It's a matter of opinion
Bublick agrees that Summers claims to have “made an effort to think in a very serious way� about women’s representation in science, yet even in the way he says he “made an effort� sounds like he has little interest in the area of women’s rights/equality/diversity. He doesn’t present any credible research. Much of what he says is unclear; he agrees that it’s unclear, but I guess that’s his point.
Like we discussed in class, anyone who writes credible articles and whatnot proves their position by picking and choosing sources that will back up their argument. If a person is able to argue something, there is going to be a source or two that can back up either side. So if Summers had provided us with reliable information, it would only have given critics more reason to argue against him. Therefore, I understand why Summers decided to give us his “best guess,� as opposed to a thoroughly-researched stance. “Everybody’s got an opinion; I don’t think anybody actually has a clue as to what the answer is (Summers).� However, if Summers had laid out the facts from a strictly objective, well-informed point-of-view, there would be less to critique.
Although Summers seems to believe he is simply laying out some areas that should be “looked at,� there are some underlying assumptions that he has with regards to men’s and women’s roles. He poses the question, “who wants to do high-powered intense work?� Clearly suggesting that men do and women (or at least mothers) don’t. Bublick responds to Summers by writing that Summers “assumes both that high-powered work requires 80-hour weeks, and that women, especially mothers, lack interest in this schedule.� I completely agree with Bublick on this one. I could argue that high-powered work may well be running a daycare 40 hours/week. Are men up for that?