You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
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Women and men are commonly seen as having different strengths and weaknesses. Is it right to exclude males or females from certain professions because of their gender? What is your view? Explain your position.
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
You should write at least 250 words.
Sample Answer 1:
Traditionally men and women work in different fields. Though they have always worked together to build a better world, a subtle difference has always been there in the types of employment they have done. The modern world has changed this perspective to a great extent despite some people’s old-fashioned views that a woman should look after the family and a man should be the bread winner. In my view, gender equality is far more important than considering which sectors are more suitable for a particular gender and which are not.
Some people might present traditional arguments regarding the suitability of some posts for females and some others for male, but the modern era teaches us otherwise. In fact, greater freedom of choice in terms of employment can accelerate the development of a nation than the old way of distributed work pattern. For instance, it is believed by many that a female is more suitable for a profession that requires tenderness and caring while men are more adept in doing tasks those demand more physical strength. Thus, according to their opinion, more women should become nurses or teachers than males while logging, mining, and construction works should be solely done by males.
However, making occupations more open to both genders have distinctive advantages and in certain cases, mixed-gender work environment outperforms the single-sex workplace. For instance, having an all-female hospital is quite challenging and not a pragmatic idea at all. Men and women can bring diverse perspectives and approaches to a job and a school with both male and female teachers has better teaching environment than a single-sex-teacher one. It is quite logical that a female patient would feel more comfortable to consult with a female doctor while a female police would better understand the domestic violence and bring superior strategies for dealing with the problems. Though traditional view does not support women to become doctors or police, we can definitely understand their needs.
To conclude, innovation and advantages the gender equality in job sectors can bring is far-reaching and have greater benefits for the society. The time has come for us to break the traditional and outdated belief of gender-suitable-profession.
Sample Answer 2:
It is evident that the gender gap is closing in the vast majority of occupations in today’s society. However, some remain with the opinion that females and males are born to have differences in terms of their vocational preferences. Despite this, I would argue in this essay that it is wrong to exclude a certain gender from a certain occupation.
It is undoubtedly true that a certain gender could be more appreciated in some professions. It is mainly determined by the biological differences between males and females. For example, females are perceived to be more caring and nurturing by nature, so that they could be more suitable working in nurseries and hospitals; whereas, males are more likely to be employed in mining and construction industries because they are physically stronger. In those cases, the gender gap may remain in the short future.
However, for the vast majority of professions, making occupations more open to both genders has significant advantages. Different genders could bring different perspectives into work, which could generate more possibilities for a company’s development. For example, a male nurse could offer his unique experience to a female-dominated team in order to promote a more holistic care to patients in both genders. Moreover, there is evidence that a mixed-gender working environment is often proven to be more efficient. Therefore, companies could benefit from the different perspectives and efficiency that mixed gender teams bring.
To conclude, although some occupations remain to be female or male dominant, there are more advantages to allowing both genders have the freedom of their vocational choices. Companies that facilitate this equality could benefit from the increased possibilities and efficiency.
[ Written by –Huan Ruan ]
Sample answer 3:
It is generally believed that in some cases, males and females have difference ability, skill weakness, limitations and natural talents, especially in a workplace. I am of the belief that they should be distinguished for certain work fields. Assigning the right person in the right place would enhance performance and increase the profit and productivity. I would explain two examples to reinforce my view.
Initially, women tend to be more patient in teaching toddlers and adolescences than men. In addition, women better understand what children want and like. Moreover, it is common that woman teachers are higher in number than male teachers in nursery and primary schools. This strength could be best used if women have had more opportunities in teaching children, nursery or any fields that relate to the teaching and interacting with the toddler. Likewise, female are naturally caring and nursing is a great profession for them. It is not uncommon that we can see more female nurses in hospitals that their male counterparts. So from this regards, I agree that some professions are more suitable for female whereas others are to men. Providing that gender base priority in some professions is not a bad idea at all.
Another example is male’s natural strength. On an average, men are physically stronger than women. For example, generally labours are mostly males as this job requires hard work and physical strength. The work fields that require more physical strength could be reserved for male employees. Likewise in many jobs employees need to work at night and work publicly which might be inconvenient for female employees in many countries. For such jobs, males should be given priority, I believe.
Lastly, men tend to use their logic first but women use their feeling first. Meanwhile, men like extreme challenges than women. Mining in offshore is one of the professions that need logic, bravery, and physical strength at the same time. Men are suitable for doing this job because not only for those requirements but also the commitment to work overtime.
To sum up, it is right to exclude men or women in certain work fields. People work based on their passion and ability. Educational background, enthusiasm, skill, talent and suitability can increase the performance and some jobs could be more suitable for male while others for female.
Written by –Nurul Izzah ]
Sample answer 4:
Nature has made males and females with a different set of characteristics and these contrasts in feature make them adept at certain tasks, according to the common belief of the society. However, in this era, when gender equality has already been accepted and both males and females proved that they can be equally fit in any job, excluding a certain gender from a particular profession is no longer an acceptable and wise option.
To begin with, according to the common social dogma, women should stay at home, take care of the kitchen and up-bring children while men should have a career, earn money and take important decisions for the family. Though this was a widely accepted idea in the past, it has started changing and women in certain professions have outnumbered their male counterparts. For instance, the number of female teachers has already exceeded the number of male teachers in many countries according to an online report. On the other hand, men have proven that they can be as good as females in child care and nursing. The time has come to forget the old dogma and accept the fact that gender equality is longer an option, but a must in job sectors. Women are no longer ready to be confined within the walls while males have forgotten their prejudices and started switching the roles.
Furthermore, while selecting someone for a job, the authority should look for a suitable candidate and that person can be either a male or female. The widely held belief that women are less suitable in professions that require physical strength, logical reasoning, mental power, diplomacy and dealing with others is no longer acceptable in the society. Many female presidents and prime ministers in the world have proved that it is a baseless theory and tech giants lie Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Yahoo! Do not employ people based on their gender, rather they put more emphasis on someone’s quality and potential.
To draw a conclusion to the discussion, despite some physical differences, both men and women have similar talents and possibility. The old dogma of gender-based role is no longer tolerable in the modern era and this is why someone’s talent and skill should be the primary reasons for the suitability for a job, not the gender of the candidate.
Written by –Annie Brooke ]
Sample answer 5:
Throughout the history, a difference could be observed in the type of jobs men and women have done. However, this old belief that categorises men and women for certain jobs has changed in the modern era and these days, both genders have a greater freedom to choose a career. Some people might possess the old dogma in this regard, I personally, however, believe that gender equality must be encouraged.
One group of thought advocates that male are physically stronger and have less vulnerability while working in a group of people while females are better caretakers and soft-hearted. This is why, according to them, certain works like logging, coal mining and construction works are more suitable for men while teaching, cleaning and nursing should be done by females. While all-female or all-male employee concept is supported by some, I think a balanced workplace, where an equal number of men and women work together, is more suitable in terms of social, economic and gender equality perspectives.
It is more practical to make occupations open to both sexes as it has distinctive advantages. Due to a slightly different way of dealing an event by men and women in general, having both male and female employees in an organisation brings more innovations and open new opportunities. For example, a female police officer may have a greater understanding of domestic violence and a better range of strategies for dealing with the problem while a male nurse can better judge the need of a male patient in a hospital.
To draw the conclusion, gender-based occupation at a first glance may seem beneficial but in reality, the gender equality can ensure better performance, innovation and social progress.
[ Written by –Alfred ]