The sexual segregation of vocational schools across the country has prompted the National Women’s Law Center to “file legal petitions in all 12 regions of the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, requesting investigations into whether vocational and technical high schools and classes violate Title IX and demanding that action be taken to remedy all conduct that does not comply with federal law.” The National Women’s Law Center assumes that these types of schools are practicing sexual discrimination because they tend to be almost completely male or female.
The facts can’t be denied, women constitute almost 99 percent of cosmetology students, and men make up 95 percent of those in automotive classes. But is this really a discrimination problem?
Perhaps this “segregation” is a matter of individual choice. Blame it on basic biology if you will, but girls and boys generally have different interests. Beauty Shop Barbie is marketed towards young girls for a reason, and most boys would rather play with their Fisher Price tool shops.
