Women and the pension poverty gap

LHW99

Dare I say - Careers Advisor? luxury!!

We (girls' grammar) had a small room with various leaflets, which to be honest didn't cover many of the common job options of the 1970's, let alone the more niche things.

Trying to find out anything about a career in physical sciences was fairly hopeless.

tooldle

BikingBud said:

tooldle said:

O’Level childcare used to be offered in England. Not available in the school I attended. I do remember the careers advisor with whom it was compulsory to have an appointment. The careers service was provided by the LA. The male advisor asked me if I had a career in mind. I explained I was interested in Chemical Engineering. The advisor dismissed that idea and suggested I consider nursing (no Uni for nursing in those days). I ignored his advice and went on to become a professional engineer. I do wonder how much worse off I’d be, and of course how bored I’d have been, if I’d followed the advice. Nothing against nursing, it’s just not aligned to my interests.

I do wonder what response the male advisor might have received if he tried to provide that advice to a young Margaret Thatcher.

ETA we need to encourage more people into STEM and we need to recognise that this is where the true pathway to the prosperity of the Country lies. 

If we do not develop and manufacture advance technology, things we can sell to the world, we end being consumers of mediocre junk that we import and we will always run at a loss, we will never get back to a strong growing economy.

The man did not take the hint. He sent me a bundle of material in the post on how to get into nursing. Throughout my career I’ve seen this behaviour over and over. Undervaluing female potential. It’s 30 years since I completed my doctorate and, still we do not have parity in Engineering disciplines. To develop new knowledge and to design the world for all,  rather than just men, we need to encourage women to use their talents. Pushing women into roles that suppress their potential does nothing to address the pay gap. 

tooldle

LHW99 said:

Dare I say - Careers Advisor? luxury!!

We (girls' grammar) had a small room with various leaflets, which to be honest didn't cover many of the common job options of the 1970's, let alone the more niche things.

Trying to find out anything about a career in physical sciences was fairly hopeless.

Awful isn’t it.