Jordan Peterson on science: what the evidence says · JRE #877
SUBJECT: SCIENCE
The short answer
Peterson claims that in Scandinavian countries, which have maximized equal opportunity, the gender ratio is 20-to-1 female-to-male among nurses and 20-to-1 male-to-female among engineers. The underlying phenomenon he is referencing, sometimes called the "gender-equality paradox," is real and documented: Stoet and Geary (2018, Psychological Science) found that sex differences in STEM degree pursuit are, if anything, larger in more gender-equal nations.
Not a true/false call. Every claim is logged with its sources; read the exhibits below.
It's 20 to 1 female to male nurses and 20 to 1 male to female engineers.
What the evidence says 01 / RECORD
Peterson claimed that in gender-equal Scandinavian countries the workforce splits roughly 20-to-1 female-to-male among nurses and 20-to-1 male-to-female among engineers. The underlying phenomenon he is referencing, sometimes called the "gender-equality paradox," is real and documented: Stoet and Geary (2018, Psychological Science) found that sex differences in STEM degree pursuit are, if anything, larger in more gender-equal nations. However, the specific 20-to-1 figures do not match published national labor or education statistics; reporting on Peterson's Norway remarks cites roughly 75% female nurses (about 3-to-1) and about 89% male engineers (roughly 8-to-1), both large gaps but well short of 20-to-1 in either direction. The gender-equality paradox finding itself is contested: a 2023 longitudinal study of 26 European countries found evidence against the paradox, and other researchers have disputed the original study's methodology, while Stoet and Geary have defended their conclusion. Overall, the direction of Peterson's claim (occupational sex segregation persists or grows in gender-equal welfare states) reflects a real, actively debated academic finding, but the specific 20-to-1 ratios he cites appear to be his own rounded approximation rather than a documented statistic.