As I entered one of my first classes this semester I was a little shocked by my female professor’s response to the lack of women in the information and technology and trades fields.
Not only did she comment on the lack of women in trades and IT programs, she also assumed that the reason for this was because all women “obviously want to become nurses and secretaries,” and she was stumped by this.
It’s ignorant comments such as these that suggest women have no place in these fields. Our society and its institutions socialize us at a very early age to act according to our gender roles.
In years past, for example, some preschools divided the types of learning between male and female. Boys’ play has the foundation of architecture and engineering: building blocks, trucks, trains, cubes, and Lego. Meanwhile, girls get the ingredients to make a hearty stew. A life devoted to being a good mommy and wife, along with knowing how to diaper your baby. Mmm, I can smell the stew!
Even though this practice is much rarer these days, people who grew up influenced by that and socialized by those constructs may in turn teach their own children the same. Inequality is perpetuated despite positive changes in society.
Sorry, but none of these roles are rooted in anything other than our own social structure of false foundations and beliefs. It’s not okay to justify inequality by social arrangements.
Now let’s stew on how to shift our thinking.