Biology may be the culprit of the gender differences in the certain career fields. In Doreen Kimura’s essay “’Underrepresentation’ or Misrepresentation?” she addresses the theory that women are not suffering from gender schemas in the workforce; they simply do not have the same innate characteristics as men due to hormonal differences.

A few years ago, my dad asked me to work for his home remodeling company. I was elated that he would think I was capable enough to hang with the guys, if you will. However, it wasn’t until later on that I was informed I would be working as a secretary at his office. It really bothered me because he allowed my brother to work for him on the job sites and I felt offended that he thought I would be of more help to him at the office. Now that I reflect on this experience, however, I realize that he had true intentions as I have noticed his poor typing and computer skills. I may have certain skills that neither my dad nor my brother could match and I believe my dad was trying to recruit me for the extra help where he needed it most.

Kimura brings up an essential discussion point that people often complain about the lack of women in certain fields, but fail to acknowledge the fact that there are fields that are predominately women, especially nursing. Nurses must exhibit caring and nurturing attributes, which tend to be innate in women as we are genetically predisposed to care for babies and children. Although men are just as capable of having the same characteristics, women are more likely to have the urge to pursue nursing as a career.

Both men and women outperform the opposite sex in certain areas on average. For instance, women tend to be more effective in object location memory-related situations. This skill set reminds me of my mom because whenever someone in our family loses something, she always ends up finding it before anyone else. On the other hand, males are inclined to have higher throwing accuracy which could explain why there are much fewer female athletes in sports than involve throwing such as baseball, softball, and basketball. According to Kimura, studies suggest that male hormones may be the cause of “superior spatial abilit[ies]” (Kimura 41). Therefore, many of the percentage differences of gender representation in certain careers are likely caused by biological differences between males and females, not solely because of gender schemas.

However, gender discrimination does occur in the workforce. Kimura claims that recently, more women are hired because the employer is able to pay the woman less and still receive the same work ethic as if he hired the man. I have to disagree with this assertion because I believe that women are not hired because they are thought to be not as competent as men. Of course these gender schemas are internal and often unintentional in nature. The scales might not be meant to be balanced as biology attempts to differentiate the characteristics of men and women.

Works Cited:

Brian Comic. Digital image. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Sept. 2015.  <http://www.nationalturk.com>.

Ceci, Stephen J., and Wendy M. Williams. “”Underrepresentation” or Misrepresentation?” Why

           Aren’t More Women in Science?: Top Researchers Debate the Evidence. Washington, DC:

           American Psychological Association, 2007. 39-46. Print.