The Tribune

By Ian Ferguson

Our nation has recently been hurled into the gender equality debate, with many advocating for a levelling of the playing field. To some it is a ‘no-brainer’ and the conversation shouldn’t even be held; men and women are equal and should be treated as such in every realm.

There are others who believe that different circumstances justify preferential treatment for one gender over another. For example, no one can deny that based on the physiological make-up of men, they are more suited for manual and strenuous work. Male construction workers, then, cannot be placed on the same plateau as female workers in the same profession.

Our dialogue today begins to explore the option of allowing some forms of gender bias, particularly as it relates to wages and salaries paid to men and women; whether, by virtue of their gender, they are seemingly suited for a specific job or industry; or if there is a great demand for one gender in a specific job or industry. For the benefit of this discussion, we will briefly look at one area of concern: Education.

During the formative years, it appears that children - despite their gender - are on an level plane, as boys excel to the same degree, or even greater, than their female counterparts.

But by primary school graduation you begin to see the separation in aptitude and achievement, as the girls far surpass the boys in awards, Grade Point Averages and academic excellence. By the time you get to high school and tertiary graduation exercises, the ratio of boys meeting the mark to girls begins to look ridiculous. Boys and men who reject education often regress into anti-social and destructive behaviours, much of which we are grappling with today.

The serious decline in male academic performance has occurred almost in sync with the shift in gender of the male teacher/headmaster towards the female teacher/headmaster.

There are any number of conclusions that one can draw from these serious realities that present themselves in the Bahamian context:

1. The cognitive functioning and potential of men and women are the same, and men are as equipped to engage in intellectual thought, reasoning and dialogue

2. Our societal and educational system has failed to keep young men engaged in the process of learning, perhaps due to anti-masculine methods of instruction

3.mMale educators have greater impact with male students, and they are encouraged to excel with positive examples of men in their direct environment.

An onlooker, then, reading these three conclusions, might argue that the simple solution is to find creative ways to encourage men into the education system as teachers, counsellors, administrators, curriculum specialists etc. The almost immediate question, then, is how? Are we going to explore treating people differently because of their gender, just because some believe it might resolve a vexing social ill?

My personal response is: Absolutely. By any means necessary, our nation needs to explore every avenue imaginable to keep men engaged in the classroom - both as student and educator. If that requires some singling out, some extra payment or male stipend, some scholarships for every male child considering a career in education (without red-tape), I say, let’s do it.

Perhaps there are some who may have read some of what we have shared today in this article, and summed it up as male chauvinistic rubbish. The intent is certainly not to further widen the disparity between the treatment of men and women in the workplace, or to further disadvantage women who have - and continue to make - tremendous contributions to the Bahamian workforce.

Rather, the purpose of this exercise is bring into the discussion the notion that sometimes our individual bias, selfish and personal motives must take a back stage to the greater needs of our community if we are to grow and develop as a nation.

• NB: Ian R. Ferguson is a talent management and organisational development consultant, having completed graduate studies with regional and international universities. He has served organsations, both locally and globally, providing relevant solutions to their business growth and development issues. He may be contacted at tcconsultants@coralwave.com.