01/12/2022
"Where Are All The Men?"
I'll get to that disappointing quote from the President of Purdue.
First, I'd like to introduce you to my favorite Boilermaker of all time. I consider myself incredibly lucky to have had the pleasure of sharing my life with him for the past 8 years.
We've accomplished a lot. Both separately & together.
I'm not with him because he's an engineer (though we met mentoring high school robotics students 10 years ago which helped).
I'm with him because he is kind, empathetic and extremely passionate about having a positive impact on his community, particularly kids in grade school.
He spends a great deal of his time and energy learning to be more inclusive and more understanding of the people around him, especially me, but also underrepresented & underserved communities.
More importantly, he listens and engages in uncomfortable topics related to inclusivity. I find this to be a rare, brave quality. And he doesn't do this randomly. He does this with intentionality and purpose. He adapts his thoughts and actions then puts it into practice as a leader at work, as a volunteer and personal relationships.
I don't expect this level of emotional intelligence from everyone but I expected something better than what I saw today from the President of Purdue in his Annual Open Letter.
An excerpt from his section titled 'Where are all the men?':
"Purdue cannot solve this looming national problem, but sending out thousands of exceptional young engineers, computer scientists, and other technology experts who happen to be men is a contribution few other institutions are making."
If you read the full section, you'll find that the 'national problem' he is referring to is that women are outnumbering men in college which is causing women to seek out men with equal or greater education level (or chosing to not pursue a relationship) resulting in lower birth rates.
I find this take very disappointing. Honestly, it's messages like this coming from a position of power that is lowering the birth rate. 🤦♀️
I would like to say 'thank you' to all the men out there trying to be understanding of others and putting it into practice rather than being defensive.
