Juxtaposition

I went to a reception Friday night thrown by the Emory college of arts and sciences. I met a somewhat-higher-up in the A&S food chain, someone who controls the distribution of money throughout the college. A grey-haired white guy. We spoke briefly, and to a friend's off-hand comment about the number of women in college this higher-up said, well, it will always be that way because women will always be distracted by family. They'll never have the time and energy to devote to college and career that men have. I was so caught off guard and unsure of the appropriateness of a rebuttal that I held my tongue. But he didn't even acknowledge that, you know, maybe there's something wrong with a system that works that way? That maybe it takes two to make babies, and perhaps, just perhaps, we'd all be better off if men were a bit more distracted by their off-spring?

So then last night I was helping my advisor throw a graduation party for her son. And I swear all the mathematicians in the room were women! It was fantastic. And not only were they women, but they were cool, functional, well-adjusted, healthy women! The math teacher at her son's high school reminds me of Tina Fey's character in Mean Girls and also happens to be the coach of the men's ultimate frisbee team. One of her former students just finished her second year at Emory, and plans on being a math major. She wants to grow up to be just like her old teacher. This girl's mother went back to school and earned a BA in math. Because 'if you have the choice, would you rather take flower arranging or differential equations? I mean, really?' When I caught up with my advisor at the end of the night and told her how great I thought her friends were she just smiled at me and swept her arm around the room and said, one day this will be you.