can men interview women?

Question

i just wanted to know how appropriate it is for men to interview women

You see, there is this feminist epistemological stance which seems to suggest that women should interview women so as to minimise the power imbalance and the idea that women can understand women better and that women will be more comfortable with women interviewers than with men.

Answer 1

I guess it depends on what the interview entails. In most interview situations it is perfectly appropriate for a man to interview a woman as long as he is qualified and the appropriate "interviewer" (i.e. hiring manager, HR person etc.). What is NOT appropriate is making an issue of the fact that the candidate is a woman or asking questions like "So do you plan to start a family in the future?"

In answer to your feminist theory: I am all for women's rights, but I do fear that some of my loony sisters take things a bit too far. Let's give ourselves some credit, girls. We are not so freakin' weak that we get intimidated by a man interviewing us. Do we really fear that women have such a low self esteem??? I find this type of femminist thought completely offensive and close to misogynistic. I do not feel the need to be interviewed by a woman; I can hold my own with ANY man. I'm good & I know it. Now THAT'S empowering!

Answer 2

Both men and women exist in the real world and have to be able to deal with each other in business settings, so a man interviewing a woman within a business setting is entirely appropriate, although many times the implicit understanding is that a woman will do it. It's sometimes not appropriate for men to interview women in a victim situation, such as with male police officers trying to get information from domestic violence or rape victims. Context is everything.

Answer 3

pretty much all the interviews i have had have been with women. Its fine for women to interview men, so it should work the other way round, assuming that the man doesnt just follow his private bits when deciding who is good for a job.

Answer 4

Of course it's appropriate for men to interview women.

I feel much more comfortable and relaxed being interviewed by a man.

It's a battle of wits and words between women.

Answer 5

Why not?

What's wrong with a man interviewing a woman for ANYTHING? I shouldn't think it would be a problem.

Good morning Ms. Blank I'm Mr. Space I'm Interviewing for Your medical history before I conduct your papsmear so you won't get ovarian cancer and die.

Good morning Ms. Blank I'm Mr. Space I'm Interviewing you for employment so that you can feed your family.

Good morning Ms. Blank I'm Mr. Space I'm Interviewing for your finacial information so you can purchase a home so your family can be secure.

Good morning Ms. Blank I'm Mr. Space I'm Interviewing you in regards to your child entering our school so they can get the best education possible.

Nope I don't see a problem with it all.

Answer 6

Sure, why can't they? Just take a look at Larry King at CNN.He interviews people, men and women alike.

Answer 7

there should me 1 man and 1 woman in the interview to get an impartial view.

Answer 8

Why would it be unappropriate??

If your the boss, manager, HR rep, etc. You can't only interview people of the same sex as you, that would be discrimination. And you can't have someone else do your job for you. Therefore you need to do it yourself. There's nothing wrong with that.

Answer 9

If you mean on the professional level, then I don't see why not. If the man and the woman remain professional, than it won't be a problem.

If the woman becomes unproffesional, then she probably won't get the job. If the man does, he could get sued.
(The girl could get sued too, in theory, depending on how unproffesional she was.)

Answer 10

What kind of interview are you talking about?
If you're talking about job interview, i've been interviewed by men lots of times.
I don't see anything inappropriate about that.
And for job interviews, you're not supposed to ask personal questions anyways.