IELTS ACADEMIC
SAMPLE 2-27

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task. Write about the following topic: Many high-level positions in companies are filled by men even though the workforce in many developed countries is more than 50 per cent female. Companies should be required to allocate a certain percentage of these positions to women. To what extent do you agree?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your  own knowledge or experience. Write at least 250 words.

Model answer
In many countries these days, females make up over 50 per cent of the workforce, and increasingly highly skilled women are taking managerial positions. However, it is still a fact that high positions such as CEO posts are still dominated by men. Although this is not desirable, I do not personally believe that imposed quotas are the solution.
Firstly, I believe companies have a right to choose the best person for the job, whatever their gender, in order to contribute to the success of the business. Forcing companies to hire, promote and appoint women could negatively affect business in the short term and even the long term.
Secondly, to my mind the solution to this problem should be solved outside the workplace. Girls need to be encouraged to take more male-dominated subjects at school and later at university, and to aspire to do well in their careers. Girls and boys also need to be taught equality from an early age. This education can take place in schools and career programmes and in the home.
To those who argue that quotas are a good way to initiate this change, I would like to point out that artificially imposing rules has not always had the desired effect. When governments required males and females to receive the same pay for the same jobs, employers simply changed job titles to ensure that women were still paid less than men. It is my belief that employers will simply try to find loopholes to get around any such law.
In summary, I do not believe that forcing companies to allocate jobs to women is the best way to address the imbalance. Rather, it is a question of education and of changing mindsets so that those who deserve to be at the top will earn it and be appropriately appointed.
(303 words)