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Comment by tzs | Hacker News Reader

> Most would acknowledge that women and minorities already face more hurdles in academia than their white, male peers. A lack of mentors, occasionally overt discrimination and the academy’s poor work-life balance, are well-documented issues.

OK, I'm stumped. I can't figure out how poor work-life balance is more of a hurdle for women and minorities than for white males. Anyone know?

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"poor work-life balance" is a greater issue for women than men due to childbirth and general fact that childcare and elder care burdens generally fall primarily on the woman in a couple.

"lack of mentors" and "occasionally over discrimination" affect both women and minorities more than white males.

I suspect elder / disabled care may be an issue for minorities too, of both sexes, if they come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

Women tend to choose professions with better work-life balance more often than men. Not sure this holds for minorities (the stereotype is actually that immigrants work extra hard, but I have no specific data).

The author of the article likely believes that women and minorities are united by facing oppression or discrimination, and consequently groups them together as a single category. This cavalier approach to analysis also enables them to appropriate the oppression of certain groups for the others.

That part wasn't intended for minorities. As for women, they need a lot of time off for pregnancies and typically want/need to spend more time with kids. Also, they have a biological clock for fertility unlike men, so it's more important for them to have time to socialize to find a partner unlike men who can procreate well into their nineties.

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