First in a series of three describing a day in the life of a discriminated man
Part One – Morning
John returns to work after a few days off with the flu. His female colleagues are not impressed by this, and say he has only had “man-flu”, meaning that they believe he only had a minor cold and not the flu at all. This is just one of the discriminations faced by John and other men every day, despite statistics showing that men have a life expectancy seven years shorter than women, and that women account for twice as many visits to Doctors. As well as this, women have the benefits of screening processes and health targets for breast cancer and cervical cancer, while there is nothing like this for common male diseases.
Were John to decide to change jobs, he would again face discrimination as a man. Already this morning, John has had to move heavy equipment in and around the office even though there is nothing like this in his job description. The women would make fun of John if he refused to do this, but they do not realise that the vast majority of A&E cases and industrial accidents involve men.
On average, men work four hours a week more than women, and therefore pay more tax, but do not see any advantages from this. John may think about leaving his job, but his choices would be limited; very few men are successful in getting secretarial or PA jobs, and one man was refused a job as an air steward for being “too masculine”. If a woman applied for a job as a truck driver, she would be hailed a heroine, but men are often limited by their appearance, what they wear and the type of job they are after.
John would not be alone in looking for work – even though more men than women work, male unemployment is three times higher than female. There are several training courses aimed at recruiting women to certain professions, with funding available, but again, nothing of this kind for a man in John’s position.
During his break, John has to wait as he is expected to “be a gentleman”, but when playing that card, a “real lady” would wait to be offered. This is not the only time John will face this kind of unfair treatment today – although there are no statistics to prove it, it is a known fact that men have to wait longer than women for service in bars and restaurants. A prime example of this is a club in Covent Garden who were found to be letting women in for free while charging men £15 for entry. There is also a clear imbalance in the number of men able to get a taxi when compared with women. On top of this, there are also ‘women only’ libraries and swimming pool sessions, with women also wanting entry into men-only clubs. John cannot complain to the equal opportunities commission about any of this, as they have been shown to be unhelpful in these situations in the past, while all helplines and support group are aimed specifically at women.
By Jamie Watt
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