# Jobs that are gender-specific for no reason at all **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 11, 2012, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jobs-that-are-gender-specific-for-no-reason-at-all/615491 "2012-03-11T21:25:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jobs-that-are-gender-specific-for-no-reason-at-all/615491/61 "2012-03-13T02:29:59Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Sports referees. No reason why a woman can’t referee a game but it’s incredibly rare. Women’s college BB has quite a few women refs. ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jobs-that-are-gender-specific-for-no-reason-at-all/615491/62 "2012-03-13T03:26:56Z")
> [@The\_Lurker\_Above](#): > > Back when I was taking piano I went through both beginner and intermediate levels with male teachers. And the piano teacher at my highschool (we had a very good music program) was male. The only female piano teachers I knew were teaching the advanced students. We apparently don’t live in the same town. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jobs-that-are-gender-specific-for-no-reason-at-all/615491/63 "2012-03-13T03:52:24Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Women’s college BB has quite a few women refs. There are women referees at the college level and in women’s sports. Which indicates there is a pool of available talent out there that could be tapped for the major professional leagues. But of the four major professional sports leagues, I believe there is currently only one female referee: Violet Palmer in the NBA. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jobs-that-are-gender-specific-for-no-reason-at-all/615491/64 "2012-03-13T04:41:31Z")
[Sarah Thomas](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Thomas_(American_football_official)) is a CFB in Div I. Conference USA. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jobs-that-are-gender-specific-for-no-reason-at-all/615491/65 "2012-03-13T05:57:24Z")
Sound engineers. Virtually any concert you go to and the vast majority of recording studios, in nearly every case, the person behind the board is going to be male. Look through an industry magazine for [profiles of tour personnel](http://www.mixonline.com/live/tourprofiles/) and it’s guy after guy, so much so that a woman in the field is an anomaly, like[Leslie Ann Jones of Skywalker Ranch](http://mixonline.com/studios/profiles/audio_skywalker_sound_2/). One reason I can think of is that most work in the field involves really terrible hours, and rising up through the ranks so you get behind the board involves a huge amount of hard physical labor. You do a lot of lifting of speakers and amps on the way to becoming the person who doesn’t have to lift anything, which is why most sound engineers are big, burly guys like me (and possibly why we tend towards fat, having developed our eating habits while burning thousands of calories a day.) ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jobs-that-are-gender-specific-for-no-reason-at-all/615491/66 "2012-03-13T06:23:26Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Very little. Generally the “pink collaring” of a profession goes hand in hand with loss of prestige and pay (clerks become secretaries, etc.) > > I do see male flight attendants now; that used to be completely female. Male flight attendants are about 90% gay, interestingly. One of my best friends is a (gay, male) flight attendant, all his male FA friends are gay, and he dates almost exclusively within his company. He’s mentioned meeting a straight male FA before and how weird it is. Pilots are mostly male, which I can see no particular reason for except that it’s a job that requires technical proficiency, pays well, and is high status. They are also overwhelmingly straight. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jobs-that-are-gender-specific-for-no-reason-at-all/615491/67 "2012-03-13T07:51:58Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > I know there are some female truckers/loggers on the reality shows now…but are there any female ice fishers/crabbers/shrimpers? I don’t think we have a lot of ice fishers, but crabber and shrimper are traditional female occupations in Galicia, where the traditional way of doing them is on the shore and therefore can be done in shorter bouts than going out on a ship. The farms are in the middle of the estuaries - those which offer half-shifts usually have fisherwomen (not necessarily in half-shifts, but offering halfies means the company managers have mental flexibility). ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jobs-that-are-gender-specific-for-no-reason-at-all/615491/68 "2012-03-13T09:33:33Z")
> [@rhubarbarin](#): > > Male flight attendants are about 90% gay, interestingly. One of my best friends is a (gay, male) flight attendant, all his male FA friends are gay, and he dates almost exclusively within his company. He’s mentioned meeting a straight male FA before and how weird it is. > > Pilots are mostly male, which I can see no particular reason for except that it’s a job that requires technical proficiency, pays well, and is high status. They are also overwhelmingly straight. Most pilots with big airlines are trained by the Navy or Air Force. Smaller airlines have more women pilots. ---
**Author:** ![gerund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@gerund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gerund)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jobs-that-are-gender-specific-for-no-reason-at-all/615491/69 "2012-03-13T10:26:53Z")
Have you ever seen a female plumber? ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jobs-that-are-gender-specific-for-no-reason-at-all/615491/70 "2012-03-13T10:47:48Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Correct me if I’m misremembering, but aren’t you a police officer? Got to tell ya, buddy…a lot of people think there must be something wrong with a person who wants to be/is a successful cop! Why? What’s wrong someone who wants to be/is a cop? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jobs-that-are-gender-specific-for-no-reason-at-all/615491/71 "2012-03-13T11:50:48Z")
> [@rhubarbarin](#): > > He’s mentioned meeting a straight male FA before and how weird it is. Oh, hey, he’s met my friend Jim! 😃 [hijack] > [@Disposable Hero](#): > > Why? What’s wrong someone who wants to be/is a cop? 😕 Probably not a lot more than is wrong with someone who wants to be a kindergarten teacher, but there are 68 million google hits for **cops are stupid** , 1.5 million for **cops are bullies** , nearly 1.7 for **cops are sociopaths** , etc. People have lots of opinions. [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![NorthernBiker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/50afbb/32.png) [@NorthernBiker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NorthernBiker)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jobs-that-are-gender-specific-for-no-reason-at-all/615491/72 "2012-03-13T12:05:24Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > There are women referees at the college level and in women’s sports. Which indicates there is a pool of available talent out there that could be tapped for the major professional leagues. > > But of the four major professional sports leagues, I believe there is currently only one female referee: Violet Palmer in the NBA. I used to referee soccer at the high school level and club A and B league for both men and women. While you may have the technical skills( ie can referee the game correctly at any level) confidence and being able to command respect is the most important attribute. Women’s games, independent of skill level were always much easier to ref due to women generally respecting the ref’s judgment. Men tend to argue more and show less respect to the ref depending on age and gender. I would imagine the reason why you do not see many women ref’s refereeing professional sports played by men is simply personal selection bias. Women do not feel the need to subject themselves to the high level of stress of the game itself, and the additional stress of refereeing men for little additional compensation. The pay for at the HS level was the same for male or female (different for C, JV, are varsity) I would imagine the NCAA has similar pay scales. ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jobs-that-are-gender-specific-for-no-reason-at-all/615491/73 "2012-03-13T12:25:08Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > [hijack] > Probably not a lot more than is wrong with someone who wants to be a kindergarten teacher, but there are 68 million google hits for **cops are stupid** , 1.5 million for **cops are bullies** , nearly 1.7 for **cops are sociopaths** , etc. People have lots of opinions. [/hijack] OK, I see, thanks. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jobs-that-are-gender-specific-for-no-reason-at-all/615491/74 "2012-03-13T23:15:46Z")
> [@rhubarbarin](#): > > Male flight attendants are about 90% gay… Where is that on the Kinsey Scale? And does a gal have to get them _really_ drunk? ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jobs-that-are-gender-specific-for-no-reason-at-all/615491/75 "2012-03-14T03:47:21Z")
> [@rhubarbarin](#): > > Male flight attendants are about 90% gay, interestingly. One of my best friends is a (gay, male) flight attendant, all his male FA friends are gay, and he dates almost exclusively within his company. He’s mentioned meeting a straight male FA before and how weird it is. Did they start out that way or \*turn \*because of all the jetlagged and demanding women? ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jobs-that-are-gender-specific-for-no-reason-at-all/615491/76 "2012-03-14T04:46:55Z")
Not too many female mohels out there. 😃 In the urban planning field, sustainability planners are overwhelmingly female. There are male sustainability planners, but they’re a very small minority. A large majority of HR/personnel managers are female. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jobs-that-are-gender-specific-for-no-reason-at-all/615491/77 "2012-03-14T06:48:12Z")
Treasurer of the United States (which is not the same as the Secretary of the Treasury). It started back in the forties when women were virtually shut out of high political appointments. For some reason, it became a tradition to appoint a token woman to the office of Treasurer. The tradition continues even though there are now numerous other women appointed to higher political offices. ---
**Author:** ![ducati](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@ducati](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ducati)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jobs-that-are-gender-specific-for-no-reason-at-all/615491/78 "2012-03-15T02:55:44Z")
Travel Agents My mom went to work in one when I started 1st grade. She opened her own later, as did I, so I’ve known the industry for over 40 years. The overwhelming majority - I’d say 90% - was female, and of the 10% male, 90% were gay. This was awesome for a young, handsome;) , straight male, because travel agents go (or used to) on Fam trips, or [familiarization](http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fam_trip)trips. These trips would be 6 to 20 or so agents from anywhere taking a free trip to learn about a destination. The real purpose was for everyone to get drunk and crazy out of the country. What happens in Switzerland stays in Switzerland. Pre-dates Vegas by 30 years at least! Since the odds were always 8 or 10 to 2, and the other guy would be gay, fam trips became my raison d’etre. Good Times. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jobs-that-are-gender-specific-for-no-reason-at-all/615491/79 "2012-03-15T17:16:16Z")
> [@Jasper\_Kent](#): > > Animal Shelter: > > 80% female overall, but animal control officers are 60% male. > The adoption staff is 100% female and always has been. Heh. My sister was an animal control officer for years … and now she’s a nurse! Since male nurses have been mentioned, I’m remembering the time when I was working as a shoe salesman, and a male customer was looking for some comfortable, white shoes. He explained, “I’m a male nurse”. It took an effort on my part not to laugh at the way he felt the need to specify “male”. I mean, duh, you’re standing in front of me. I can see you’re male. I wonder if it’s time to change the name of the profession, in the same way “stewardess” became “flight attendant”. The word “nurse” is too closely associated with breastfeeding, a purely female pursuit. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jobs-that-are-gender-specific-for-no-reason-at-all/615491/80 "2012-03-15T19:11:05Z")
Golf Course Superintendents are predominantly male. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jobs-that-are-gender-specific-for-no-reason-at-all/615491.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jobs-that-are-gender-specific-for-no-reason-at-all/615491.md?page=5)