> What if there’s just something about academics (and I do actually think this is true) that is not attractive to conservative professionals.

Academia used to be much more politically balanced: https://www.independent.org/tir/2022-23-winter/the-hyperpoli...

It would be very illuminating to compare academics' political leanings in other countries as well, but I am not aware of any such studies.

Now it is basically officially banned to hire conservatives: Diversity Statements Required for One-Fifth of Academic Jobs - https://www.schoolinfosystem.org/2021/11/11/study-diversity-...

Even if hired, bias persists: The authors also submitted different test studies to different peer-review boards. The methodology was identical, and the variable was that the purported findings either went for, or against, the liberal worldview (for example, one found evidence of discrimination against minority groups, and another found evidence of "reverse discrimination" against straight white males). Despite equal methodological strengths, the studies that went against the liberal worldview were criticized and rejected, and those that went with it were not. - https://theweek.com/articles/441474/how-academias-liberal-bi...

When polled, 4 in 10 academics admit to discriminating against conservatives: https://www.cspicenter.com/p/academic-freedom-in-crisis-puni...

> So why are we [..] assuming there’s a problem with equality of opportunity?

To answer your question: we're not assuming anything - they have official policies to that effect, they openly say so when polled, and it has been measured in studies.

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techblueberry 7 hours ago | parent [-]

I honestly don’t think you can prove directionality here.

I 100% believe the country has gone too far in discounting traditional/conservative values. (On both the left and right, but I digress) And I think this divide is unhealthy for the future of the country.

I think it would be healthier for the country if there was a greater balance in education. But I don’t think you can prove that the right in this country hasn’t itself opted out. You hear it in thought leaders at the top and bottom of the economic spectrum. More trade schools, less college. And all the like tech thought leaders valuing experience over education.

Anyway Christopher Rufo is on a tear and the Trump administration has declared victory over woke, so maybe we’ll see the tides turn.

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like_any_other 7 hours ago | parent [-]

> I honestly don’t think you can prove directionality here.

Are you saying the well documented examples of discrimination I posted [1] are caused by, and do not affect the under-representation of the right in academia? Because that's what reversed directionality means in this case.

[1] I can add about three alternative, trustworthy sources for each, if that's an issue.

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techblueberry 6 hours ago | parent [-]

Yes, I think that the shift from a more training oriented system to a more research oriented system started the shift that goes back o the fifties. The imbalance may have created more hostility leading to a feedback loop, but the core reasons conservatives left wasn’t the hostility, though that may have exacerbated things recently.

But take away the hostility and conservatives wouldn’t self selection into an institution that doesn’t prioritize the things conservatives prioritize.

	▲	like_any_other 6 hours ago \| parent [-]
		> But take away the hostility and conservatives wouldn’t self selection into an institution that doesn’t prioritize the things conservatives prioritize. Right. Take away the pervasive, organized, even official measures aimed at driving out the right from academia, and maybe there are also some other minor reasons we can shift blame on instead. "Maybe our extensive efforts to purge institutions of our ideological enemies had no significant effect, and they voluntarily purged themselves!"