The Nirmukta Freethought Community

In a recent India Today piece, noted columnist M J Akbar makes a connection between a greater number of women in positions of political power, and inclusive growth of an economy.
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/story/...36628.html

While it makes sense that inclusive politics creates conditions of inclusive economics, I wish M J Akbar hadn't made the cliche 'Men take pride in achievement; women take pride in feeding the family.' the centerpiece of his argument. Offering these 'temperamental differences' between genders seems to me a sort of naturalistic fallacy where observed behaviors are treated as prescriptive of gender roles. In such a sanctifying of the received wisdom about gender roles, this stance is anti-feminist in that it fails to recognize choice adequately (eco-feminists and Darwinian feminists may disagree though.)

Bringing the debate closer home, it is one thing to say that "Freethought blogs will be truer to their stated ideals if the ranks of their contributors and editors are more representative" and quite another to advance as a reason for this, "More women contributors will mean more sensitivity, 'tenderness' and civility in the freethought discourse."