Stay Curious

SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AND UNLOCK ONE MORE ARTICLE FOR FREE.

Sign Up

VIEW OUR Privacy Policy


Discover Magazine Logo

WANT MORE? KEEP READING FOR AS LOW AS $1.99!

Subscribe

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?

FIND MY SUBSCRIPTION
Advertisement

On The Paradox of Under-representation of Women (Part II)

Explore the shocking issue of child abduction and sale in China, driven by deep-rooted traditions favoring boys over girls.

Newsletter

Sign up for our email newsletter for the latest science news

Sign Up

Today's NYTimes features a sad article about child abduction and sale in rural China where boys are targeted because of the tradition of favoring them over girls:

Su Qingcai, a tea farmer from the mountainous coast of Fujian Province, explained why he spent $3,500 last year on a 5-year-old boy. “A girl is just not as good as a son,” said Mr. Su, 38, who has a 14-year-old daughter but whose biological son died at 3 months. “It doesn’t matter how much money you have. If you don’t have a son, you are not as good as other people who have one.”

This is related to an important topic explored earlier this week. Christine Luk's research on women in science and technology is focused on why the gender gap persists despite enhancement of female status in the U.S. There are many hypotheses, but the NYTimes piece serves to remind us ...

Stay Curious

JoinOur List

Sign up for our weekly science updates

View our Privacy Policy

SubscribeTo The Magazine

Save up to 40% off the cover price when you subscribe to Discover magazine.

Subscribe
Advertisement

0 Free Articles