by Gaurav Mahendru

Created on: May 28, 2009   Last Updated: May 29, 2009

Let me ask you a simple question. What are the factors you would consider before you hire someone for a job?

Qualifications, Experience, Track record etc., would probably come to your mind as factors to be considered before you select someone for a job. Maybe you would like to speak to people who that person has worked for. After all you do not want to hire someone who is not trained for the job or someone who is not familiar with all that is required in a particular job.

Apart from the knowledge and technical skills required, we would also look for people skills. Depending upon the job the person may need specific skills. For example to know what is right or wrong, to be able to make a point, standing up for oneself and what we believe in, being just and reasonable, not having any prejudices or at least not allowing your own prejudice influence your decision, being professional and courteous.

If you could find a person who was perfect for the job, would it bother you if the person was a man or a woman? I hope not. It would not bother me at all unless I have some prejudices against one gender and decide to over ride rationality, throw reason to the wind and completely ignore the requirements of the job. Anyone who indulges in such irrational behavior is going to end up in a sticky situation pretty soon.

What would be a reason for such irrational behavior. Prejudice, bad experience with a few people on earlier occasions, poor judgment, poor perception, a belief that some jobs are better left to men or vice versa.

Now let us look at the job of a Supreme Court nominee. What does the job of a Supreme Court nominee entail? Is it the kind of job that affects only you or me? What are consequences of hiring the wrong person for this job? What precedent would you set if you chose to ignore merit when selecting someone for this job? What kind of society would we be building if we consider gender to be an overriding factor when considering someone for a job as a Supreme Court nominee or for that matter any job no matter how insignificant?

We need to understand that there may have been a time when gender may have been considered as a factor for all or at least some jobs. We as humans have continued to evolve and are at a point now where with the help of proper education and specific training we can train anyone for any particular job as long as the person has inclination for that job. Our physical and mental faculties are not dependent upon our gender. Neither are our capacities to judge, think, feel, communicate, love, understand or carry out any task.

Therefore, gender cannot and should not be a deciding factor while selecting a Supreme Court nominee.

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