Donald Westlake raises many valid concerns when he wrote of fighting gender bias (Voice, March 9). He is on target when he states, “The seeds of gender bias are sown in the home,” a statement that much research supports strongly.
Unfortunately, he goes on to reveal another bias, as he writes, “If we expect boys to be aggressive but girls to be passive, boys to excel in math but girls to show little interest beyond arithmetic, and boys to become doctors but girls to become nurses, they will try to not disappoint us.”
I am sure Mr. Westlake does not believe that nursing is the lesser career option, especially because it is traditionally a “woman’s profession” and continues to attract far more women than men. It is an intellectually stimulating and challenging profession that is open to both men and women, as is medicine.
In the context of Mr. Westlake’s letter, however, it calls to mind a comment many of my colleagues have heard: “You’re so smart! Why aren’t you a doctor?” To which we reply, “I wanted to be a nurse. Nurses are smart, too!”
