towards women from older men, and
definitely have ‘some feminine in them’.
- Dawn Airey is the managing director of a TV
channel. ‘In my experience, women are much
more likely to attack things head on, and men
hate confrontation. I don’t know why, but
women also work harder’.
- Dr Laura Tyson, dean of the London Business
School, finds that ‘women are talented team
players, and the need in business now is for
individuals who can lead and inspire through
influence rather than by dictating. Women are
more consensual, and the old power hier -
archies are crumbling’.
- Helen Fernandes, the first ever female surgeon
at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, argues that
‘medicine has changed and the old sexism is
dying out, but perception and archetypes still
put women off’.
Do the verbal testimonies of the successful
women detailed suggest to you that women
should pursue careers outside the home? How
possible do you think it is to combine outside
work and parental responsibilities? Can men do
more to help in the home, and is it fair to think
of domestic work as basically a woman’s
responsibility?
Make a list of men you know, and see
whether you agree with the point made by some
of the respondents in the test case that younger
men are more egalitarian than older men.
Now make a list of women you know, and
ask yourself whether they seek:
- equality with men;
- superiority over men;
- a position of subordination to men.
One of the respondents in the article took the
view that ‘there are only superficial differences
between the sexes’. Do you agree? List the
socialdifferences between men and women, and
see whether they are the result of biological
differences or differences in conditioning, or
both.
