Libro

EQUALITY IN EMPLOYMENT

CHARACTERS: Quentin Simpson, Chairman; Mrs Gammon, retired teacher; Rosemary Francis, bank executive; Mr Brown: Personnel director for Moss Engineering Ltd.

TELEPHONE CALLERS: Joan Bennet; Gillian Morrison; Mr Davidson.
CHAIRMAN: Good morning. For the next fifteen minutes we shall be bringing you our regular Monday morning phone-in programme. This week our topic is"Women and Work". To discuss this topic with me, we have Mrs Winifred Gammon, who is a retired teacher, having spent many years teaching in a girls' school in North London. Then we have Mrs Rosemary Francis. She began work as a bank clerk, but she tells me that what began as 'just a job' soon turned into a career. She is now a top executive for a leading bank, and specializes in loans to industry.Finally, we have Peter Brown, who is a personnel director for an engineering firm in the Midlands, and has recently appointed two young women to managerial positions in the company. Now, for our first caller. Hello, caller, will you tell us your name, please?
phone-in programme: programa con participación del público mediante llamada telefónica; loans: préstamos; appointed: nominado, nombrado;managerial positions: puestos gerenciales;

   

JOAN BENNET: Yes, good morning Mr Simpson, my name is Joan Bennet, and my question is this: Why is it that so few women get jobs as managers?

   

CHAIRMAN: Thank you very much for that question. Let me repeat it. Why is it that so few women get jobs as managers? Mr Brown.

   

MR BROWN: l'm bound to say that the most important reason in my opinión isbecause rnany people still think that a woman's most important job is to have children. In the old days, many children died soon after being born, and very few people lived to an old age. Before we had machines, nearly all jobs were done by human beings, and it was necessary for families to have as many children as possible. Many people saw children as the best, in fact, the only insurance for oldage. Of course, these conditions have changed, but human nature changes very slowly.
I'm bound to say: debo decir; after being born: luego de haber nacido; nearly all: casi todos los; human beings: seres humanos; insurance: seguro, garantía;

CHAIRMAN: Thank you very much. Mrs Gammon, what would you like to say about this subject?
subject: tema, tópico;

   

MRS GAMMON: What was the caller's name,again?

   

CHAIRMAN: Joan Bennet.

   

MRS GAMMON: I think that one of the reasons why women don't get many top jobs, Mrs Bennet, is because men believe that women are too emotional. Even today, when women have more freedom and equality than ever before, there are many men who have strong prejudices against them. Women are supposed to be emotional, timid, given to panic. They are supposed togossip a great deal, and they are thought to be 'catty', about other people. Above all, one of the reasons, I think, why women don't get many top jobs is because people think that they are unable to keep a secret, and that they have no sense of humour.
top jobs: altos cargos; emotional: sensibles, sentimentales; given to panic: proclives a entrar en pánico; to gossip a great deal: chismeardemasiado; catty: maliciosas; above all: sobre todo, principalmente; unable to keep a secret: incapaces de guardar un secreto;

   

CHAIRMAN: Do you agree with these views, Mrs Gammon?

   

MRS GAMMON: No, I certainly do not. It is quite wrong to attach these characteristics only to women. As I know from my own experience, men gossip just as much as women do.
to attach: atribuir; gossip just as much as:chismean exactamente lo mismo que;

   

CHAIRMAN: Thank you very much for those views. I hope that you found them interesting, Mrs Bennet.

   

JOAN BENNET: Yes, thank you very much.

CHAIRMAN: We have another question now. Who is our caller?

   

GILLIAN: My name is Gillian Morrison, and I should like to hear something about sex discrimination legislation. Can you tell me what this means in...