Gender and Jobs

It is no secret that men get paid more than women in jobs where both genders are doing the same thing. However, a typically ignored problem involving jobs and gender is the ability for both genders to get a job in the first place. I discovered this problem most recently between me and my brother. At the age of 15 I was never offered a job. My brother, however, recently 15 and a white male has been offered two jobs for this summer alone. I have applied to countless places and interviewed at multiple jobs in hopes that one would accept me. while my brother has been offered jobs in two different businesses. I asked my mom why she believed this was. Her response to me was simple and without question "because he is a boy and companies may need things to be lifted, and you couldn't do that." I don't blame my mom for her response, she has worked her whole life and sees differences in her pay versus that of a man but it really resonated with me. Because I am a woman I will never be payed the same as a man, but beyond that unless I choose jobs that stereotypically are done by women I may never get accepted at all.