However, 85 per cent of Gulf News readers chose to disagree. When Gulf News spoke to readers about gender stereotyping in the workplace, the issue seemed to be more prevalent than one would expect. Have you observed discriminatory behaviour in your office? Or has your job application ever been rejected because of your gender?
Sometimes gender stereotyping is promoted to discourage women from pursuing a career.
I work in the food and beverage industry, which is mainly a male-dominated field. I do not see many female applicants in our company. However, whenever there is one, we have to turn them down as people would not take them seriously. Additionally, they would not be beneficial to the company. I am sure they would be extremely successful in another field.
Ali Arjomandi
Dubai
There is gender stereotyping in the workplace, based on who the employer wants to see at the front line. For example, nurses or air hostesses are usually females. It is impossible to have men working in such industries, due to social stereotyping. Therefore, the stereotype works in both directions. However, I think there are more stereotypes when it comes to women.
Timothy Reducha
Dubai
I have been to several work environments where there are a number of women around. I currently work for the hospitality industry, which is largely female-dominated and one of my bosses is a woman, too. However, in this region, I think there is stereotyping against women. I may not see it in the place I work, but there are several offices where women are not treated equally.
Jerry Selayro
Dubai
While we may have grown in wealth and material acquisitions, the biased mentality remains the same. Even today I find people saying that a girl's education is to promote a healthy family and not for her independence. I wonder which era we are living in! And this problem is not limited to the suburbs of underdeveloped countries, but can be found even in cosmopolitan cities.
Sudha Kathuria
Dubai
Equality in the workplace is a myth.
I personally believe that there is equality between both men and women in the workplace. I work for an engineering firm, with both male and female engineers. Additionally, we have female managers leading a team of men. I think a woman can do anything a man can do and they should not be discriminated against. Knowledge and education do determine ability.
Roxan Morelos
Sharjah
Most of the employees in our office are men. Men have higher positions and more authority. Almost all the men are paid more. I do believe this is justified. We cannot deny that men are stronger however, women should not be treated as weak. We are trying to be independent and I hope someday things will change women receive their deserved position.
Irine Quiblatin
Sharjah
I have personally never experienced inequality in the workplace. I have seen both men and women as equals. Their job roles have been similar, so that is how I project it throughout the world. At the place I work, there is one male director to four females due to the nature of our job. Since I have never seen inequality, I think I am probably not looking hard enough.
Ksenya Prekovic
Dubai
This is not true in today's scenario where companies are giving preferences to women. The idea is to promote women at the workplace. Gender equality is no more a myth but rather turning out to be a fact. But then for women the work sometimes gets challenging if it is a male-dominated work profile. They have to prove themselves at every step to sustain the job.
Puneet Mathur
Dubai
A woman's choice of career depends on whether she has a working mum.
A woman's choice of career is totally independent of her mother's work. The most important factor is whether a woman has the ability to take up a certain career. Also, her interests are extremely important in deciding what she does. I learnt a lot from my mother in terms of her tenacity and never-say-die attitude. However, I agree that some daughters might follow their mothers into the same field.
Xiaoqing Chen
Dubai
A woman's career depends on many factors. The parents' vision for their child's education is one of them, which in turn is affected by the opportunities provided by the local government. Parents should have the required options for education. For example, we in the UAE have seen development in the finance, tourism and hospitality industry.
Philip Norman
Dubai
It is very important for a woman to work nowadays, with the increasing standard of living. Additionally, as most women are educated, staying at home can have a very negative impact on their personality. My mother is a doctor, and it makes me very proud. Gender does not make any difference in the workplace any more. Women can be chosen for positions of authority over men.
Manal Ahmad Al Ansari
Sharjah
Women need to make a decision on whether they need to continue working after they become mothers. Personally, I support the idea of women giving all their time and attention to children, even though they are free to do whatever they want prior to having children. However, there may be women who continue working for personal or financial reasons.
Rehan Khalid
Dubai
Employers feel hiring women means taking on a load of emotional or irrational behaviour.
I have never observed any gender bias in offices. I work in the telecommunications industry and we have an equal distribution of men and women. However, there may be certain industries that are male-dominated, like construction. I have lived here for 10 years and have never seen such an attitude from any employer. They pay attention to the performance and productivity of a candidate.
Jacob Thomas
Dubai
I work in a company where there are many women, and I have never come across any such bias. Sometimes women benefit when they behave emotionally. However, that may be because employers are more careful with women's sentiments. However, I feel that women are comparatively more professional and committed. Men tend to be lazier.
Saifee Mansour Tarwala
Dubai
Ihave worked with many female colleagues, and have never observed any irrational or emotional behaviour. In fact, I believe women are more competitive than men. Employees' behaviour also depends on the environment employers create. They should try to keep the office environment friendly. Women are sharp and have their own targets that they meet better than men.
Syed Muddasir Al Deen
Sharjah
I do not think this happens, neither do I encourage it. However, there are certain professions that warrant certain skills that might be gender-specific. I would look for a male candidate to handle a large manpower force. But not in every job. When it comes to office work, either of the sexes is equally capable of doing it. I have worked elsewhere but never observed gender bias in companies.
Sudhir Menon
Abu Dhabi
- Compiled by Rabab Khan and Huda Tabrez/ Community Journalists
Social community sites make easy prey for cyber crime.
Children below the age of 15 years should not be allowed to use networking sites.
There is a need for greater pre-moderation by site operators/owners.
It is impossible to control or check the sites.
NEXT POLL
I think social networking sites are:
- Fertile ground for criminals
- They need to be controlled
- Excellent tool for connecting people
To vote, log on to www.gulfnews.com
