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MALE & FEMALE ROLES

Dialogue:______read aloud in pairs

A: What kind of rights do women and men want in your country?

 

B: To begin with, most women and men want the right to work.

 

A: Do you think both partners in a relationship should expect to work in times of high unemployment?

 

B: It's often an economic necessity for both partners to work, especially if they're buying a house or providing for a family.

 

A: What if there isn't enough work to go round?

 

B: Then some people will be out of a job - they could be either women or men.

 

A: Aren't they more often women?

 

B: Yes, but it isn't that women don't want to work. For a start, they suffer more

discrimination in the work-place. When a young woman applies for a job, it  isn't

possible to ask her whether she intends to start a family or not, but it is possible to

give the job to a man with fewer qualifications.

 

A: Does that happen?

 

B: Perhaps not as much as it used to, but if a woman leaves a job to start family,

it may be very difficult for her to return to full-time work. Many women are in part-

time jobs and on very low rates of pay. Underemployment of well qualified women

who are working as bar-maids or waitresses is a huge waste of talent.

 

A: Are there many underemployed men?

 

B: Yes, certainly. There are those who do seasonal work such as deck-chair

attendants or English language teachers and those who depend on the black economy

for occasional jobs - they might repair your motorbike or clean your windows!

 

A: How about unemployed men?

 

B: Well, unemployment can be very frustrating for those men who believe that

they should be the bread-winner in a relationship. Many live on state benefits. There

is also a group of men who have become unemployable. They have dropped out of the

system altogether. The adventurous ones become New Age Travellers, the idealistic

ones become political protesters and the dishonest ones turn to crime.

 

A: So, if the system doesn't give you any rights, you live by your own rules!