Task 2 :

Topic: Most high level jobs are done by men. Should the government encourage a certain % of these jobs to be reserved for women?

You should spend no more than 40 minutes on this task. You should write a minimum of 250 words. You should use your own ideas﹐knowledge and experience to support your arguments with examples and relevant evidence.

A: 写作段落大意:

1、Introduction - short statement of opinion.

2、Body paragraph (1)(2) Different reasons to support opinion. (3) Statement of opposite point of view “balances” essay.

3、Conclusion - summarizes Body.

B: Model Answers:

1、Introduction / opinion

Most of the jobs in society that are high-paying，powerful，and demand a lot of responsibility are held by men. I do not believe this situation arose because women are incapable of doing high-level work. I believe society could benefit if more women were in postions of power and therefore I think the government should reserve a percentage of these jobs for females.

2、Why should government encourage a certain % of high level jobs for women?

(first reason)Firstly, the problem of unfair employment distribution appears to come from social convention and not competence or true ability. At a young age most girls are not encouraged to pursue political office, business success, or professional prestige . On the other hand, boys are told to do these things. As a result, men hold the high level jobs but this does not mean they are very good at what they do. If the government set a quota for hiring women to do high level work, such as working in the government itself, then perhaps women would be more inspired to be ambitious in their life plans and contribute to a less-than perfect society.

(second reason) Furthermore, regulations in the workplace for hiring women would not be a new thing. Although not written or made into law, there seems to be rules for who can and cannot have high-level jobs. For instance, if a man and a woman both competed for the presidency of a company or even the country, and both were equally qualified and had the same experience and background, there is little doubt who would get the job. Even more, if the man was less qualified and less experienced than the woman, the man would still probably get the job because of his sex. Therefore, to legislate a percentage of high level jobs for women would work to fight the unwritten sexist rules of the workplace.

Other points of view: 3-different arguments against my opinion.

On the other hand, there are many arguments against the use of a quota system for women. It is true that the injustice and discrimination could be reversed. This is to say that some qualified men might be denied a job while some unqualified women would be given one. Also, the problem of sexism at work could be worsened instead of being overcome. People would doubt whether a women with a high level job was “truly capable” --men might feel bitterness and resentment, while women might think less of themselves and begin to depend on government “charity” Furthermore, there is the problem of defining what is a high-level job and determining an appropriate percentage. ( Final statement that supports my opinion again.)→ Nonetheless, a quota system would break down some barriers in the short-term. Sexism in the workplace will not just magically disappear.

3、Conclusion

To sum up, I have outlined some advantages and disadvantages of making quotas for the number of women in high level jobs. Despite some of the obvious problems I believe that men and women can and should share power, wealth, and prestige. It is a cause worthy of our efforts.