Gender Bias

Just this afternoon, we had a laboratory exercise in one of my engineering subjects. We had to disassemble the parts of the engine to examine its internal parts, especially the piston. We were asked to group ourselves into three groups, with at least one guy in a group. My three guy classmates agreed to go in one group including a girl classmate. In our group, we were two girls and one boy. The engine assigned to us was more complicated than theirs. It was really difficult to disassemble the parts, especially that not all tools are available, one wrench was missing. Sometimes, we had to use our bare hands to turn the screws. Aside from that, we had to remember where did we get those parts so that it would be easier to assemble them back. I admit I was not used to machine works but it also does not mean that being a girl is a factor. The other group finished early not because there were three boys in their team but because they were four, we were only three and we had a different engine.

Usually, girls do not do such work. It is usually done by men. When I was a child, I admired my godmother because she is an engineer. That time, i hardly knew women engineers and maybe that was one of the reasons why I am studying an engineering course today. In our society today, gender discrimination is happening especially in jobs and other tasks. In some companies, they rarely hire women because women will get pregnant and will take maternity leave. They see women as fragile and weak.

They say that behind every successful man is a woman... But these days, women do not need to be behind men. They can be beside or even in front of them. There should be fair opportunities for both as we are all created fair and equal. I have even seen a jeepney driver who is a mother of two children. She had to feed her children because she has no husband with her. I also heard my high school schoolmate had driven an airplane. She is really something rare...