I can't tell you how difficult it is being a mother and navigating these waters with a female child.
One of my students did a presentation on females in the construction business--particularly construction management. He put together a proposal for his department that addressed the huge gender divide in construction and construction management. It was very well-thought out and I hope his teachers and advisers really listen to his suggestions.
The issue is, that he's fighting against years and years of gender conditioning. Even at age 7, my daughter has a very strong sense of "boy things" and "girl things." I remember shopping at Target with her one day. She went to look at toys. She wanted a Minecraft figurine. When she got to the aisle, she stopped dead. The aisle was marked "blue," but there also two boys in that aisle.
She said, "Umm, I'll look for something else."
I knew why she had stopped. There were boys in the boy aisle. If the aisle was empty, she would have gone down w/o any issues, but because there were boys present, a barrier manifested. She was a girl and would be intruding on boys in their own "space."
So, I held her hand and walked her down.
I must have told her twenty times: "Blue is not just for boys and pink is not just for girls" OR "There are not boy-toys or girl-toys. It's okay to like anything."
But I'm one voice screaming at her in a hurricane of cultural gender norms. It's daunting. It's a battle I'll never stop fighting.
As far as student/learner types are concerned, well... look at how genders are reinforced in our society. Just look at the difference between commercials targeted for boys versus girls.
Boy Commercial
Girl Commercial
What does each commercial tell you about how boys and girls should behave and act in general? The boys? LOUDER. More in-your-face narration. Rock music. Boys are ACTIVE. Always moving.
The girls? Sweet. Precious. Well-behaved.
And these are just two examples in a sea full of gender-normalizing bullshit media.
It's more than just "boys naturally act differently than girls." I believe that is a piece of the picture, but outside influences certainly can impact a way a child behaves and is expected to behave.
How can this not impact what type of learner a child is or becomes? Sure, kids push up against that. I expect a few people here to bring in the ole, "Well *I* wasn't like that" argument. And that's great if you were able to naturally navigate this type of world without much effort. Consider yourself blessed.
As for the original argument, I think this is something for a teacher to address on a class-by-class basis. As an instructor, I make it a priority to run a class that allows for all voices/opinions to be heard. That means you don't let the ramblers monopolize the time. That means you promote a respectful, safe atmosphere where everyone feels good sharing their thoughts. This can be accomplished in many ways without making students more uncomfortable.
Just because a college student doesn't speak up in class doesn't mean he/she is not thinking and processing. So, I usually include an online response portion in all of my classes. Twice a month, post a response on the class message forum. Often, some of my students who are quiet in-class will enjoy speaking their minds in writing.
Or, I ask students to write down 1-3 questions they have from a reading and turn them in. I will read them out loud and discuss those items.
Or, have students work in smaller groups where they can share their ideas with only 2-3 others (as opposed to a small class).
As a teacher, it's your job to facilitate and to manage these things. While a university could ask me to keep some things (gender differences) in mind, I think I'd feel a bit like someone was stepping on my toes if they were dictating how I should be running my classroom.
Under a female Comp Sci teacher. Those were the days, I must say!