A security industry blog I follow posted an interesting discussion thread today: "Do women find physical security less interesting than other professions?" This question was posed in response to a conversation about lack of gender diversity in the security industry. As an employee of a large tech company that manufactures video surveillance products, I had a few thoughts on the subject. I posted in the discussion thread on the other blog, and thought I would share here as well.
Source: Kidteez.com
From a very young age, girls are steered away from interest in math and science, while boys are encouraged in these same areas. This gender bias can start with parents; then teachers and toymakers contribute to this trend, putting male students and female students into separate, gender-based boxes. This starts at birth and goes all the way through college, where any women who have steadfastly clung to their interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) then have to deal with sexist bias from their college professors. These issues have a lot less to do with what men and women are naturally interested in and more with what our society tells them they are supposed to be interested in. If a woman has been picking up subliminal and not-so-subliminal cues her whole life that tell her she isn’t suited for a career in STEM, it’s not very likely that she will wind up in a STEM-based field like physical security.
Earlier this year I had the privilege of working with a nonprofit organization that’s dedicated to providing STEM learning opportunities for middle school students in low-income communities. A team of volunteers from my company taught a class on engineering design. At the start of the semester, there were 15 boys in the class and 10 girls. At first the girls were reserved and didn’t participate as much in classroom discussion. Luckily the lesson plan included a lot of hands-on activities, so all the kids had the chance to work together and build things. The girls were encouraged as much as the boys were. By the end of the ten-week class, the girls were outshining the boys. They were engaged and energized because they had been provided a safe environment, free of judgment, to explore new interests. I can’t think of a more powerful example of female desire and capacity to embrace technology than that.
After I posted the above on the discussion board, someone scoffed, "a lot of physical security is maybe only 50% STEM. A lot of it is just plain old hard labor. And it's those type of jobs that I imagine women shunning."
Even if you omit STEM from the equation, the idea that women shun "plain old hard labor" is simply not true. It's based on a stereotype that women are delicate creatures who don't like to sweat or get their hands dirty. Any woman who works as an emergency room nurse, an elementary school teacher, a waitress, or a housekeeper in a hotel would laugh that that idea. Not to mention any woman who has ever raised a child or who has ever handled a higher percentage of household work than her spouse. Not to mention the US Women's Soccer Team. But I digress.
Again, when societal messages tell us that certain genders are capable of certain activities and incapable of others, we build a self-fulfilling prophecy where people avoid the career paths they are told are unsuitable for them. Why aren't there more male elementary school teachers? Is it because men are genuinely uninterested or incapable of teaching children? Of course not -- that would be an insult to every father who has lovingly raised a child. Rather, it's because that boys are told that teaching grade school is a woman's job -- and they will likely not have any male grade school teachers as role models to counter this argument. The same goes for a woman who might be considering a career as a systems integrator.
Let's say that a woman rises above societal expectations and gender stereotypes and gets a job in an industry that involves plain old hard labor. There are still more obstacles in her path. If she is a mother, her career opportunities decrease unfairly. She is likely to encounter gender bias when being considered for a promotion. She is likely to face sexism and sexual harassment on the job. You may have seen this recent news item about female laborers: Con Edison is paying $3.5 million dollars to 300 female field workers as a result of a gender discrimination lawsuit. I'll quote directly from the press release:
"The impacted women worked with men in the field in manholes, power stations and other positions involving physically strenuous activities and maintaining the public's access to electricity. While working in such traditionally male jobs, the women alleged that they were:
denied, delayed, and given subpar on-the-job training as compared to their male peers;
assigned menial, 'make-work' tasks and isolated by male co-workers in group work settings;
refused or stonewalled when seeking admission to classes necessary for promotions;
not provided tools or safety gear in situations where male co-workers were supplied both;
denied adequate sanitary and private restroom, shower, and changing facilities;
subjected to disparate and excessive discipline as compared to male co-workers who engaged in comparable conduct;
given less positive performance evaluations than their male counterparts for doing comparable work; and
denied overtime assignments despite eligibility under collective bargaining agreements."
Need I say more?
I am fortunate to work with a very diverse team of people and, as someone with a desk job, have not been subjected to the same kinds of challenges my female colleagues in the field have faced. I hope that as a whole, the security industry begins to embrace the idea that diverse workplaces allow for a greater range of experience, creativity, problem-solving skills, and opinions -- things that are beneficial to the success of any business or any industry.
If you are a woman who is looking for information about opportunities in the security industry -- or if you are a man who would like to encourage women in the security industry -- I encourage you to join ASIS' Women in Security Council.
The views expressed in this post are mine and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer.