In today’s world, everyone is so excited about the development of all those tolerance problems that hardly anyone acknowledges the fact that men can also suffer from career problems. There are numerous things that a ‘real man’ should do that it may get overwhelming at times. More importantly, there are issues that only men can understand, no matter how sexist it may sound. In this article, we will dwell on some career-related issues that only men can suffer from.
Earning ‘too little’
There is a stereotype that men should earn more than women. If anyone fails to do so, they can easily get disapproved of by their families and friends. “You are supposed to deliver for your family, aren’t you?” Well, for more than a hundred years, there has been a struggle for equal rights and opportunities for everyone, not just women or other suppressed groups. And it is right, of course. Every person is a human in the first place, so there should be no discrimination at all. But why then it happens that a man gets judged for his earning less than his wife? It is incredibly frustrating, and thus young males try to use a more pragmatic approach and give up on their dream jobs for the sake of earning as much as they are ‘supposed’ to.
Non-traditional career
From the above, men can face other problems, especially if they choose a non-traditional job like dentist’s assistant or a librarian. Not only are men discouraged by the lower wage but also by the fact that everyone is used to see only females working as those specialists. As a result, there are a lot less male hairdressers, elementary school teachers, or those who work at best resume writing services. If we are to get rid of any kind of discrimination, then there should be no bias towards a man choosing a ‘female-career.’
Toxic environment
From the evolutionary point of view, men are meant to compete. We can see this trend in the animals’ world, too. Survival of the fittest has always been one of the main aspects of peoples’ lives. Nowadays, this tendency can be seen in pretty much any working environment, especially in male-dominated industries. If you do a Master’s in Computer Science and work in the IT industry, for example, you will be surrounded by other competitive men, which can create an incredibly hostile environment. We often talk about how difficult it can be for women to work in a male-dominated workplace because they are more likely to be overlooked and it can be very daunting when they are the only female in the office. These are very important conversations to have, but we should also be discussing the challenges that men face in toxic workplaces.
Almost every man sees themselves as a born leader, who knows best how things should be done. As a result, colleagues may start to compete in a situation when it is vital to cooperate instead. There is a stereotype that every male should be manly as hell and care for their own interests only. Well, then we are not very different from animals, are we? This is a situation we should definitely work on.
Conclusion
The list of these problems can go on, of course, but the point of this article was to show that men can also suffer from career problems. Thus, everyone should be aware of that. The most important thing is to avoid situations when someone gets oppressed in pursuit of equality.
