Job Discussion Forums

[idiotfish]

Why do some schools ask for females only? Is it code for "we're going to pay them less", "shared apartments", "we've just had too many complaints from parents about male teachers sleeping with their students" or "we're going to try to pretend to be diverse"?

[chinesearmy]

i think for younger students in elementary schools, its better to have a female teacher.

think about the woman's nurturing aspect.

[rogerwilco]

It is probably code for "we've just had too many complaints from parents about male teachers sleeping with their students".

That is what I have heard from several schools.

[idiotfish]

[Happy Everyday]

The schools are fully capable and able of keeping a watchful eye on personal relationships within a school. What you are hearing, although sometimes backed by real incidents, is a logical strawman.

Calling their reasons "diversity" would be untrue... in my opinion. The true reason is that there are fewer western women. There is a bias towards western men in China. Some of it earned and some not. This western bias is seldom applied towards women. Chinese want more western women, especially the Chinese men.

The point is that western women are in shorter supply in China when compared to western men. I would not say that there are "too many" westerners in China. There are not. We comprise less than 1% of the population. Compared to men, there are far fewer women, and the Chinese dudes want to meet you. You're in demand. In fact, I know a lot of friends who would love to meet you! "Can you introduce me to a western girl?" "How can I find a western girlfriend?"

The very few negative comments I hear Chinese say about western women in China is if the woman chooses a western boyfriend. The majority of people in the world prefer to hook up with their own ethnicity. The majority of Chinese women prefer Chinese men. It's more visible when a multi-ethnic couple is walking the streets of China. China is not very diverse. Most of these mult-ethnic pairings will be a western male and a Chinese female or an African male and Chinese female.

[chinanoodles]

Yes...Chinese men want to see Western women....BUT...most Uni classes I have seen are noticeably chick heavy so this becomes nearly a moot point.

A female teacher at the Uni level will be less of a potential headache for the school. Both men and women can complain and whine and fail to adjust to life in China but the men (not all) will be the ones chasing skirts and looking down blouses in class and will be more likely to have drug/drinking issues.

[Happy Everyday]

[Ariadne]

HappyEveryday, I think chinanoodles meant the students were mostly women. That is certainly my experience with English majors. In a class of 30-35 students, there will usually be 2-5 men.

While female FTs can certainly cause plenty of trouble and aggravation, it is more often the male FTs who get into bar fights or physically threaten other people. And yes, the guys are more likely to date students. There are usually more male FTs though, so this tips the numbers too.

It's true that there are more reports of female sexual predators in schools in the US in recent years. However, I think if you could study the numbers from across the US you would find there are still many more male predators than female.

.

[Happy Everyday]

...

[Happy Everyday]

Don't take our chit chats too seriously. Just looking at the various angles.

[Ariadne]

Just want to point out that I was not supporting the female only hiring policies of some schools. I was merely making some observations, based on my own experiences and reading, on why those policies might exist.

I think the reason (and I could easily be wrong) you see more reports about female predators in schools is precisely because they are women. It is more unusual and therefore more 'newsworthy'.

.

[choudoufu]

maybe the reason you see more reports about female teachers
abusing their students in the west is that they can more often get
away with it. female students are seen as victims, while the male
students are seen as 'hitting the jackpot.'

a male teacher, a 'predator,' will be severely punished, whereas a
female teacher is simply a little 'misguided,' and might get community
service.

which is why you sometimes read of female teachers caught once,
going back to their old ways....still teaching!...... after their six months
of working in a soup kitchen. their male counterpart, on the other hand,
is still doing his ten years in prison.


returning to why female teachers in china might not be as tempted
to get involved with their students, maybe it could be that chinese
male students are not all that attractive to western women.

[roadwalker]

At unis I think women are often preferred to men, especially when English majors are predominantly female. Then there is the perceived, if not real, idea that women will make less trouble.

Having said that, the only time I have ever run into it myself was most likely a bait and switch. OP, did you by any chance respond to an advertisement from a certain recruiter with a similar name to Dave's but starting with an "A"? I'm not the only one that inquired about a job offered in an attractive locale only to find out later that they only wanted females. Darn! Too bad they didn't put that in the ad, oh, but they do have another job in a similar place, Dead-Lizard Gulch ("the real China!"), where the cost of living is very low so you can live like a king and besides the people are very friendly, so what do you think how about it? I think most schools would like to have at least one or two women but know that the majority of foreign EFL teachers in China are men.

[rogerwilco]

I recently inquired about teaching at a college in Suzhou, and I was rejected because the school wants couples or females only.

I have also been offered a job in Tianjin because the 2 young male FT's were not offered a new contract due to them having sex with the students.
It was suggested by the school FAO that they are considering me because I am "too old" to be doing that .