Author: Haddiqua Siddiqui

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, a non-traditional career is defined as “one that employs 25% or fewer women in the specific field.” The bureau, to this day, has a list consisting of 100 occupations that fall into the category of non-traditional career paths for our gender because either the profession is not apt for women or vice versa.

In Pakistan, the situation is even worse. Women are mostly concentrated in sectors known for low levels of productivity, less income stability and low security of employment due to their dual role at home and the workplace. The rate of unemployment among women is consistently higher than that of men, both in rural and urban areas.

As upsetting as it may sound, the truth is that we are underrepresented in occupational groups such as technology, science and anything that requiresstrength.’ The reason for this is that these fields are labelled as “a man’s business.”

Regardless of these labels, many women actively choose to ignore them and pursue their ‘non-traditional’ passions. I reached out to women online to find out more about their ‘manly’ careers.

Here are their fields and what they had to say about them:

1. Biotechnologist

Biotechnology is used in many areas such as agriculture, food processing, energy production, etc. “Experts in this field are high in demand yet women are advised to only seek an academic path after becoming a biotechnologist,” said Vengus Pirzado, who is currently pursuing a bachelor’s in biotechnology from the University of Karachi.

Biotechnology, as an industry, continues to stagger in progress with gender diversity. A Credit Suisse report shows that the recruitment of women in senior management roles has decreased globally from 18.9% in 2014 to 15.5% in 2016.

“All my teachers mock me by saying that I am a girl who is eventually going to get married,” Pirzado told The Tempest.

Despite been told multiple times that biotechnology is a field best for men, this 19-year-old is adamant to prove all the haters wrong.

2. Film Director

Remember the thought-provoking action film The Matrix? Do you know that there were women behind the science-fiction blockbuster? Not one but two amazing women directors, Lilly and Lana Wachowski. These women do more than just make a perfect film. The struggle to prove their worth on-set is another task these women deal with.

Representation of women in films is a point to ponder over the world. According to the Center for the Study of Women in Television & Film, men account for 66% and women 34% of all directors, writers, producers, executive producers, editors and cinematographers working on films selected and/or screened at the festivals in 2019-2020.

Shafaq Khalid, a film director based in Karachi, Pakistan, told me how initially men in the fraternity would not acknowledge her existence, let alone take instructions from her.

“When asked a question, vendors would address a male crew member rather than look me in the eye and answer it. It was frustrating at first but I have learnt to establish my authority somehow,” she told The Tempest.

According to her, the best part is the utter disbelief these misogynists experience when an idea gets approved or she gets publicly appreciated for her work. You go, girl!

3. Gym Instructor

Would you rather pick an instructor who understands your body and trains you accordingly or do you only care about their gender? If a man is an instructor, he is considered to be macho. When there is a woman trainer, however, more eye rolls than ab rolling exercises are done.

Sexist assumptions can hold employees back and channel them into the wrong roles. Women have been shut out of senior positions or diverted into roles seen to require stereotypically ‘feminine’ skills. According to the Register of Exercise Professionals (REPs), there are a total of 13,770 registered personal trainers in the United Kingdom and only 35% of them are females.

A barre instructor based in Karachi, Pakistan expressed her concerns about not being able to find a perfect match due to her unconventional career choice as she nears 30 years old.

“Whenever I am supposed to meet a boy in an arranged marriage setup, my parents present me as a nutritionist instead,” she told The Tempest.

The fact that this girl is honest with her work and a better trainer than most men in her profession does not count for much in her personal life. Only her gender does.

4. Tour Guide

Zehra Shallwani, 27, co-runs her own inbound tour agency by the name of Dastan Travels and Tours in Karachi.

“Time and again I have been told to get a ‘real job’ and leave this business to men as it is too odd for a woman to be a tour guide,” she told The Tempest.

Women are usually regarded to stay indoors and considered unfit for jobs that require fieldwork or mingling.

Having lived in London during her higher studies, Shallwani is indifferent to such remarks and does not get bothered much. Just because women are getting accustomed to such sentiments does not make them okay.

5. Truck Driver

Trucking has long been considered a male domain, requiring long hours, lots of travel and the occasional interaction with sketchy characters. However, that is certainly changing with Irene, a 35-year-old woman based in Karachi, Pakistan who likes to drive trucks.

“Driving heavy automobiles gives me a different kind of high,” she told The Tempest.

It all started when they were moving houses and could not find a reliable truck driver to move the stuff from one place to another. That is when she took charge of the truck and, as they say, there was no looking back.

The trucking industry is male-dominated but it certainly is no longer a man’s world. Women have been joining the trucking industry at a steady and growing rate in recent history all across the world, with trends changing in Pakistan as well.

Women continue to take places as drivers, artists, film directors, dispatchers and brokers in increasing numbers all over the world, even if patriarchy tries to stop them. We love traveling and adventure. We get paid less for the same work and position as a man. Many of us even raise kids, support families and ourselves without asking for any kind of welfare or handouts. These are the same reasons men enter any profession. Therefore, there is no profession as a man’s job.

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