Are there any jobs that should be done only by men or only by women?

Are there any jobs that should be done only by men or only by women?

I find this issue really fascinating to discuss, as it reflects a lot of social changes regarding the roles of men and women, which have occurred in Europe and America for the last sixty years. Before the war, women were not generally supposed to go out to work. It was men who were primary breadwinners. Working women were often laughed at and so were men who wanted to get involved in their family life. The Second World War brought a real revolution – since men went to war, women had to take over in factories and companies. Amazingly, they turned out to be efficient workers. When the war was over it became clear that the working world no more belonged to men.

Nowadays a lot of women go out to work not only because men sometimes do not earn enough to support the family. Ladies consider professional duties as a perfect opportunity to pursue their ambitions and develop their talents. Unfortunately, more women do badly paid jobs such as nursing, teaching, or selling things in shops, than working as executives or other high-powered officials. In most companies women and men do not have an equal status – it is men who become plant managers and women who are responsible for secretarial duties. I find this unfair because I would really like to see more women in the parliament, the army and all kinds of industries. Girls are often discouraged from studying at technical universities or reading social sciences because engineering and politics are considered „jobs for the boys”.

On the other hand, some men may take to teaching young children or working as personal assistants rather than chief executives but in the end they become plumbers or truck drivers because their families and friends ridicule their „feminine” ideas. I cannot say I agree with the popular statement that certain jobs should not be done by women or by men. Obviously, there are some exceptions to this rule like being a miner but it is also hard and dangerous for a lot of men. I have read about female firefighters and they seemed to be emotionally stronger and more self-disciplined than their male colleagues. I really do not like the fact that there are so few male nurses or kindergarten teachers. Working in hospital requires a lot of physical strength and stamina and an overweight patient is too heavy for a female nurse to lift. Besides, male patients feel more comfortable when a man looks after them. Someone I know is a kindergarten teacher and children just love him. I think that every child needs to be brought up both by women and men whereas in kindergartens and schools children are taught mostly by women.

To sum up, I suggest there should be more free choice in terms of women and men on the job market. If they like, women should be allowed to do the jobs traditionally done by men. There should be no situations when a man feels ashamed to do a certain job because he might be considered a wimp. More men should also stay at home and look after the kids – like in Scandinavia so that they could see that doing household jobs is hard work to do. Currently the situations when the woman works and the man is unemployed very often leads to marital crises. This would not be the case if more men stayed at home.

Pytanie, które może zadać egzaminator

Should women be paid for doing household jobs?

I strongly believe that women should receive a salary from the government or at least a benefit for their work at home. Now they do a lot of tough, unpaid work and husbands often think that their own work is more valuable because they get paid for it. Bringing up children and doing all sorts of household chores is very demanding and exhausting. Another argument for rewarding housewives with some money is that if they never worked and their husband suddenly dies or leaves them, they find it very hard to survive on their own. They definitely should have some financial security.