The gender has long been referred to as a parameter to assume the quality between men and women, and therefore employers tend to take it as a criterion in recruitment of certain positions. Personally, while I don’t mean to deny some differences related to genders, I have to say it is simplistic to recklessly deny the justification of either gender in certain positions solely based on our conventional perception.
Some devotees of the prejudice in question might argue that there do exists a physical dichotomy between women and men, notably in features like strength or endurance (not to mention the possible maternal leave of females in their future careers), which makes it difficult for many sectors to overlook the factor, for example in some labor-based positions as construction workers or other jobs requiring patience like housemaids. I suppose it is such an apprehension that compel many self-proclaimed PR experts to incorporate gender as a standard for recruitment.
Plausible though it may seem, those who jump on this bandwagon of gender difference are oblivious to the fallacy behind their assumption – there is no inherently causality between the premise and the conclusion. In other words, whether or not a job is suitable for certain groups is not an either-or question to which we can jump to an answer solely based on the so-called common belief. Contrary to what it may appear, to evaluate the capability of candidates for any positions is a task of great complexity that incorporates a range of extrinsic determinants. For example, we should not lose sight of the trend of automation in many dangerous sectors, making the role of human in these positions no more than an operator behind consoles. In this respect, it doesn’t make any sense to focus on gender of applicants if what we need is someone to operate computers. Even for some tasks that cannot be accomplished by robots, it is imperative to recognize the individual quality regardless of their gender – compelling examples include, but are not limited to, male nurses and female pilots for fighters.
In conclusion, it is irrational to set a threshold of gender for job applicants simply based on our personal presupposition of the quality between men and women.
