A lot more than just a pretty face
“Men are much more comfortable with numbers and women generally are good in courses which require ‘extensive use of memory’ or must I say rote-learning” is what I heard from a male student on an Eid party, moments later he found out that a handful of students, and I must reiterate not just female students, scored terribly low in a course called Quantitative Analysis.
This certainly wasn’t the first time I had heard such a sexist statement; however, no matter how many times and when I hear this statement it infuriates me as if I was hearing it for the first time.
How many times have you heard that if female students score high they’re automatically categorised as nerds, having no social lives whereas, male top notchers are regarded as geniuses? How often do you come across people saying women score low in mathematics or calculus because they are inherently incapable of fathoming number-oriented concepts whereas, men get away with excuses such as the exam was really tough or we partied all night long?
I must reiterate that men who compete with women on the basis of gender by making such brash statements are only looking for ways to lick their wounds by hiding behind such shallow words.
For all those people who still believe that women are generally bad with numbers be informed that the physicist who discovered the square in Albert Einstein’s famous equation E=MC 2 was a woman called Emilie du Châtelet. It is quite ironic that more than half of the world’s population remembers Einstein but knows nothing about Emilie du Châtelet who played a pivotal role in his research.
Although, now only remembered by a few in the field of Physics, however, she did a great service to the world of science. Unfortunately, her gender invited many discriminating comments in her days of glory. Her mentor Voltaire once wrote in a letter that “Emilie was a great man whose only fault was being a woman”.
One would attribute his statement to the culture of days bygone, however, that is not true. Even today, women are fairly underrepresented in the fields of Physics, Chemistry and Biology. A recent study has shown that both female and male scientist subconsciously favour male students. The study further proved that the scientists considered male students more promising and competent as compared to their female counterparts without any reason whatsoever. Male students are also more likely to receive higher compensation than female students because of their gender.
It is not only the field of science and numbers in which women are stereotyped due to reasons that are best known to people who think so unwisely. Women have been known to be marginalised in almost all fields. Even something as mundane and mechanical as driving a car is also stereotyped in most parts of the world. All you have to do is type women drivers on a search engine and there will be no end to the chain of websites and studies proving that women are horrible drivers whereas, all men continue to give strong competition to Michael Schumacher.
Why are we so disrespectful towards women? Why cannot we all understand that every individual is different and possesses different sets of core competencies which make him/her unique? Why cannot we all appreciate the differences that exist between people rather than stereotyping their achievements? Have we ever wondered why are we so unfair to women? Shouldn’t we think that women are a lot more than a flip of the hair, high heels and pouted lips?
In Pakistan, gender discrimination is quite evidently a notch above other developing economies, especially in highly male dominated professions such as law enforcement. It is estimated that less than one per cent of the workforce in Pakistani police comprises women. Moreover, research also shows that it is extremely difficult for women to get promoted as a prosecutor or investigation office on the basis of gender.
It is not only law enforcement agencies that treat women differently. Even large conglomerates are exactly the same. Whilst working at one of the most prestigious organisations in Pakistan, I frequently heard sexist comments regarding how it is easier for women to either get promoted or hired just because they are women. Well, being a woman I must tell you that everyone who believes that women are promoted easily all you need to do is to look around and evaluate your current board of directors. Most of you will notice that women are greatly underrepresented in the upper echelon of the corporate hierarchy. In fact in many organisations there is a virtual ceiling which only facilitates men to get promoted after a certain level and unfortunately the practice is constant all across the globe.
Despite all the odds that Pakistani women face in terms of blatant and subtle forms of discrimination, we still have women like Yasmin Lari, Shamshad Akhtar, Musharraf Hai and Bapsi Sidhwa who have fought against the gender bias and risen to their current status through sheer perseverance. I am sure they must have heard sexist comments every now and then but it must have motivated them to work harder because every time I hear a gender biased statement I think about all the aforementioned and many more women like them who have managed to make us all proud.
It is essential to understand that in societies such as Pakistan, women have to go an extra mile to achieve their dreams and it is only humane to encourage them as much as possible. It is also significant to realise that we are also an active and integral part of the society and must be treated on equal footing.
The writer is a Reporter at Dawn.com
Give a male and female child a doll and a toy truck, each. leave them alone. The boy will always play with the truck. And the girl always with the doll. This experiment has been tried very many times with the same results. [Those who don't eventually demonstrate gender attraction 'problems'.]
as far as medical profession is concerned..i can say women are given preference in scheduling duties.resting intervals.vacations from administration as well as male colleagues…
it looks like the author of this article is venting out her frustration rather than writing something worth pondering upon……i think it shouldn’t be that difficult to understand that both men and women are good in doing different set of things owing to million of years of biological evolution……women make better home-makers and are good at things which require care like nurturing a child…men generally can’t be better than them in these things….all women ought to be proud of this……..similarly men are better than women at some other things……but i always come across women complaining about discrimination,bias,inequality…..true it does happen but men also have to face bias,discrimination,inequality……..so to say that are alone in facing bias is wrong………..
Certain things go in society and have become a pattern. What you have written is true in many other professions. Though majority will say there is no difference between women and men but very few prefer a female surgeon over a male nomatter how credible she is. Unless they are told forcefully in the hospital that this is what they get.
This bias is even present in male doctors it is commonly said by male surgeons ”women cant be good surgeons.” Though no such apparant reason is present.
Such patterns cannot be broken by education or degree alone.
The difference in achievement between the genders is more due to motivation than ability. Biologically and sociologically, men are territorial in nature while women are more nurturing in nature. Men are more driven to succeed because that gets them a big prize (a beautiful woman to produce beautiful kids), while women spend more time on personal appearance because that gets them a big prize ( a successful man to provide for her kids). Even in the most primitive societies, young men spend time battling and showing prowess, while women spend time on looking pretty. So men have more testosterone and are more aggressive.
Can we change a million years of evolutionary biology?
I need an educated wife but I’ll not let her job. Because she will be a mother.And it is the great job of universe. I don’t wana overload her
In my opinion there is no need for women to work unless its really hard to meet both ends. Men and women are created for nothing but to worship Allah. Worship of Allah includes everything like Huqooqullah and HuqooqulIbad. Men’s responsibility should be to earn Halal and spend on his family. The meaning to create Human beings is that they are given with a mind to think and with that mind they need to accept that Allah is One and this world is nothing but an examination hall and one has to leave one day for eternal journey and on the day of judgement Allah will tell him what he was doing and will decide his fate at His mercy. Quran and Prophet’s only message is the one which i described above. Just see being a woman and man what we are doing to pass that exam.
Statements made on the spur of moment cannot be generalized……both men and women have different roles in the society…….and mind it, its not just Pakistan where women are discriminated. In USA women are still paid less then men…..Hence just restricting the scope of your discussion to Pakistan is unfair………and as u mentioned in the article and I quote ” A recent study has shown that both female and male scientist subconsciously favor male students”. So when your own gender is preferring men over women how can you blame the men of discriminating against women???
“discovered square in equation: E = MC 2″
You don’t ‘dicover’ things like that! and btw, Einstein has contributed A LOT to science. E = MC2 was a footnote in one of his scientific papers.
Very few people know that. Congrats! Each element of the equation has much work behind it. Though she was related to it, the C^2 can not be attributed to one person.
Further, that woman had serious ‘fails’ as a woman. Died having Voltaire’s illegitimate child while being the mother of three other children with another man. Had other failed affairs also. Not much as a woman…eh!
Are you talking about women in general or women in Pakistan?…Because I will tell you, women in general these days can land a job far more easier then guys can. Most of what you have written is unsupported, There were many scientists whose work was included in e=mc2, most people dont remember any of them, so take it easy….
Business is results oriented. It is not a seniority system of management at the top.
A company can promise you everything and give you nothing, because business is not 9 to 5.
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Women have babies. After that they rush home and feed the family at 5PM on the dot.
My next door neighbor is a very highly paid executive in the investment business. Her Swiss husband stays home and does the cooking and cleaning and takes care of their 8 year old daughter.
My neighbor next door on the other side works for a law firm and helps her husband run a Non Profit.
They have no children. They entertain clients. Both women are living in new million dollar houses.
Two houses away an African American family have a new million dollar home. He is a McDonald’s executive and she is an executive with the National Heart Association. They both travel extensively.
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People are rewarded for the sacrifices they make and for their success. People who succeed work an 80 or 90 hour week. The money drives them. People who want leisure time and family time leave the fast track. If you can retire at 40 all the better, but most overachievers can’t stop working.
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Most young women will tell young men, “I don’t want to be rich. I only want to have enough.”
They want families.
Faiza! usually your articles are very good to read but your this article is biased – reflecting more of a woman’s thoughts rather than an independent commentator. Half of women’s problems will be solved the day they admit that they are not same as men – yes they are equal when we talk about human rights but if they were to be treated the same way, given the same responsibilities as men then what was the need to create two different sexes? Yes it correct that boys especially at young age do not give proper time to studies and work and when they under perform as compared to girls they start giving such rubbish statements like girls are good at rote learning etc. Let me tell you one limitation of women (exceptions are there) that they do not perform well under pressure – they panic, I have observed it as I work in one of the companies which are very demanding when it comes to work. I am surprised that you have written a whole article based on single rubbish comment made by a boy in a party. Men and women have different roles both with different responsibilities, attributes and different thinking. Please stop claiming rubbish equality of women rights..! Women are not being treated so badly to the extent as media portrays I personally see women being given favors out of the way at work places just to encourage them to come forward – exceptions are there but we have to admit that men and women are not equal..!
Well you are wrong sir. In my life as compared to my husband , I performed better when I am under pressure including performance at my work as well as performance at home such as kids acute illnesses. I might not come accross as intlectuall by saying that the secret of my steadfastness is that I try to do my best and leave result to Allah (SWT).
I was competitive in my studies with my brothers and cousines . However I got some gap in my professional life after I got my kids as it increased my responsibilities.
I think that is the reason that our women do not perform as good at job because they also have to deal with household responsibilities, while our men can work longer hours if needed to be as they don’t take responsibilities at home.
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I knew my comment is gonna hurt many women and that’s why i said exceptions are there and men and women are not equal!so women should not be vocal about their equal rights when they compare themselves with men because they have their own responsibilities that men can’t perform so no offences were intended and lets be realistic!
A good article though not balanced. Why women are not members of board of directors because directors who bring them up can not leave their chairs for women. They only bring them up to keep them closer. At least in government jobs I know every women enjoy leaves for more than half of the year, be it Police or Education. Some of my Police friends complain they have to share the burden of their female colleagues due to their absence. Most of the women just like to be secretaries of aide to the bosses. Other women who fail to get these positions put all their efforts to scandalize their female colleagues. This is the common story of almost every government office.
You ask any boss having worked with both the genders would tell you that its difficult to manage a group of ten female employees then a group of thousand male employees.
Every thing was moving in the right directtion,women had begun to get right share in almost every sphere BUT for these cured TTP people view has started moving in reverse.
Men are the best
Just kidding.
I have a daughter and I know she will face this discrimination when she grows up. As a Dad what I can do is to ensure that she is prepared for it and give her tools to fight it to get where she wants to go. (She is currently 2 grades ahead of kids here age in Maths and Science).
Being in Canada I did hear on CBC radio once (cbc.ca) that in a study they found that girls would either not study hard or not do well in exam conciously to ensure that they dont get better marks the guys, because it will be so uncool. espcially in subjects of Maths and Science.
My opinion, war of sexes will always be there. Individuals need to carve there own way to reach the top. There are lot of examples of south asian women who have been on top positions. If they can do it, any other woman can do it too.
And for that matter the writer herself is from fairer sex and she has opportunity to write in Dawn. Any complaints against her male counterparts?
Women have to be twice as smart — work twice as hard — have to accept 30% less pay for the same work as the men — to move upward on the corporate ladder.
They are already twice as charming personality, and twice as vocal about rights … that’s a good (or unfair?) head start.
Accepting that women and men think differently isn’t chauvinism. I accept that women are generally better and can excel in certain academic fields while men are generally better in other. It doesn’t reduce or increase the importance of one field based on gender. And neither is it set in stone, which is why its called generalization. But yes I do agree that this mentality exists but its not always the case.
being a university student and especially an engineering student i come across with these kinds of statements daily. girls don’t have brain they have memory etc… but now the conditions are changing and females are proving themselves by working with males side by side in almost every field.
Really an encouraging article for females.
“A recent study has shown that both female and male scientist subconsciously favour male students.”
Yaar Faiza, scientists do the studies, and why scientists did not favor women in this study?
Also, I am telling you my personal life experience when a teacher gave more marks to a female student than me for same answer. I respected that teacher a lot and his argument was that by doing so he wants to encourage women to study more and compete. I don’t know why I bought his argument, but it definitely happens that female students get more marks then male students on average.
“I don’t know why I bought his argument”.
Because THEN you were confident of your manliness — NOW you are – not.
Manliness??? Not sure what kind of complex you are suffering with … oh wait a minute … what do I know ….. I am not confident of my manliness now.
Listen up! we stand up and give up our seats for standing women, we digest the fact that they can get more marks so that they get encouragement, we stand out in heat and let women sit in air conditioned banks for bill payment, women get front seats in school buses like whites used to sit in front and blanks in back, there is a separate quota in assemblies just for women to give them boost in the race. I can go on and on about how the society has rules to give women more respect, give them more chances than men. Do you want to be equal? This so called man’s society is giving you more than equal. USA gave right of vote to women in 1920, we are 200 years behind USA but still lot better on women rights comparing 200 years difference.
maybe u had a teacher who had a weird way does not mean it happens universally. being a scientist in engineering science i can vouch for the fact that women have to work twice as hard just to fight the notion u as good as male counterparts and that is generally true in every country i have been in. maybe thts the reason why in general in schools are colleges specially in third world countries women are more studious and hence they get more marks
nice one..but at few point i disagree…
I highly appreciate your stance. Injustice to women in our society is at extreme. They are denied right to education, mobility, property, and decision making. They are not given any freedom at all. Religion is used to exploit them, to keep them down to grab their property. Only education is a cure but the vicious circle is hard to break without immense effort. It hearts deep insight when we cant change what is not right and just. Whatever we do is so little in this pile of illiteracy we call our beloved society.
In the United States the majority of small businesses are started and run by women. They avoid this problem by being the boss from the start. They are usually successful. They are not PhDs, but many have degrees of some kind.
They just had a better idea and made money with it.. They did not lack confidence.
Not being promoted by the board.. right??
lol …