Friday, December 12, 2008

Oh those feminists

So one feminist writes a piece complaining about Obama's gross negligence in not supporting women by favoring infrastructure/construction jobs over social work and education. So then another feminist responds irately that this is a myopic view of gender roles and that the country needs to instead invest in skill building, education, and vocational training so that women will enter the construction workforce in larger numbers (only 9% of construction workers are female now).

Though I disagree with her endgame, I agree with the second feminist's proposal to invest in skill building, education, and vocational training....just not solely for women. America needs a better trained and equipped workforce. We are woefully behind, but we shouldn't force a square peg in a round hole. If women don't want to be construction workers, so be it. Yes, there are social norms that make it difficult to do a "man's job," but there are laws on the books that can protect women from discrimination while on the job - no matter what that job is. Men and women gravitate towards different types of professions. There are - dare I say - differences amongst the sexes. Why do we have such a hard time celebrating this type of diversity? As long as men and women are free to apply for whatever job they choose and there are no legal obstacles to them doing these jobs, let the individuals decide what they want to do!

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