Being an English teacher in Taiwan means not only do you teach in schools and universities, but you also go to businesses to teach English and help out in other English based needs. As such you get exposed to people who are in all different stages in their careers.
I've spoken before about how hard it is to be a woman in the work force here in Taiwan. And while not all women are the same, many women will feel some sort of response to the great pressure that tradition and culture puts on women to fit a certain mold. These things are always big topics in classes and some things can be disheartening to hear.
One thing in particular I hear a lot are people people wanting to change their career or have another job opportunity which intrigues them, however they don't even consider applying. The common comments are "well I didn't study that in school" or "i don't have any experience in that field." I always try to counter that it doesn't matter, that the skills need for most jobs are the same and as long as you are willing to put the time in and learn, you can do most jobs.
Granted while they even agree with that, it doesn't always have an effect. And I understand, I am a male foreigner, so the things that I have been through and go through are not the same. This is why I love the book "Lean In" by Sheryl Sandberg. Many of the things she says in her books are things I say all the time. I have recommended this book to a lot of people here and it already has had an impact. Obviously coming from her the words carry much more weight with their intended audience.
That being said, I think it's a good read for anybody, male or female. And to be honest I do enjoy the controversy around the book as that just leads to an even deeper discussion about the issues, and of course more passionate classroom debates.
