Band 7+: Women and men are commonly seen as having different strengths and weaknesses. Is it right to exclude males or females from certain professions because of their gender?

In this modern era where there is a high number of occupations available in many places, gender equality is still a barrier for people achieving their desired jobs. The differences in strengths and weaknesses between women and men are two factors that influence their opportunities in workplaces. Some people believe that it is essential to determine jobs based on gender. However, in my view, separating jobs based on gender is not the right way for several reasons.

First of all, gender does not always influence working performance, instead, it depends on the skills and knowledge of individuals. In several jobs, such as teachers and scientists, for example, advanced knowledge is far more essential than their gender, and both sexes can work properly and produce good results which is in line with their level of education. Moreover, in many jobs, skills are factors that determine people’s position in a workplace and its promotion. For example, for people who want to become a manager in a company, presenting high skills in managerial and public speaking are two important aspects that influence people’s careers. Especially, they will easily reach a higher position when they can increase the company’s productivity through their knowledge and skills. Therefore, there is a weak connection between gender and people’s working performance.

Secondly, excluding a particular gender from certain professions only will increase marginalisation between sexes and not be impacted economic growth. This is because economic improvement depends on collaboration between males and females to reach a similar target in terms of productivity and efficiency. For example, in producing a manufacturer, collaboration between males and females on product designs and marketing strategies will positively affect the production rate of the company. On the other hand, when marginalisation in working roles is dominant, the yield of production will not be better than those who work through collaboration.

In conclusion, separating jobs based on people’s gender is the wrong way, because it does not have any correlation between gender and working qualities, as well as it only increases marginalisation between sexes. Giving equal opportunity based on people’s knowledge and skills combined with collaboration is more reliable and valuable.