the job than women, apart from the fact that from an early age boys and girls are effectively segregated and raised differently.

        This may not be an intentional thing, but there are societal norms which most people don't even conciously think about. This goes beyond dressing girls in pink, and boys in blue, to the fact that males and females are (beyond the obvious differences) not actually the same.

        On the whole, women tend to be more nurturing and men more analytical. This isn't sexism, it is an observation, and it is worth noting that it is also a generalisation, and there are plenty of very logical analytical women who are good at spacial reasoning, just as there are plenty of men who are fantastic parents.

        So what I am saying is that there is a combination of societal pressure and innate preference behind the lack of women in science, probably more so than the sexism that may be present in some organisations. We erroneously think that because men and women should have equal rights and opportunities (and they very much should), that men and women are equal. Take this to its logical extreme, and the fallacy is obvious - men and women are different, both mentally and physically. The best women's tennis player in the world would never beat the best men's player just because of pure strength, and a man would never be able to bear a child no matter how hard they tried (legal gender reassignments aside).

        Some of the statistics are actually very telling. I don't have the figures to hand, but I remember reading that the gender ratio in Chemistry (which I studied at university, so have first-hand knowledge of), is skewed in favour of women at the undergraduate level (something like 60:40), but at postgraduate level it becomes more like 45:55, and further into academia is something like 20:80. What this shows isn't a lack of women going into science, but women leaving science.

        So this campaign misses the point on several levels:

        - Attracting women to science isn't necessarily the problem, keeping them is.

        - The ad itself is hopelessly sexist and trivialises both women and science.

        - There is a lack of interest in science in general, not just in girls, but boys also.

        - Science education (in this country at least) in schools is currently appalling. We are failing in our duty to properly educate our children to prepare them for the world.

        - Chemists actually very rarely use bunsen burners, thermostatically controlled heaters are preferred for a number of reasons.

  13. vagabondo
    Thumb Up

    Intro or the real scientist vids?

    Everyone seems to be commenting on the intro clip, and ignoring those showing the scientists, engineers, and students describing their work.

    someone should ask 9-11 year old girls (that seems to be intended audience) what they think.. I think that the combined intro and real people clips would be well recieved, and achieve the purpose of raising awareness beyond the cartoon caricatures.

    .

    1. NomNomNom

      Re: Intro or the real scientist vids?

      "someone should ask 9-11 year old girls"

      When I read that I didn't think of girls I thought of terrorism

      1. Captain DaFt

        Re: Intro or the real scientist vids?

        So you've had to deal with girls in that age group I take it?

        (I'm going, I'm going... no coat, it's way too hot!)

      2. hplasm
        Happy

        Re:When I read that...

        See- the adverts for PaedoTerrorGeddon are working! Stay away from the Daily Mail etc as much as you can and try to breathe slowly...

    2. Graham Marsden
      Boffin

      "Everyone seems to be commenting on the intro clip...

      "...and ignoring those showing the scientists, engineers, and students describing their work."

      Probably because they're thinking "What a load of patronising BS" after watching the intro which makes them completely disinclined to look any further.

    3. Jon Green
      FAIL

      Re: Intro or the real scientist vids?

      I showed it (now at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g032MPrSjFA) to my science-mad nine-year-old daughter. She flipped between horror, dumbstruck amazement and raucous laughter, but couldn't believe the EU could produce such a disastrously bad video. Ah, the naivety of youth...

      She couldn't think of anyone she knew who'd be attracted to science by that piece of crud.

      I guess there's your answer.

  14. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

    Need a more realistic approach

    Shots of happy smiling beautiful young people punting along the Cam and cut to shot of science student stuck in lab staring at computer screen.

    Shots of HSBYP graduating and getting their sign-on bonus as management consultants and cut to shot of science student stuck in lab staring at screen for another 4-5years of PhD

    Shots of HSBYP comparing their BMWs as you grind through a series of dead-end postdocs until you can apply for faculty jobs.

    Then of course the future starts to get bleak....

    1. NomNomNom

      Re: Need a more realistic approach

      Shots of happy smiling beautiful young people dying horribly from the zombies and cut to shot of mad scientist laughing hysterically.

      Eventually the scientist wins.

      1. Anonymous C0ward

        Re: Need a more realistic approach

        Don't forget the five-arsed monkeys.

  15. HamsterNet
    WTF?

    No idea

    Most graduate are of the fairer sex (well from any half decent University), including in science. Simply because they get better grades at GCSEs and A levels than the boys. gets even more female centric at PhD level.

    If any of these bureaucrats had been into a modern Pharma research company they would see there are lots and lots of ladies working there. I know I'm married to one of them...

    Dr and Mr....

    1. Charles Manning
      Paris Hilton

      No need to paint science pink

      Quite right.

      Over the last 20-odd years, girls are taking over in chemistry, medicine, biological sciences and many other areas, This is happening without stupid lipstick intervention ads.

      Just leave things be. The right thing is happening without intervention.

  16. NomNomNom

    My perception is that most girls are too clever to go pick a career in science

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    You'd have to be a genius to get this...

    Ok, I going to try and look at this in a positive light. They may have been trying to build up a link (badly) between the things girls use every day (supposedly) and the science that made them. My guess is that is how it started, but somewhere along the way it ran afoul of a ad consultant who thinks he is an 'artist.' So instead of saying bluntly that your lipstick, nail polish and perfume is made with the science of chemistry, they ended up with a flashy dance video because that's not 'boring old science.' So, I will give them an A for effort and an F for execution.

  18. stupormundi
    Thumb Up

    This made my day

    "It's a bit like trying to get fat people into science by putting a doughnut next to a test tube. But it isn't even funny like that."

    ROFLOL

  19. Jamie Kitson

    3. The word "girls"

    n/t

  20. PT

    Target Audience

    ... Would appear to be boys, not girls.

    There's already a MUCH BETTER "girls in science" video on YouTube, anyway.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHF6jTO_wEg

  21. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    If the women all looked like this...

    http://greenobles.com/photos/kari-byron/07/

    I'm ok with it.

  22. TheProf
    Happy

    It could have been worse

    I found this much funnier than The Reg's own 'standard measurement' video. And it was mercifully shorter too.

  23. Tim Worstal

    Sadly, no

    [Our theory is that this is actually a cunning disinformation campaign by Eurosceptics of some sort, perhaps having hacked the relevant YouTube accounts, websites etc. -Ed]

    Not us Guv. This is meant to be serious.

    1. David Pollard

      Re: Sadly, no - you couldn't make it up

      Almost twenty years ago as an April Fool prank I distributed a bogus press release that resembled the genuine article from EU offices. It announced the inauguration of the Sunshine and Snow Normalisation Adjustment Fund (SSNAFFU), which was to provide compensation for geographical differences between the regions. This fell entirely flat.

      As I should have realised, such a jape simply doesn't work against EU apparatchiks. They themselves already come up with things like, at the relatively harmless end of the spectrum, the cucumber directive. Yes, this really does exist to regulate the maximum curvature that is allowed in different classes of cucumber. At the more extreme end, of course, there is the madness of the Single Currency and the Common Agricultural Policy which seriously damages the lives of many millions of people. Heaven only knows why these continue; or why we still pay dues when the EU accounts have failed to pass audit for seventeen years running.

      Perhaps eurosceptics should be flattered by the editor's suggestion. But really, as the Littlejohn catchphrase has it, "you couldn't make it up".

  24. Armando 123

    Wow

    And keep in mind this was paid for with taxpayer money.

  25. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    Oh dear me, no

    It looked to me as if the bloke was trying to work while a bunch of women came in and started screwing around.

    Daughter #1 was also impressed - "F-ing disgusting. It seems like they're not looking for girls to be Scientists but instead to play sexy lab assistants in a porno movie."

    EU? or Eew.

  26. Bucky 2
    Pint

    What's "tat," and how do I exchange it for the other thing?

    There aren't enough people going into science, male OR female, so I want to see the beefcake edition of this commercial.

    I'm thinking shirtless musclemen, a football, and a bunsen burner.

    1. 1Rafayal
      Windows

      Re: What's "tat," and how do I exchange it for the other thing?

      Sadly, the beefcake version of this video would be something more or less like me.

      Overweight, balding, glasses and a penchant for fast food.

  27. zanto
    FAIL

    HOT??

    pretty? maybe. but definitely not hot.

    Hot was the original Eee PC girl on the beach.

    Epic Fail for not knowing the difference.

  28. Tim
    Happy

    You lot - and Anna Leach - have all missed the point entirely

    This video has nothing to do with attracting women into science. It's actually designed to help reverse the general downward trend of *anyone* going into science. It does that by attempting to entice men to the field by suggesting that your average lab is so chock-full of giggly totty that your beaker will constantly be foaming over.

  29. Anonymous Coward
    Boffin

    It's not a 50 Cent video...

    But it is about science and it does have a woman in it!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j50ZssEojtM

  30. E 2

    The purpose is plain

    It contains embedded command strings from MI6 for the Flame worm.

  31. davenewman

    Private Video

    The video is now private. We can no longer watch it, thanks to the curse of El Reg.

    1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge

      Re: Private Video

      Haha oh wow, I couldn't believe my eyes.

      Girls in science - it's now a private video thing.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Private Video

      Sure you can still watch it, or you can watch this previous attempt.

    3. Jon Green
      Black Helicopters

      Re: Private Video

      For your viewing pleasure: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g032MPrSjFA

  32. J.G.Harston Silver badge

    Hot babe? No, I've lowered my standards all the way down to "breathing".

    .

    .

    .

    Stll hasn't worked :(

    1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

      Are in Comp-Sci or E-Eng?

      You might be being a bit picky !

      1. J.G.Harston Silver badge

        Are in Comp-Sci or E-Eng?

        Both :(

  33. Len Goddard
    FAIL

    complete fail

    I was looking for a video of hot babes in heels and short skirts but all I got was a message saying "This video is private"

  34. Pondule

    Gone?

    Video is now marked as private, probably good job too.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Gone?

      Clearly it's a ploy to get free advertising courtesy of the Streisand Effect.

      Anyone have a link yet?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Gone?

        Never mind, searching youtube for the name brings up several. It's as bad as they said.

        1. This post has been deleted by its author

        2. Jon Green
          Pint

          Re: Gone?

          No, it's worse. A lot worse. See icon for the reason why.

          Note that by the depth of head, it's probably Belgian. Figures.

      2. Homer 1
        Pirate

        Re: Gone?

        In true "Spread This Number" style, here's the new link.

        As for the content itself, I have no particular opinion. It is reminiscent of the sort of extreme marketing miss typical of Microsoft, though.

  35. Anonymous Coward
    Paris Hilton

    Un?

    Uh? Tax Payers Money? What The F*?

    These Guys need to get out more, or need to be let out a lot more!

  36. h4rm0ny

    I want to be sick.

    Althought the original video has been taken down in a panic (presumably), it's easy to find on YouTube by searching "Science it's a girl thing".

    That's the most offensive thing I've seen in years. Someone should be shot for this.

  37. Sceptic Tank Silver badge
    Windows

    Chemistry between us.

    Oh the vid is not THAT bad! I for one welcome... Er no, I mean... I for one would certainly forget to shake my conical flasks if there were lots of pretty legs like that around my workplace.

  38. Don Jefe
    Pirate

    Real Science vs Software Development

    My wife works for a lab here in the States and she is an order of magnitude better at genetic engineering than I will ever be at hydraulic engineering. I know it sounds terribly sexist towards males but women are often better at hard science because they have the patience to deal with the tedium. Menfolk just suck at tedium. I don't think that's a negative either. I think we should mix it all up and find teams that just work well together regardless of internal plumbing.

    I will also say that it takes a women with real "balls" to put up with the science work environment . It really isn't fair or reasonable that they spend as much time doing science as they spend fending off advances from sweaty neckbeards who last saw a vagina when they got pushed out of one.

    There are a lot of douchey guys in science. If they're good at their jobs they are probably making good coin but they are sooooo desperate to find out about those girl things they have a negative impact on recruiting. If I had a vagina I wouldn't want to work in anything remotely science related.

    P.S. My wife likes Star Wars. Ha!

  39. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    There are few women in science because

    few women are good at it.

    It's a logical subject and women have never had an evolutionary need to be logical. Their job is to get what they can off men, to feed their kids, so they have greed, a protective instinct (for their own,) and a vagina. Men however, need to build things that women can steal for their kids, so men are clever. Simple as that. There are women who are clever, but that's only to act as a conduit to provide the brains for their sons. In all practical perspectives women would be happier to be in the top one percent of beauty, than in the top one percent of brains.

    That said, even though men are cleverer, there are still quite a few women at 140 IQ, and just above, even if they are outnumbered 10 to one (and greater as they go up.) These women can compete with averagely good scientists, and they do, much more so when men were sexist. Though they almost all give up and have children. Once this happens, most women give up.

    It's not the being a woman that's the problem, it's the giving up for reasons the government can't control. Women just want babies, that's all. They can't help it. They want babies like men want a shag.

    It's tragic really. I'd love more birds in the workplace, particularly the few clever ones you see about, instead of them all hanging around in administration, being paid to unwrap all the red tape the government's created to employ them.

  40. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    EU at the wrong end of the problem.

    EU has it's attention all wrong (again).

    Normalise child care and after-school care so it matches what's available in other developed EU countries, sort out the prejudice and bias in the technical workplace and let all the mums who are already qualified and experienced in science and technology get back to their careers in R&D, which ground to a halt when they had kids.

    Otherwise it's dishonest to draw girls into a career that's over as soon as they pop a sprog.

  41. Ydo Ibother
    Holmes

    A cunning plan...

    to lure horny young men into science. This must be where all the hotties work

  42. Robert Carnegie Silver badge

    I don't see why they wouldn't be real scientists.

    http://improbable.com/projects/hair/ is the sitre of Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists™, and some of them are female.

    Luxuriant Former Hair Club for Scientists™ and Luxuriant Facial Hair Club for Scientists™ are much less female.

    "No results found for "most glamorous woman scientist"." That's wrong. But without the quotes, results appear such as

    http://www.glamour.com/magazine/2011/09/top-10-college-women-the-scientist

    And of course Hedy Lamarr, and Margaret Thatcher.

  43. Mr Common Sense
    Flame

    Manginas to the battlefronts........

    I look forward to the great drive to get women employed as refuse collectors or sewage workers.

  44. BillCo

    that is the funniest thing i have ever seen...

    is this a joke? it cannot be serious! they have got to be trolling for publicity. wow. just. wow.

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