Restorative Justice
Women in Male-Dominated Occupation
For women who work in male-dominated jobs, they often face a lot of challenges. The first one is the societal beliefs and expectations concerning their leadership abilities. The second one is pervasive stereotypes, like that of office housekeepers of “caring mother.” The other challenge is that they face higher anxiety and stress compared to women who work in different field. These women are vulnerable to sexual harassment, and they lack the career development and mentoring opportunities that they need.
Caren White works as an electrical engineer, in a Lighting Corporation. At her workplace, most women occupy administrative jobs, and therefore, they are always in the office. But for Miss White, she has to be in the field most of the time, installing electricity, doing repairs or any other task as evident in her job description. Surprisingly, even some men in the company work in these administrative posts, and this depicts a clear reverse roles. In an interview with her, she revealed that out of the 50 employees in the company who have to be sent out on duty, there are only three ladies, less than 10%. I was interested in digging in further and finding out why she pursued this career path, which is mostly occupied by men.
Miss White admitted that when she was in high school, she always had a passion for subjects that are considered to be passed by men, like Maths, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. She showed exemplary performance in these subjects, and her grades were better than many of the male classmates. She made a decision that she would choose a career path in line with these subjects, and she ended up being an engineer. The best part is that her parents were not hesitant with the choice that she made. In fact, her father gave her the full support that she needed. Physics was her favourite subject, and she knew that if she chose anything in line with this subject, she would thrive in her career because it was her passion. She also pointed out that she does not feel the effects of sexism or tokenism because all her colleagues have accepted her the way she is. Miss White insists that in this century, things have changed. The societal perception of women have taken a different direction, and women have proven that they can thrive in these male-dominated industries.
The list of questions asked in the interview are as follows:
- What drove you into pursuing a career path that is male-dominated?
- What did your parents say when you told them you wanted to join an engineering school?
- How was your journey of seeking employment? Did it take long before your employed, after you completed university or it was an easy task to find employment?
- How do women view you in the workplace?
- What challenges do you face in your workplace because of your sex?
- How do you relate with your colleagues when you are out in the field? Do they give you lighter duties because you are a woman or do you perform equal coequal duties regardless of your sexes?
- What is your relationship with the men in your company who work in the offices, in administrative positions? How do they view you?
- What is the best part of doing your job?
- What is the worst part of doing your job?
- What can you say about these occupations that are considered to be male-dominated?
- What advice can you give to women out there who want to venture into this field?
- Who do you look up to?