Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Gender Inequality









Browsing through the papers today, I saw this little letter to the editor for Philippine Daily Inquirer. The writer is male. The content of his letter was quite oblivious- GENDER DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT here in our country. And the discrimination is not directed towards women. The sentiment of this guy is actually rooted from his personal experiences. He has been trying to be hired in an office job or a clerical work in a bank. According to his letter, most companies would prefer to hire female workers because they are more focused, hard-working and well-educated. Quite offensive, but let me try to compose myself and not throw any bias thoughts here.

Surveys have it that most managerial positions are filled in by women. Also, it has been found out that women are more successful than man these days. This iota of issues is not even on the forefront of the matter. History has it that women in general have been discriminated in the past. They grew feminine brawns just to outwit the discrimination. We all know that the discrimination towards women covered almost all aspects of their being-their position in the family, their roles, education and even the right to vote. Discrimination was never swallowed with good taste. But, will it occur again-This time with men?

During my season of job-hunt, I was lucky not to experience any discrimination about my education and other stuff. Oh well, there was this one time when this company asked me if I am an activist? Again, not all PUP students are activists. Going back on the letter, the guy is actually seeking some aid from the government, for them to pass a law that will finally stop gender discrimination- be it you’re a guy or a woman, gay or not so gay.

13 comments:

Kape Kanlaon\ said...

i always have that thought too that UP students are, or some just pretend to be, activists....
hindi naman talaga lahet eh noh?
some UP students just don't even care, like the one here in cebu...
about the gender, i think there are really some job that are well done by a specific gender. we just should not constraint it to that though...

Lance

wanderingcommuter said...

madaming anyo ang aktibismo at hindi lang nakasaklaw batay sa kung saan ka nagmula... i am proud to saythat i am an activist in my own ways and if a company has problems about it, its not my issue anymore...

MakMak said...

Lance is correct, there really are some roles that can be handled better by a specific gender.

Discrimination, in general, is already a non-issue especially with multi-national companies.

Anonymous said...

ages before = the men are on top
previously and slowly now = the women
now and forever = the gays!

LOL... well, I don't know, but gay as I am I find it easy to mingle with people, be a boss at a job interview or human resource staff. i would not like to believe there is discrimination. it's just a matter of public relations, dedication to work and perseverance, and of course, passion...

Anonymous said...

Not being discriminating to mah fella men but I think I rather hire a female than men like hiring a professional employee to a newbie... Now don't get me wrong about hiring a professional from newbie but I think there are things women can do and vice versa... Men are better in computer related things and women are better in marketing related...

The Dork One said...

ugh! i hate discrimination!

whatever happened to diversity??

lucas said...

ahehe...hindi na yata mawawala yang ganyang prejudice...kahit noong unang panahon pa lang ganyan na...pero hanga ako sa babae ngayon...they have gone through a lot and now, they made their point that they are forces to be reckoned with...

philos said...

I don't know... the discrimination therein probably lies in the fact that men (usually the boss) prefers looking and working with women (secretary and stuff).

Anonymous said...

it's so sad that this type of unfair labor practice still exist.. but you as a job seeker should prove them wrong of such misconception by slapping their faces during interview.. hihihi!

pusangkalye said...

To be honest Denis, I thought so too that all PUP people are activists. I know better now....

About the gender discrimination, I say it's a 2 way sword. The experience could be irritating but could be a very good opportunity to improve and prove that people are wrong................

pusangkalye said...

I think the Philippines is one of the best place in Asia when it comes to gender equality. But much still needs to be done. It was sad to note though that in as much as there are so many women proving themselves these days, you see a lot of underachieved men who just stay on the side because they know that somebody else will do things for them. Looks like a classic example of the law of conservation of energy.....

Anonymous said...

Its almost the same thing with working abroad there's a bigger chance for females to get work... though not all.

Maybe people really experience different things from people they hire from diff schools kya nagkakaron ng descrimination? what do you think? hmmm

Anonymous said...

uhm, in our case sa office la naman gender discrimination. i think there are specific jobs which requires gender, like sa warehouse, they prefer men kasi they'll carry heavy items. in our country, we don't usually ask women to carry heavy things, but it doesn't mean they can't.. so i think it's just an option, which is up to the boss. if the boss is a he, most probably he'll prefer a she as a secretary.. something like that.. but again, a secretary can either be a he or a she.. it's not discrimination naman for me..