How often do you hear of a male babysitter? Why is it assumed that a nurse is a female? What role does our gender play in the jobs we are able to or willing to get? These are often times questions that get overlooked because our society has created stereotypes and ideas that some jobs are more suitable for a particular gender. There are several career fields that are either female or male dominated. YouGov, an international research firm, collected responses about the attitudes Americans have about men and women in certain jobs. This study found that only 35% of men think that men and women are equally suited to any job (Palmer). All work environments require the efforts of many different personalities, genders, and races in order to be most effective.

As a student of a career field made up of more than 90% females, I see a real need for the workplace to more evenly represent both men and women. I would love to see the medical field move in a direction where jobs are not viewed as gender dominated jobs but rather an incorporation of different races, ages, genders, nationalities, and more. Historically, different ethnicities and women are known for being affected by discrimination. The Civil Rights Act brought about new hope for these groups of people; however, it did not stop there. Today, many career fields are still being impacted by the dominance of one gender over another. This paper will address the issue of gender segregation in the workplace and how it is affecting many different career fields and job opportunities for both men and women.

Like most issues in our society, there are two main perspectives to gender segregation in the workplace. The first perspective would be that it should not matter, and that society is able to function just fine with gender segregation existing in the workplace. The second perspective is that the segregation that exists in some areas of the workplace needs to be addressed. Although both of these could be considered the extremes of this issue I think it is important to find a balance and a better understanding of what is causing the segregation to exist. I would like to think that it is possible to feel welcomed into any career field as well as love the job. Obviously, I do not think that the solution is to push people into a job that may just not be for them, but I do think we should be challenging each other to pursue what interests us rather than conform to the stereotypes of our society. A Skeptic Magazine article about gender differences said "Jobs should be allocated by personal preference and ability, not by gender averages or stereotypes" (Hall). She argues that much of the differences that we see between men and women are driven by the culture that we are surrounded by. This leads to differences in the career fields that we ultimately choose as well. She says that there is no accurate way to indicate whether or not children can be born with these differences.

Some would say that different careers require different characteristics and talents. For instance, a construction worker is generally someone who is strong, and a preschool teacher usually enjoys playing with children. Although each of these fields is dominated by one gender neither of these characteristics indicates a particular gender as being a better fit for the job. In general, men and women exhibit characteristics and tendencies specific to their gender. Nick Collins, a writer for The Telegraph, writes an article titled "Men and Women have distinct personalities" that reveals some of the stereotypes and characteristics that are generally associated with men and women. Men are thought to be more dominant, while women are thought to be more sensitive (Collins). Each individual's unique characteristics play an important role in the career field that will most interest them, as well as the subjects in which they would perform the best. Sometimes this means stepping outside of what is considered normal and pursuing areas that best fit personal characteristics and talents. It's safe to say each gender has its own strengths and weaknesses. Where we fall short is when these generalizations create limitations.

More equality within the workplace is a necessary step that would greatly benefit many career fields. Just like traits that generally are characterized with females can be attributed to female dominated careers, I also believe that those same characteristics are what is lacking in male dominated fields, but greatly needed. Penelope Trunk, an online blogger and author, says "There are, in fact, jobs where mostly women belong, and there are jobs where mostly men belong, and that's fine" (Trunk). She goes on to talk about her disagreement with the phrase "You can be anything."  She is correct, I cannot be a man. This sentence is most often used as encouragement, however she chooses to disagree with the literal meaning. When the phrase "you can be anything" is used, it most often times means that each individual can create any kind of identity for him or herself. As genders we have many different strengths and weaknesses, there are so many career fields that could benefit from having a full representation of strengths and talents rather than those of only one gender.

As an analogy, we can think about the benefits of working on a group project that consists of both males and females. For me, in elementary school, I hated when I was put in a group with all girls. It seems like nothing productive happened because we all had differing opinions. Somehow, when the group was more evenly divided with an equal amount of guys and girls, productivity started to occur. This is the same in the workplace. The strengths and weaknesses of each of us as individuals needs to be balanced with people who are different from us. With the nursing field being made up of more than 90% females there are qualities commonly found in men that are lacking in this area. For example, if a very heavy patient needs to be moved either around the room or around the hospital several people who are strong and can help support the patient are necessary. Typically, men are stronger than women. Therefore, it would be extremely beneficial to have a more equal spread of men in the nursing field for situations just like this one. Aside from strength, having the intelligence of many more people who may think differently could significantly improve the medical field in ways that we cannot when limited to a separation of genders within the medical field.

Not only is there inequality within some careers for both genders, but we also see this issue affecting the authority positions that women are able to obtain. According to Matt Huffman from the Sociological Forum, a woman with the same qualifications as a man is less likely to be given a position of authority (Huffman). This should make us reconsider the value that we place on both men and women with regards to different positions. This aspect of gendered labor can be very emotional and men and women are both being discriminated against in different areas of the workplace. Discrimination can hurt emotionally but it is also affecting people lives financially too if they are prevented from getting a certain job because of their gender. Some people are being denied a job, even if they have the qualifications, so that the workplace could be more equally distributed between men and women. If a female has put in hard work to set her up for a great career, but she does not get a job because they are trying to bring more men into that field, they are going to be very emotionally invested and upset.

I think it is challenging for our generation to continue moving past the influence that gender has on our opinion of someone or how they are treated, but rather as individuals. As individuals we have so much to bring to the table, yet we are constantly being influenced by the limitations that exist in society. Our commonplaces often times cause these well known ideas to restrict us from having open minds. The communities in which we are a part of and involved in can skew our perception greatly. "Stress and decision making affect one another in several ways. Sometimes, being faced with a major decision can cause a lot of stress." ("What influences our decision making"). This article talks about how when we are making big decisions many different things, like our emotions, other people, and past experiences can easily influence us. The community, like sports, church, clubs, or friends that we value the most is going to be the community that influences us the most. As students prepare to enter college and are making decisions about careers and majors, it can also be very stressful. According to the University of California, the average student will change their major 3 to 5 times before they graduate from college. ("Top 10 Career Myths"). There is no doubt that this is also the case as we pursue careers.

How does what we wear affect the role that people see us having? The medical field is known for this problem. Doctors wear white lab coats and nurses wear scrubs. So what happens when you see a male wearing a white lab coat? Is he automatically a doctor? What if he is a nurse? This creates confusion for the patients and their families. So much so that under the Lewis Blackman Hospital Patients Safety Act all employees in South Carolina are required to wear a identification badge stating their name and their role in that facility. Many people were making assumptions about the job of an employee in a hospital or doctors office that was incorrect due to either their gender or what type of uniform they were wearing. This is why it is important that we do not associate a particular uniform with a role or gender.

Palmer says the number of women in the workforce is steadily catching up to that of men. (Palmer 2012). She talks about how this will give more women economic independence and professionalism. I think these are benefits that are worth noting as steps in the right direction. Based on her article we can see that creating an equal playing field where men and women can treat each other in a way where neither is superior, and professionalism is of utmost importance will allow the workplace to change for the better. Palmer also believes that women gaining economic independence has many benefits. Economic independence can produce more self-confidence, and for those that are married or dating, a healthier relationship. We must see these benefits as a motivation to encourage young people, both male and female, to pursue a higher education to then provide them with a successful career in the future.

This topic has great relevance to my life right now, which has created my passion for this topic. Ian Hulatt, a mental health nurse, says 'I think public perception is still that [nursing] is a female occupation, which sometimes makes it hard for blokes to say: "I'm going into nursing." In some ways I think the public is still unsure what it wants from nurses  --  half still think of a nurse as the subject of an erotic fantasy and the other half want to see someone with a stethoscope around their neck.' (Nursing Times). Hulatt mentions how the culture that we live in makes a big difference in determining the decisions that we make. The consequences or rewards that may come with pursuing a particular career can alter the choices that we make. In some cultures, a big life decision like this has potential to put a relationship with parents or friends at risk. Our society sets expectations for the roles that certain jobs, fields of study, and gender play in each of our lives. Often times these expectations create limitations or disappointment. Rather than pointing out these differences, we should find ways to encourage others to pursue their interests. This aspect of gender segregation in the workplace is sometimes overlooked, but I believe it is important to understand what is influencing us to pursue a variety of fields and how stereotypes play into that.

Currently, gender segregation in the workplace remains an issue. In my nursing class this semester we specifically addressed this problem. My professor used to be a nurse in the OR. Whenever a male doctor was being rude, inconsiderate, or a jerk they would have what is called a "code pink". This would alert others in the area to come and signal to the doctor that they were not going to tolerate his attitude towards their employees. Although this seemed extremely disappointing that a code like this would have to exist in the first place, it did not surprise me at all. I have shadowed in several areas of the medical field over the past few years and the stereotype that male doctors can sometimes act superior, and intolerant could not have been closer to what I experienced. Although this was just my personal experience, it did not help reject the stereotypes that I was aware of prior to my exposure. Especially as a student observing, I quickly realized they did not like me there and it was obvious that they were the most important person in the room. The medical field is not the only environment where this problem exists. I think the assumption is that this is only an issue for women. However, there are several career fields which are made up of mostly women, and for a male to enter that career field could be just as intimidating and difficult as it can be for a women to enter a field dominated by men. As Ian Hulatt referenced, because the nursing field has a reputation for being predominantly female, it can be very challenging for a male to consider entering the nursing field because it is different from what is considered normal.

The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work identifies two types of gender segregation that exists in the workplace. "Vertical segregation is where opportunities for career progression within a company or sector for a particular gender are narrowed" and "Horizontal segregation is where the workforce of a specific industry or sector is mostly made up of one particular gender." (OSHA) It is relevant to address how Europe is also handling this because similar workplace issues can be found all over the world. Although, we emphasize how the United States is affected by gender segregation in the workplace, many other countries also experience this problem. Horizontal segregation has been the emphasis of my paper and I do not believe that vertical segregation can be resolved until we work towards fixing horizontal segregation. How can we increase the presence of women as authority figures in a field where women barely exist? Approximately 20% of the politicians in the United States are female ("Statistics"). This small number will dictate the influence that women will have in politics, and it reveals part of the reason why we have never had a female president in the United States. We cannot expect the chances of a woman being elected as president to be high if their presence in politics is not high as well. By bringing more women into politics, it would create more diverse political views, and different plans of action if elected. The more options voters have when choosing a leader, the more likely it is that they will find a candidate that lines up will their own ideas, values, and beliefs. This also applies to many other career fields. If having more men as authority figures in the nursing field would be beneficial to patients, other employees, and the work environment, then we must first increase the number of men that are entering this profession.

We have a long way to go before we see equal representation of men and women in the workplace. In the mean time though, I think that the best solution would be confidence for young people to fully understand their strengths, talents, and interests as it relates to their education, and ultimately a career. It is necessary for those pursuing jobs to find encouragement from those around them, and within our communities we can do a better job of having a full knowledge of careers rather than make assumptions based on our "commonplaces". Just as the stereotypes that can be associated with race, age, etc. will never completely go away, neither will the stereotypes that are associated with different careers. However, decreasing the affect that these stereotypes have on the careers that we choose to pursue is definitely possible, and necessary if we hope to improve the problems that are related to this topic. I hope that we can continue to grow as a society to better understand the true meanings and responsibilities of a job rather than the assumptions that are tied to it. Gender-dominated career fields will be more effective, productive, and efficient if both men and women play a role.
