The belief that some jobs are “for men” and others are “for women” is ingrained in Cambodian culture, as it is in much of the world. Imagine, for instance, what assumptions might pop into your mind if someone asked you to picture a construction worker, or a hair salon owner.
These assumptions exist across whole categories of roles. Leadership and technological professions are often presumed to be for men, while women have historically been expected to do caring and household work. Historical customs, economic factors, and cultural traditions have long shaped these roles. However, it’s important to understand why and how our assumptions about who does which jobs can and should change—and Cambodia is certainly changing. Traditional ideas about who should do certain types of work are in the process of being redefined.
This change is not just about lifting up women into gate kept male-dominated roles. The goal should be more open opportunities for men and women alike. We must see this shift from a gender-neutral perspective in order to fully understand it, acknowledging that gender bias in the workplace affects men and women differently. Thus, we should move beyond stereotypes and provide equal chances for all Cambodians to thrive in any career they choose.
Traditional Roles Are Shifting
The first thing that we must understand is that our assumptions about the roles that men and women are suited for are not set in stone. Our stereotypes about gender and career choices are socially formed and they have changed throughout time.
For instance, if you asked someone today to picture a computer coder, it’s likely they would be picturing a man. However, the earliest coders were actually predominantly women. The person who is widely credited as the first computer programmer ever was a woman named Ada Lovelace. During Lovelace’s time, men in the computing industry considered writing code a secondary, less interesting task. Women were responsible for much of the coding and programming in the U.S. in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and their roles also became increasingly important during the World Wars. According to the National Air and Space Museum, thousands of women served as cryptologists or in positions supporting cryptologic operations in the Army and Navy during WWII, either as civilians or in uniform. The first programming for the famous computer ENIAC was entirely women. As coding, however, has become more lucrative and even more celebrated as a position, it has become assumed to be more and more male.
Other positions that are more typically seen as “feminine” are also actively changing. For example, while a mental image of a nurse might assume a woman in the role, there are more and more male nursing students who are graduating into the health industry in the United States. Based on one study, males represent more than 12% of nursing employment in the U.S. as of 2023. In addition, data presented by The Wall Street Journal, shows that the number of registered nurses that are male has tripled in the United States from the early 2000s until now.
A growing global recognition for one’s skill over traditional stereotypes is reflected in the gender roles that are changing in the workplace. Due to initiatives to advance equality, regional integration, and societal advancement, we can see a global shift toward more gender-neutral ideas about job choices.
Why does this matter?
Gendered assumptions and ideas about which types of jobs are filled by what types of people hold individuals and societies back.
For instance, even though the nursing workforce is changing rapidly, ideas about that workforce are clearly slower to shift. Research published in 2022 which studied perceptions amongst nursing students found that male nursing students faced significant challenges related to stereotyped ideas of who should be a nurse. For instance, one of the male nurses said he was bothered by the fact that he was often the target of criticism just because he had chosen a female profession. When men choose to work in a caregiving role such as a nurse or social worker, they may feel insecure and afraid that their jobs will diminish their masculinity. For instance, there was a study that found that male nurses are often stereotyped and perceived as less skilled in their job choices.
On the other hand, many women in leadership positions find themselves frequently criticized by their peers, who regard them as “unfeminine.” According to McKinsey’s Women in the Workplace survey, women leaders are more likely than their male counterparts to face criticism when they behave differently from what they expected to. According to the Gender Statistics Report from the General Secretariat of the National Assembly, women parliamentarians worldwide are around 25%, and only 21% of ministerial positions are women. Likewise, in Cambodia 87.2% of the 125 seats in the 7th National Assembly are held by men and only 12.8% by women, reflecting cultural and structural barriers to leadership positions.
In Cambodia, as in the rest of the world, STEM fields are presumed to be dominated by men. Research by the UNESCO Institute of Statistics shows that women only represent just over 35% of graduates in higher education in STEM-related fields. But this dynamic is definitely in the process of shifting. More women are breaking through gendered stereotypes in the STEM workforce little by little. And some of the women who do embark on journeys into this field are finding ways to make sure more even women join them. One such woman is Cambodian agricultural engineer Kreosna. She has not only advanced in her field but also mentors other women to enter STEM and agri-tech professions, contributing to the diversification of Cambodia’s workforce. As we can see women like Kreosna are starting to break stereotypes in an industry that has been considered a male-dominated sector.
Programs like STEM4Women or campaigns normalizing male caregiving roles could be the starting point of this change in the long run. And on the other side of the coin, for men who feel called to careers in caregiving specialties, one of the programs that is organized by Cambodian Children’s Fund called “Dad Talk” promotes positive fatherhood. The project focused on encouraging fathers to be good role models and support their children’s education while also reducing social pressure for men who want to engage in childcare.
Although efforts have been made to dismantle gendered ideas and preconceptions related to careers, more work is required to bring about long-lasting improvement. Despite these aforementioned initiatives, women entering male-dominated fields such as engineering or IT still frequently face biases. And overall, Cambodian women lag behind Cambodian men in terms of wages. Available data from the World Bank on public sector employees, for instance, found that, overall, women are paid 11% less in Cambodia’s public sector.
And, if we dive into the specific sub-sectors of public work, it’s obvious that the pay gap tells an interesting story about gender and work. For instance, in public administration, women are paid a whopping 30.7% less than men. Most likely this is because in this sector of the government, there are both fewer women workers represented, and there are likely to be more men in higher-paid, higher-responsibility positions. If we compare this to the data on the public education sector, we can see that the pay gap still exists, but it is much smaller—women who work in public schools make 7% less than men. This data conforms with gendered ideas about teaching jobs—which has traditionally been seen as women’s work.
To stop these harmful stereotypes, we need to shift our perception and understand that eliminating gender bias in the workplace is not only about achieving gender equality but also about creating a more inclusive Cambodia. A global study from the World Bank indicates that on average across nations, closing gender employment gaps could lead to a nearly 20% increase in long-term GDP per capita. In Cambodia, where women make up 50.50% of the population and men 49.50 % in 2023, taking a gender-neutral approach to the workplace is a key chance to not just allow individuals to reach their potential, but also to drive economic growth and break societal expectations.
Note: Mynea Yi is a young research fellow at Future Forum.
