I came up with the idea of writing something on the notion: if certain jobs are more suitable than others for women, from a yahoo open question which asked which of the following 3 jobs was suitable for women- physician, nurse and politician. The question also asked which of these can a women perform better than a man. What intrigued me was that although many of the answers to the question protested vehemently against stereotyping jobs for men and women, I am sure most of us (if not all) will agree that such stereotypes not just exist in every society, but are also widely accepted and followed by both men and women in every region of the world.

Although the scenario is slowly changing, still the number of women scientists, surgeons, politicians, members of the armed forces, government officials, construction workers, mining laborers, drivers etc. are relatively less than men. Whereas women are considered ideal for jobs as nurses, maids, waitresses, beauticians, performance artists, singers and dancers, garment workers involved in sewing and stitching and so on. Again wage disparity also exists in similar jobs for men and women in many sectors all around the world.

It can be easily argued that because of their nurturing and caring nature and also their understanding and appreciation of beauty and style they are considered more suitable for certain jobs than others. Likewise, lack of physical strength and disinterest in extended hours of work or night time work they are considered inappropriate for certain jobs. Moreover since the popularization of the ‘stay at home mother’ concept and the newly represented value of a women’s reproductive role, double and triple day concepts, it has become inevitable for most employers to be sensitive towards gender needs. This often makes them reluctant to hire women for jobs which require constant and undisturbed dedication.

So in that case do we really want to oppose such stereotypes? I for one, prefer certain kind of time schedules and certain kind of work as I find it easier to give enough time at home with that kind of a job. I had decided that I couldn’t do certain jobs as it required too much time and a level of commitment which I could provide, but I just didn’t want to.

There are exceptions ofcourse. Many women are successfully heading big corporate offices, and many men find satisfaction in doing jobs with flexible timings and which require continuous exercise of their caring and nurturing side. But exceptions cannot be examples. What does the Adhunik woman think about such notions?