Dear Editor,

There are several clichés some of us deem to be true. One such cliché is the trope that men and women are equal. Most sensible people agree that both parties ought to have the same legal rights; however, in reality, there are numerous differences between men and women that prevent them from functioning equally in similar capacities.

For example, men are physically larger and thus better able to perform arduous tasks. Therefore, it should not be surprising that most employees in heavy-duty fields are men. Despite such evidence, local feminists continue to lobby for equal representation in sectors like construction.

The desire of the modern feminist to achieve parity with men is simply mind-boggling. Women and men can have different interests, and that is quite normal. Feminists seem not to realise that we are no longer in the medieval ages. When gender activists posit that parity must be achieved in engineering and computer science they are only indicating that women have inferior interests.

According to Wai et al (2018) and other studies brilliant women have a greater range of career choices than bright men, hence they can choose careers outside of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Feminists need to acknowledge that there is nothing wrong with women preferring to work in the social sector. If a woman decides that she can create greater value in the health care sector than working as an engineer, then she should be lauded for making her choice. Gender feminists are actually the ones undermining women when they posit that they judge themselves based on their ability to influence male-dominated fields.

Life has never been better for women. In Jamaica, for example, a woman is 11 times more likely to be employed than a man, according to the statistical institute. Therefore, politicians ought to avoid men and women advocating for gender quotas and the elimination of the gender pay gap that is not as a result of discrimination.

Jamaicans will not bow to an anti-science, feminist ideology that ignores the biological differences between men and women and their implications for professional outcomes. The reality is that, despite the horrors caused by men, without them we would be living like primitive bushmen.

Lipton Matthews

lo_matthews@yahoo.com