I disagree with the prehistoric and no-doubt male author of your “Have a rant” column (Personnel Today, 28 February) about the all-women HR team at Ford’s Dagenham plant.
The issue is not that we should be “expending huge amounts of time and effort trying to force the issue”of women working in non-traditional jobs, but that there are women who are actually interested in doing a job that is “noisy, risky, dirty and physical”.
Believe it or not, these types of job are very appealing to many women. The truth is that female applicants have been overlooked and not given a chance to do those jobs because the male workforce has stereotyped them, and has assumed that they could not or would not do that type of job effectively.
I have female employees who run rings around many of my male employees in the warehouse. My female mechanic is the best mechanic I have ever employed. Last year I watched a female police officer tackle a criminal to the ground and handcuff him. It was awesome.
So we need to ensure that all jobs are available to all people, because you can’t judge a book by its cover.
It is only necessary for women to need flexible work schedules because, even though they are increasing in number in the workforce, they are still mainly responsible for the children in the household.
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If men with families took on a more equal workload on the home-front, there would be a level playing field in the workplace.
