Sexual discrimination vs society

Sexual discrimination is when someone is treated unfairly or differently because of their sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or expression. It can happen in various settings, such as education, the workplace, health care, and public services. Sexual discrimination can have negative impacts on people's mental and physical health, self-esteem, career opportunities, and social relationships.

Sexual discrimination is not only wrong but also illegal in many countries. However, it still persists due to stereotypes, prejudices, and ignorance. So, picture this: you walk into a bustling restaurant and the first thing you notice is that the waiters or workers (except maybe security) are all women, while the management positions are dominated by men, that's a classic example of sexual discrimination and I have experienced something similar which I will talk about later on.

Unequal pay is another classic example of sexual discrimination. Imagine doing the same job, putting in the same effort and skills as your colleague, but somehow you're getting a smaller paycheck just because you have different chromosomes
Now, let's clear one thing up right away: this issue isn't limited to only one gender. Both men and women can experience sexual discrimination. It's a problem that can affect anyone, regardless of their identity.

My experience

Before I begin, let me ask a question: Are secretary jobs reserved for female folks alone? This was something I observed many years ago. It was 2016 and I was still trying to get into the university but getting disappointed all the time. I decided to go look for a job to at least save up some money for when I eventually get admission into the higher institution of my choice.

A friend of mine advised me to visit a particular area where tiles are sold and I will be lucky enough to see a vacancy. I took his advice and went to the area and luckily for me, I saw a vacancy for a secretary and I immediately applied but I got a shocking response from the manager; "sorry we only employ girls for that role, if you want a job, then we can employ you as one of the boys that offload or on-load tiles".

I wanted to leave immediately but I decided to ask the manager why they can't employ boys as a secretary? "what if I'm more qualified than the next female you employ?", I asked. He simply laughed and asked why as I boy I will want to be a secretary, and then he later added that the reason why they employ females as secretary is because customer needs to see a friendly and beautiful face when they come into the store (lol, sexual exploitation)

So a male can't be friendly? Well, I finally understood the reason behind their decision to only employ females for that role, so I left. I took a survey of the other tiles shops in the area and realized that the secretaries are all females while the males work as tiles offloaders and on-loaders. Well, I can't say I blame them because that's the way society has painted the picture: most men are more likely to walk into a store if they see a beautiful lady there as the secretary

Will this ever end?

I have seen men working as secretaries although it isn't as common as female secretaries but at least it still happens. One profession that faces this issue a lot is nursing: it's very rare to see a male nurse and when people see one, they hear things like "Why will you choose to be a nurse?" Then for the female folks, it's very rare to see them in the engineering field and when some of them end up there, they aren't given equal opportunities like their male counterparts.

To stop all forms of sexual discrimination, society needs to be reoriented on the proper way to treat people despite their gender. We need to raise awareness and educate ourselves and others about the diversity and equality of human beings. We need to challenge the norms and expectations that limit people's choices and freedoms based on their sex or gender. Laws should be put into place as well that will prosecute anybody that engages in any form of sexual discrimination. It will be hard to eradicate it but it's very possible.

Thanks for reading

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