The Washington Post reports that billionaire investor Paul Tudor came under fire last week after explaining to a group of students why fewer women than men choose to work in the financial industry.
Paul Tudor Jones II, a 1976 U-Va. graduate and billionaire Greenwich-based hedge fund manager, took a stab at answering. According to those who attended, Jones explained how traders must have extraordinary focus and commitment, working long hours and forgoing personal time. A lot of women opt out of such a high-intensity career, he said, especially once they have children.
Carl P. Zeithaml, dean of the U-Va. McIntire School of Commerce, said that he immediately received complaints from alumni and faculty members who were concerned and, in some cases, appalled by the substance and framing of Jones’s comments. It seemed to be the opposite of the message that Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg is pushing as she visits college campuses and urges young women not to limit themselves.
Jones declined to comment through a spokesman. Zeithaml defended Jones, saying that while the investor’s comments might have been poorly worded, they were an observation of the industry, not an endorsement of it.
Dean Zeithaml later forwarded students a letter from a female graduate. The letter harshly criticized Jones and instructed students not to listen to him.
Why Jones’s simple attempt to explain why fewer women choose careers in finance should ever be interpreted as him telling women not to choose careers in finance is beyond us. And it’s just one more example of how political correctness has made simple stating of the facts taboo on college campuses. And it was lousy of Dean Zeithaml to treat Jones’s remarks as if they were sexist when it is clear to any sane person that they weren’t.
For many feminists, there can only be one explanation for why there are fewer women in any “prestige” industry–SEXISM. Suggesting that women’s choices or natural inclinations have anything to do with it will get you instantly branded as a mysterious. In the academic world, facts are often politically contingent. And there are some opinions that you just aren’t allowed to share. Just ask former Harvard president Larry Summers.
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