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Work/ Career

I am doing a debate at school about equality in the work place. My side is saying that no matter what qualifications, there should be an equal amount of female workers as male workers. This is because women don't get as much time to get specialized educations, because of their families. I need some arguments, so if you have any information that you think would help me, please send it as soon as possible. Thank you, Ashley

Thanks for your note to FEMINIST.COM and for thinking of us to help with your debate. Here are some things that might help with your argument that parity--equal numbers--is the only way to equalize the workplace:

1.) Because women remain the primary care givers of the children--they are forced to take more time away from their jobs than men are. This therefore excludes them from some jobs and jeapordizes their positions in other jobs.

2.) Though some women have succeeded in traditionally male fields--banking, construction, medicine, science, plumbing--professions that remain dominated by women (i.e. more than 70%) remaind undervalued jobs when compared to professions of equal skills that are predominately male. For instance, bankers make much more than social workers, both require some post-college study; construction--which is building homes is more valuable than cleaning homes. Plumbers make much more than child-care workers. So we need to equalize the numbers in order to increase the value of certain professions.

3.) Also, you have to think of this "equalizing" as being to the benefit of men, too, not just women--for instance, maybe men will be relieved of some pressure and, therefore, able to spend more time with their children. This stress might also reduce the number of heart attacks men have and even increase their life span, which is presently approximately 7 years shorter for men than women.

I hope those suggestions help with your debate.


Amy

 

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