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| Current topic: Equal Opportunities |
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| Current Question: |
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Are girls getting the right guidance? |
| Why are Careers Advisers regularly blamed for the continuing domination of men in occupations such as engineering, plumbing and construction? How do Careers Advisers ensure that girls are not steered towards traditional 'women's jobs'? |
| Posted: Mon Sep 3, 2007 9:55 am |
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3 Replies |
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Re: Are girls getting the right guidance? |
| I can't cite the source- memory escapes me- but I saw research a while ago showing that childrens' attitudes to gender typing of occupations is largely fixed by age 5. If this is so then our efforts as advisers will always be an uphill struggle until the generation of parents arrive who have a more open view- but of course that only underlines the importance of persisting in the effort. I do have a suspicion that our efforts are sometimes undermined by other professionals, e.g. some teachers. The gender stereotyping of choices by many of our 2500 sixth-formers is all too apparent on entry. |
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| Mon Sep 17, 2007 10:52 am |
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Re: Re: Are girls getting the right guidance? |
| Here we go again!This debate has been going on as long as I have been in what my mother used to call "this careers lark" - c. 35 years - and I resent the fact that our profession, and our colleagues who are Careers Teachers, are getting yet another kicking.I do not deny the continuing gender imbalance - and I still remember in my first job back in the 1970's trying to persuade my Boss that we should be publicising Aircraft Fitter apprenticeships at our local Girls Grammar School (I won that battle!) but I have always believed that my job was to help all my clients to achieve their careeer aims, regardless of what those aims were.If a girl wants to be a Hair Dresser, fine - equally fine if she wants to be a Motor Maechanic - all we can do is open up all options to them. I have never "steered" anyone in a particular career direction, because that is not what the job is about - but I suppose someone has to take the blame. If I may open up the debate a little, should we not be concerned that gender stereotyping works both ways?How many times have I talked to a young man about working in occupations traditionally seen as "feminine" - child care, hairdressing, nursing, for instance, and realised the enormous pressure they are under to "conform" - and not just from their peers and parents, either?I have known female Lecturers on child care courses make life for their few male students utterly miserable - and I have even been asked by one College to persuade a man to leave a Beauty Therapy course because they didn't want him but had no legitimate grounds to remove him. When a client of mine said he wanted to work with children, soon after the Soham murders, the female staff in my office threw a collective wobbler, and treated him as if he was a closet peadophile. As the only male member of the Student Support team at my current place of work, I think I can speak with some authority about gender stereotyping - my wife was once asked by a friend if it was right that she was married to a Careers Adviser -"that's not a job for a bloke, is it?" was my wife's(female) friends comment.I accept there is still, regrettably, a long way to go - but I think before getting angry about unfair criticism, we need to take a good look at ourselves as well. |
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| Wed Jan 23, 2008 12:42 pm |
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Re: Re: Re: Are girls getting the right guidance? |
| Further to this, here we go again! Any one see Judy Mallaber MP on TV recently talking about the gender pay - gap, which despite legislation still persists?Guess why Ms. Mallaber thinks there is still such a gap? It's all down to rotten carers advice, apparently! It's all our fault, folks! |
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