are women stealing our jobs?
Men seem to be in short supply these days. In the workplace and in classrooms, the number of women steadily increase and the number of men seem to fall with each passing day. In some universities in Malaysia the number of female students are reported to be as high as 70%. So the question is, where are the boys? What happened to them?
Some friends of mine seem to be of the opinion that the emancipation of women that has taken place over the previous century is to be blamed for the current situation. Not a thought that I share, but hear them out. They say that women have taken over positions that have traditionally been male-dominated positions. These would include semi-skilled and unskilled works i.e. in factories etc. This leaves the males who are without a higher education in an precarious situation and unable to find work.
In academia, they feel that the current education system in Malaysia favours women. Since women are no longer confined by society to home economics, they now conquer the sciences. The way the education system is structured, with its heavy emphasis on rote learning and examinations are said to be more in tune with the way the female mind operates (though on what this claim is based on, I have no idea). School-age girls are said to more mature and more hardworking than their male counterparts thus they are the ones who end up gaining spectacular results. For the past few years, none of the SPM top-scorers have been male.
I feel that this is a rather simplistic take on the issue. Granted, the current situation is the way they presented it to be, but to say the cause of this is due to a generation of empowered women, is as if saying that that is a bad thing. What is wrong with having many smart, hardworking woman around?
Will it detriment the family unit? I don't think so. Families are not the sole responsibility of women anyway. Fathers share the blame for broken homes too.
Is it then the fault of us guys? Have we failed to make ourselves competitive? Or are they really just encroaching on our territory, which they should not be doing because it will only cause destruction of the society.
Share your thoughts.
5 comments:
Well, as some of my friends put it:
Children inherit the intelligence of their mothers.
Thus, would you not want wives who are educated, not only for their genes, but for the understanding and knowledge with which she can raise your children?
I find that women work hard because we feel like we have to (see: kelantanese women). Admittedly, the current scenario strongly suggests that we cannot rely on men for our well-being forever.
So it makes sense that with that information ingrained in our minds, that we would strive academically and at the workplace.
But I also know that given the choice between family and a career, most women will still place family first. Although some tend to regret it, once their children have grown up and they find themselves with not much to do.
The way my friends put it, they are excelling academically as a backup plan; should anything happen, they will always have something to fall back on.
That's mothers for you. Always thinking about another. :)
oh, I never thought of it that way.
You see, guys (warning generalisation ahead) usually think of modern women in very simple terms, and usually quite patronising too boot. We don't really expect modern (especially the very successful ones) girls too want a family. At the same time we also think that "Yeah girls are smart but they are only good in studying"/ "Oh, of course she gets good marks she's a girl, she only knows how to study"/ etc.
Simply put, we (this is really turning into a man vs women/womyn{whatever your preferred spelling is} thing isn't it?), we, well at least most people I know with more or less the same cultural background, don't really think of girls as anything more than study machines (in terms of academic prowess). Not much progress I know but at least we no longer consider women solely as baby factories.
Your statement that women use studies as a backup plan for the future is novel. To think that women harbour insecurities about their future (like we do) is not something we normally do.
I mean, cmon, its like if a women has a low-paying job; she has a husband to support her. If a guy has a low-paying job, he'll be lucky to have a wife.
In a way, we men perhaps have a hero complex - we'd like to think that we are the knights in shining armours - that is said 'backup plan'.
Sadly my brothers, if what she wrote is representative of the femalekind, we are not really needed nor wanted that much.
Hope academic excellence will take care of you guys better than we did.
Well now.
That last sentence was borderline masochistic. To generalize things, you know.
That's the problem with men, I suppose. It's always either/or. Which explains their inability to multitask, somewhat.
From what I understand from your comment, it seems as though there is a concern among guys that we will take away the breadwinner status from them.
Consider this: with the increase of divorce rates everywhere, and the infamously Malay scenario where the husband abandons the wife and children, it makes sense that women need to have security.
And by the way, here's another picture: What if the woman doesn't ever get married? What then? Or how about when her husband dies, and she is left to care for her children by herself?
I know that Islam insists that the woman is well-cared for, especially financially, but we live in a world where such principles are viewed as ideals, not as something practical.
And back to the wrestling match for breadwinner status, let me clear it up: Women do not intend to play either/or. Eve was created to support Adam, and in accordance to age-old tradition, support them we shall, in whatever way we can.
A woman's need to provide, either emotionally or financially, is not something we ask for. It's always been in our genetic makeup. It's what we were made to do. We don't intend to compete, only to help in any way we can.
It's just a shame that men feel like this is some sort of competition. Don't worry. We will always lose when it comes to machismo.
(BTW, I can safely say that what I've said thus far is based on consensus. We discuss this issue now and then, especially when exams come around and we have to remind ourselves of what we're doing this for.)
This article will provide more depth for the issue, in sha allah.
Boys will be boys - Abdal Hakim Murad.
In a nutshell its about latter day feminism from an islamic perspective where the author argues that the issue is not about 'equality' but rather 'opportunity and respect'.
"Sadly my brothers, if what she wrote is representative of the femalekind, we are not really needed nor wanted that much.
Hope academic excellence will take care of you guys better than we did."
Quite honestly, I found fault with only the above passage.
I suppose what I failed to address in my earlier comments is that yes, we do perform better academically, but we do have limitations. And my friends and me, at least, do not work hard at school, merely to compete with guys.
In fact, we have found that when guys put in the effort into schoolwork, only the most hardworking of us can surpass them. We know as much. Intelligence is something that is more present in men, whereas we are more emotionally attuned.
I understand what Abdul-Hakim Murad is trying to address in his speech (or the half that I have read, anyway), what with me having been staunchly feminist when I was younger. I must also say that I do not agree with feminism anymore. It simply tries to ignore the finer details and survives on the subsequent hoopla of a half-baked idea.
Men and women are equal, but different, and these obvious differences will remain with us until the end.
The thing I found most provoking about your reply to my comment was the fact that you seem to think that our need to preserve security (via academic qualifications) equates our lack of need for male presence in our lives.
Women need men, and vice versa. In more ways than a monthly checque could ever promise. And that is something that will never change.
'...They are your garments and ye are their garments..." (2:187)
But I think we have deviated from the main issue far enough.
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