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TY - UNPB N1 - Long version of: Bouville, M. (2007). Should we enrol more female students in physics? Physics World, 20(4), 18. ID - cogprints5471 UR - http://cogprints.org/5471/ A1 - Bouville, Mathieu TI - Should there be more women in science and engineering? Y1 - 2007/// N2 - Many people hold this truth to be self-evident, that there should be more female students in science and engineering. Typical arguments include possible benefits to women, possible benefits to the economy, and the unfairness of the current female under-representation. However, these justifications are never explicitly and thoroughly presented. Clearly stating and scrutinizing them, we show that they in fact have logical flaws. When made consistent, these arguments do not unconditionally justify enrolling more women in scientific disciplines. In particular, what women want must be taken into account. Outreach programs towards K-12 girls must therefore purport to allow them to choose a field freely, rather than try to draw as many of them to scientific disciplines as possible. This change of mindset must be accompanied by a close examination of the purpose and effects of these programs. AV - public KW - female students KW - gender equity KW - higher education KW - university KW - ethics KW - policy KW - outreach programs KW - minority students ER -