Women at work
There is still a problem with inequality between men and women in the work place. Women still tend to get the lower paid jobs. Why?
I think there are two main reasons:
1/There is still a perception that women are less capable than men in many fields
It's subtle but it's true. If I am having a discussion about something with someone and they do not believe some fact I have put forward - I often defer to my husband. "That's true isn't it?". I do it instinctively - and people respond with belief after hearing my husband agree. Why? I am just as qualified as him - and in the same area. Why is his opinion more reliable? He is a man - that is why. It's not simply a matter of numbers - two people's opinion being better than one: it rarely occurs the other way around. And this has gone on for generations - my Mum does it sometimes - and my Grandmother did it all the time. I suppose it's learnt behaviour - and partly my fault. I am perpetuating the problem by going along with it. I am showing that I doubt myself - and believe my husabnd to know more.
The other reason the perception that women are less capable persists is because of the lack of role models. You don't see many women scientists - therefore women must not be good at science. I was actually told by someone in charge of admissions at a Cambridge college, that she thought women were less interested by science, since less of them applied for it, and that she would therefore reduce the number of women studying science at the college - so that their overall results would improve (i.e. she would only pick the cre'me de la cre'me of the women). This reasoning doesn't work. It just means that the women in science will feel more isolated - and that the ones chosen will be probably more masculine (i.e. conforming to the stereotypes that currently excel at the subject). The argument that a few women have got to the top means that any women can is bogus. Those women who suceed in the male world may simply be quite masculine women (look at Margaret Thatcher).
Women should be aware of this themsleves too. Most women also believe men to be more capable in certain professions.
2/Biology
Women were dealt a bad hand here - at least in so far as work goes. Just when they are at their peak professionally they have to decide whether to have children or not. If they have children the chances are that their career will suffer. They will have to take some time away from work - by the time they come back (if they can come back) - no doubt someone else will have taken over all their projects and they will be less essential and less likely to be promoted etc. They may have to switch to part time work (which is never as highly thought of as full time).
Things are considerably worse in some professions. Young academics are only ever given short term contracts - and althought these contracts by EU law are required to include maternity cover - there are ways around it: for example in Italy they give out bursaries instead of salaries (even to researchers who have PhDs) - and a bursary means that you are considered as a student - as a student you don't have maternity cover. In Germany bursaries are also given - you don't pay tax on these, but the "employer" also doesn't pay half of your medical insurance (as is usually the case in Germany). It also means you are obliged to take out private insurance rather than state insurance and this is more expensive for women.
Women are a lot better off than they used to be in Europe but there is still a long way to go. To have equality women need to be accepted as women, not survive by adapting so that they are like men. Many women want to have children - it is a part of their womanhood - and this needs to be accepted by the workplace - if women are to have true equality.
I think there are two main reasons:
1/There is still a perception that women are less capable than men in many fields
It's subtle but it's true. If I am having a discussion about something with someone and they do not believe some fact I have put forward - I often defer to my husband. "That's true isn't it?". I do it instinctively - and people respond with belief after hearing my husband agree. Why? I am just as qualified as him - and in the same area. Why is his opinion more reliable? He is a man - that is why. It's not simply a matter of numbers - two people's opinion being better than one: it rarely occurs the other way around. And this has gone on for generations - my Mum does it sometimes - and my Grandmother did it all the time. I suppose it's learnt behaviour - and partly my fault. I am perpetuating the problem by going along with it. I am showing that I doubt myself - and believe my husabnd to know more.
The other reason the perception that women are less capable persists is because of the lack of role models. You don't see many women scientists - therefore women must not be good at science. I was actually told by someone in charge of admissions at a Cambridge college, that she thought women were less interested by science, since less of them applied for it, and that she would therefore reduce the number of women studying science at the college - so that their overall results would improve (i.e. she would only pick the cre'me de la cre'me of the women). This reasoning doesn't work. It just means that the women in science will feel more isolated - and that the ones chosen will be probably more masculine (i.e. conforming to the stereotypes that currently excel at the subject). The argument that a few women have got to the top means that any women can is bogus. Those women who suceed in the male world may simply be quite masculine women (look at Margaret Thatcher).
Women should be aware of this themsleves too. Most women also believe men to be more capable in certain professions.
2/Biology
Women were dealt a bad hand here - at least in so far as work goes. Just when they are at their peak professionally they have to decide whether to have children or not. If they have children the chances are that their career will suffer. They will have to take some time away from work - by the time they come back (if they can come back) - no doubt someone else will have taken over all their projects and they will be less essential and less likely to be promoted etc. They may have to switch to part time work (which is never as highly thought of as full time).
Things are considerably worse in some professions. Young academics are only ever given short term contracts - and althought these contracts by EU law are required to include maternity cover - there are ways around it: for example in Italy they give out bursaries instead of salaries (even to researchers who have PhDs) - and a bursary means that you are considered as a student - as a student you don't have maternity cover. In Germany bursaries are also given - you don't pay tax on these, but the "employer" also doesn't pay half of your medical insurance (as is usually the case in Germany). It also means you are obliged to take out private insurance rather than state insurance and this is more expensive for women.
Women are a lot better off than they used to be in Europe but there is still a long way to go. To have equality women need to be accepted as women, not survive by adapting so that they are like men. Many women want to have children - it is a part of their womanhood - and this needs to be accepted by the workplace - if women are to have true equality.
posted by high_horse at 4:03 AM
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