Are you a minority?
Spokane Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick is being pursued by law enforcement agencies all over the United States because she is a , , , , , minority.
It is interesting to me that in the 21st Century, with all the wonders of science, all the advances in technology, all the various political ladders that have been climbed – we, in 2009, still consider the term “minority” as a class that is mandatorily in place to give equal chance to all the people. And among all the ethnic differences and cultural differences and physical ability differences, we are including gender to that category.
I’m not saying it is a bad thing or a good thing. It just kind of perked my senses – in that I have never considered my being female as a minority. However, just yesterday, we discussed at http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/hbo/ the fact that women are charged more for health insurance than men are, simply because we are, well, female.. And that strikes me as discriminatory somehow. So – on the same level then – we women are considered minority – but not in all cases. We are only considered in the minority classification for jobs that are considered only for men. Is there a double entendre here? As a secretary – I would never find that little box on my job application to check that I’m a minority. But, maybe a man would? (Ironically, the first secretaries were men.)
I’m curious – do you feel you’re a minority for your particular position? I know one of us is a janitor – do you feel that your job is a gender-specific job? How do you feel about being qualified, or not, as a minority?
~ Jeanie