# Gender discrimination: What endeavors are closed to men? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 27, 2014, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gender-discrimination-what-endeavors-are-closed-to-men/705725 "2014-11-27T00:01:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gender-discrimination-what-endeavors-are-closed-to-men/705725/101 "2015-04-02T20:08:19Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > The prison population is overwhelmingly male. Which suggests either that males are sentenced more severely, or that the forms of social deviance in which women tend to engage are less likely to be criminalised or, if criminalised, are less likely to attract a custodial sentence. _Or_ that society has decided that Men must be the breadwinners and men turn to crime to support their family. But of course, males _are_ sentenced more severely. And when men get angry and attack, they are much lore likely to do significant or deadly damage, and thus go to prison. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gender-discrimination-what-endeavors-are-closed-to-men/705725/102 "2015-04-02T20:12:53Z")
> [@Flywheel](#): > > Treasurer of the United States. This is not true. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gender-discrimination-what-endeavors-are-closed-to-men/705725/103 "2015-04-02T20:15:45Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > For example, are there any professions that are, by law, limited to women in any jurisdiction, especially a western one? Are there any countries where men are not allowed to be practicing midwives, nurses, elementary school teachers, or flight attendants, or where the social barriers to entry are so overwhelming that one can clearly identify a significant _de facto_ ban (not just a little social awkwardness, but enough pressure to dissuade most men from trying)? Other than social barriers (and of course Midwife, nanny, baysitter, etc fall into that for men) what professions are, by law, limited to\* men\* in any jurisdiction, especially a western one? ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gender-discrimination-what-endeavors-are-closed-to-men/705725/104 "2015-04-02T20:26:35Z")
It’s unlikely that there will be a male [miko](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miko) anytime soon. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gender-discrimination-what-endeavors-are-closed-to-men/705725/105 "2015-04-02T20:39:03Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > (Bold added.) > > I find that statement disturbing and questionable. Can you provide some support for this? 18 and 19 are “teen aged” are they not? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gender-discrimination-what-endeavors-are-closed-to-men/705725/106 "2015-04-02T21:27:22Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > I also hear about male nannies all the time. They even have a name: mannies. Here’s an [article](http://www.parenting.com/blogs/pop-culture/shawn-parenting/rise-manny) that says that their numbers are on the rise, and that many parents are looking specifically for male nannies. My wife taught at a nanny school for a while, and did housing, and there was one male nanny, who boarded with us. He graduated and did not have any trouble finding a job. My brother for some reason known only to him majored in family planning in college. His job search did not go well. Fortunately he is also a good mechanic, which is what he did until he got into IT. ---
**Author:** ![jezzaOZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9a28c/32.png) [@jezzaOZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jezzaOZ)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gender-discrimination-what-endeavors-are-closed-to-men/705725/107 "2015-04-02T21:36:11Z")
It’s not universal but call-centre operators are mostly women or gay men. I worked at one Telco where the Human Resources lady had a policy where she would only hire woman and gay men unless she had no other choice. I think the theory was they were more empathetic with customers. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gender-discrimination-what-endeavors-are-closed-to-men/705725/108 "2015-04-02T22:06:05Z")
> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > Reviving this to post an update. > > I don’t know if this link will work, but there has been an incident in a neighboring town that has somehow cemented my wife’s determination not to let my daughter go into the male 4th grade teacher’s class. Totally illogical. Totally predictable. > > [https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/04/01/bridgewater-state-student-charged-with-sexually-abusing-children-campus-day-care-center/7cBatpLxGPdQtw4IKWCXjM/story.html](https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/04/01/bridgewater-state-student-charged-with-sexually-abusing-children-campus-day-care-center/7cBatpLxGPdQtw4IKWCXjM/story.html) Have you tried pointing out that he’s accused of sexually assaulting _male_ children? ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gender-discrimination-what-endeavors-are-closed-to-men/705725/109 "2015-04-02T22:53:48Z")
Has masseuse already been mentioned? It’s a mainly female occupation here in the US. Also, NFL sideline reporters are all female as far as I know. There’s some stores that hire mostly women such as Hallmark, Baskin & Robbins and the shopping mall corn dog chains with employees wearing the ridiculous tall hats. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gender-discrimination-what-endeavors-are-closed-to-men/705725/110 "2015-04-02T22:54:13Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Have you tried pointing out that he’s accused of sexually assaulting _male_ children? Hard to imagine that any parents would really want their daughter taught by a teacher who assaults her male classmates, though. Doesn’t sound like a good environment for anybody involved. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gender-discrimination-what-endeavors-are-closed-to-men/705725/111 "2015-04-03T11:00:19Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Have you tried pointing out that he’s accused of sexually assaulting _male_ children? Are you serious? These women are up in arms because we’ve had a few cases of male teachers, male day care attendants and male priests sexually abusing kids in the last few years I this small geographic area (South Shore of Greater Boston). And zero reported cases of female abusers (at least ones that made news headlines). The proportion of men in these professions that have access to young children (preschool teachers, elementary school teachers, Sunday school teachers) in the first place is vanishingly small. They react by pulling their kids out of catholic schools, CCD classes and school class sections with male teachers. My point was that this may be painting male teachers with an unfairly broad brush. And I’m going to lead with my chin by pointing out that we have nothing to worry about, because Mr. Abc, even if he is a potential or actual child sex abuser, probably would prefer boys? So our little girl is probably safe? ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gender-discrimination-what-endeavors-are-closed-to-men/705725/112 "2015-04-03T11:53:18Z")
First Lady. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2015, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gender-discrimination-what-endeavors-are-closed-to-men/705725/113 "2015-04-05T13:01:46Z")
> [@JustinC](#): > > First Lady. Yeah, but that’s just a terminology thing, like saying a guy can’t be Queen. He can still have the job, he’d just be King. In the case of First Lady, if Hillary’s elected, Bill will be First Lord. Or, you know, something else. But he’ll be doing the same job. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2015, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gender-discrimination-what-endeavors-are-closed-to-men/705725/114 "2015-04-05T21:11:24Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Yeah, but that’s just a terminology thing, like saying a guy can’t be Queen. He can still have the job, he’d just be King. In the case of First Lady, if Hillary’s elected, Bill will be First Lord. > > Or, you know, something else. But he’ll be doing the same job. First Dude. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2015, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gender-discrimination-what-endeavors-are-closed-to-men/705725/115 "2015-04-06T01:46:13Z")
There is a newish cab company like uber but for driving your kids around called [shuddle](http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/02/15/shuddle-offers-ride-hailing-for-children/23263045/). They don’t explicitly ban male drivers, but so far their hundreds of drivers all happen to be women. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2015, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gender-discrimination-what-endeavors-are-closed-to-men/705725/116 "2015-04-06T15:26:45Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Hard to imagine that any parents would really want their daughter taught by a teacher who assaults her male classmates, though. Doesn’t sound like a good environment for anybody involved. That guy’s not at the same school. > [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > … I’m going to lead with my chin by pointing out that we have nothing to worry about, because Mr. Abc, even if he is a potential or actual child sex abuser, probably would prefer boys? So our little girl is probably safe? Just throwing it out there. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2015, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gender-discrimination-what-endeavors-are-closed-to-men/705725/117 "2015-04-06T17:15:21Z")
> [@bengangmo](#): > > Yeah there is a lot of research on the subject, and it is considered a very real and verifiable problem. > > At the Pre-School level it’s even worse. Round here, a male kindergarten teacher is virtually unheard of How easy is it, in general, for men to become primary school teachers? I used to know a guy in college (here in the US) who was in, or at least considering applying for, a teacher preparation program here. He had mentioned that US programs often actually give men [an advantage](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affirmative_action) in the process of applying and that he was hoping to take advantage of that. For those who have experienced teacher preparation programs (in any jurisdiction), is that actually true in a meaningful sense? E.g. will they take men with lower test scores, etc. as long as they pass the background check? E.g. “He almost failed the teacher exams, his GPA is marginal at best, but he doesn’t have any sexual convictions. Bring him on!” ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2015, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gender-discrimination-what-endeavors-are-closed-to-men/705725/118 "2015-04-06T17:18:50Z")
> [@jezzaOZ](#): > > It’s not universal but call-centre operators are mostly women or gay men. > > I worked at one Telco where the Human Resources lady had a policy where she would only hire woman and gay men unless she had no other choice. I think the theory was they were more empathetic with customers. Is this not grounds for a lawsuit? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2015, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gender-discrimination-what-endeavors-are-closed-to-men/705725/119 "2015-04-06T18:29:04Z")
In the US, yes. Not sure about the gay part but telemarketers in the US are [much more likely to be female](http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat11.htm). ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2015, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gender-discrimination-what-endeavors-are-closed-to-men/705725/120 "2015-04-06T19:18:58Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Is this not grounds for a lawsuit? Only if it’s provable in a court of law. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gender-discrimination-what-endeavors-are-closed-to-men/705725.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gender-discrimination-what-endeavors-are-closed-to-men/705725.md?page=7)