Feel free to move this if you reckon it would be better away from chat!
Recently I've decided to quit my job, I worked as a housekeeper/glorified cleaner. I took care of all public cleaning and laundry in a busy facility.
Anyway, so the adverts for my position have gone up in the place for customers to see, but I noticed today that there are three in the ladies toilets and none in the gents?
So what I wanted to ask is, does anyone else seem to think that targeting women and not men for this role is a bit sexist?
Of course it's sexist, celtic! Grow up! I employ a cleaning lady once a week to do the ironing and tidy up our mess as best she can. I cannot imagine putting an advert in a local paper for a man to do the same.
Though I don't doubt for a moment that there aren't men who are just as capable. But I'd feel uncomfortable with them doing it ...
So am I saying that women should be relegated to a mainly servile role - no, no, no!. But, back to basics, men were designed to go out and capture the meat and women were designed to stay at home and nurture the children. And whatever modernist nonsense may now say this remains fundamental
I think, if they chose the women based on their sex(gender? Sorry, never get it right) rather than attributes (experience, qualifications etc.) then it is sexist. Though perhaps no men applied for the job, it's difficult to know.
On the other hand, I've never seen a female refuse collector. Not saying there's none around, just never see them. Unsure why this is.
I wouldn't mind a male cleaner (I was talking to a male cleaner the other day, he seemed cool) or a female refuse collector.
Edit: Sorry, didn't read your initial post properly; yes, seems strange/sexist that there were no adverts in the men's toilets.
Last edited by whirlpools : 15-12-2012 at 10:34 PM.
I've seen male and female cleaners, in about the same proportion, at my university.
The placement of advertisements might be a bit sexist, but we don't know where else they have been placed. Also, things might depend on the type of facility and general demographic of visitors.
Of course it's sexist, celtic! Grow up! I employ a cleaning lady once a week to do the ironing and tidy up our mess as best she can. I cannot imagine putting an advert in a local paper for a man to do the same.
Though I don't doubt for a moment that there aren't men who are just as capable. But I'd feel uncomfortable with them doing it ...
So am I saying that women should be relegated to a mainly servile role - no, no, no!. But, back to basics, men were designed to go out and capture the meat and women were designed to stay at home and nurture the children. And whatever modernist nonsense may now say this remains fundamental
Tony (in primal mode).
Wow. Now that really is sexist.
I realise that there are, and always will be, differences between men and women and I'm in no way a raging feminist. However, there are men who would do a great job at cleaning and tidying, better than a lot of women. Same with male nannies and nurses etc.
If an employer doesn't feel comfortable with a male carrying out such tasks I'd say the employer needs to examine their own prejudices and ethnocentrism and that the hard-working, well-meaning employee deserves any job just as much as the next person.
Even as the stone of the fruit must break
that its heart may stand in the sun,
so must you know pain.
There are only two ways in which one can live their life. One is as though nothing is a miracle, the other is as though everything is.
I wonder if maybe they are desperate for someone to take the position and just assumed that putting some extra flyers in the toilets seemed like a good idea? I'm not saying it's right or wrong, but maybe they just really need the position filled and felt like it was more likely that they would have more luck putting some flyers in the ladies toilets, knowing that they would perhaps be more likely to stop for a minute and take notice? I don't know though. I see why you are raising this, it's a tricky one.
I'm glad you noticed this, I agree it seems very sexist. Personally I feel that this kind of reflects how women and their roles are often characterised by domesticity in our society. I think there is definately a huge gender divide in careers etc.
"I want to be magic. I want to touch the heart of the world and make it smile. I want to be a friend of elves and live in a tree. Or under a hill. I want to marry a moonbeam and hear the stars sing. I don’t want to pretend at magic anymore. I want to be magic."
How long do men take in the loo, do they bother reading anything on the walls? Maybe the employees thought it a waste to put them up in a place where they won't get seen/read. Mr tony I feel we have to slap your wrist for your comment, say sorry :p
Mand, South Wales, Full-time working, single mother to 2 scarily independent girls.
I AM A PROUD PLUMERIA SISTER
So am I saying that women should be relegated to a mainly servile role - no, no, no!. But, back to basics, men were designed to go out and capture the meat and women were designed to stay at home and nurture the children. And whatever modernist nonsense may now say this remains fundamental
Wow, just... wow. Now that is sexist, old-fashioned nonsense. Basically, what you have just said is the woman's place is in the home. They should probably only speak when spoken to and make themselves look pretty so that they can be a nice trophy for their husbands as well. You do realise that women are the main bread winners nowadays, right?
As for the advert, I don't think it's sexist. It would be sexist if they stated that only women could apply. It seems more like targeted advertising to me. Women are more likely to have part-time jobs (presuming this role is part-time), and they are more likely to be doing cleaning roles, even if full-time. That's not to say that men don't work as cleaners, or that they aren't good at it, it's just that women are more common in the sector.
As for the advert, I don't think it's sexist. It would be sexist if they stated that only women could apply. It seems more like targeted advertising to me. Women are more likely to have part-time jobs (presuming this role is part-time), and they are more likely to be doing cleaning roles, even if full-time. That's not to say that men don't work as cleaners, or that they aren't good at it, it's just that women are more common in the sector.
I agree with this. Don't think it's actual sexism, more just targeted advertising based on actual statistics. Just like they probably wouldn't put the advert up in the staff room of a school. Not because teachers wouldn't do an excellent job as a cleaner or wouldn't be allowed to apply, but because it's unlikely that they would be interested in abandoning their career in pursuit of a new life in cleaning, so the poster would probably have a more captive audience elsewhere.
