Women and Men should work separately in professional settings

History has seen a shift in the patriarchal regime practiced by societies, And we now live in an age where we can claim that women are no "less" than men. We live in an age when women are occupying public office, Serving as presidents and prime ministers, As heads of conglomerates and judges, And police officers. Gender equality has found its way into nearly every domain in employment. In such a situation, I strongly believe that separating men and women will only serve as a deterrent to women and to the fundamental of gender equality. In fact, We only stand to promote such equality, By ensuring that men and women work together, As this would encourage women worldwide. Symbolically too, Putting men and women in different workplaces would quite strongly assert that they are not in a position to work together, That they cannot be seen as "equals". My opponent has raised the issue of "sexuality" - the fact that the opposite sexes would experience a kind of relationship that would hinder productivity. In fact, There is more to a mature control of one's desires than my opponent has portrayed. In reality, There are men and women working together in almost all imaginable fields of work. Take law enforcement - in such serious jobs, To think that the sexual attraction of the opposite sex would inhibit or even compromise domestic security is preposterous. We should be able to assert discipline in our workspaces. Furthermore, If any such inclination were to upset productivity, There would be a far greater loss in productivity in a men-only space, Ironically from the absence of the opposite sex, Which studies have found leads to at least 2 times the initial productivity. These studies have shown that men tend to work harder, And smarter, In the presence of women. Clothing men and women in the same way could also tarnish the dignity of women. Furthermore, My opponent asserts the issue that "hierarchies" pose to achieving gender equality. The very usage of the term "hierarchy" is detrimental to the ultimate purpose of this debate - establishing gender equality. However, Keeping the irony aside, The very idea that men would compete only with other men to form a sort of "hierarchy of competition" seems to assert that women can't do the same. In a working space involving 2 genders free to interact and work together, We expect competitions among everyone present. We should NEVER expect one gender to monopolize or form some sort of hierarchy. There is no "gender style of competition". In a workplace, There is the daily race waged among men and women, With no specific camps drawn. Gender equality can only be achieved by letting the 2 genders work in harmony, Not be promoting divisions through gender specific competition and such hierarchies. The debate is not about whether women and men can effectively "compete" - it deals with, At least as far as this round goes, How "productive" a join working environment would be. As I have asserted before, The very idea that allowing men and women to work together would decrease productivity is baseless - if anything, The opposite is true. I wish to reiterate my stance - men and women SHOULD work together to build up a culture of intersexual harmony. The existence of so called gender specific hierarchies would only inhibit those women seeking an equal position in society. I think it is necessary to remind everyone that women have not yet reached a point where they can claim equality - women are still threatened domestically, Have fewer opportunities, And are continued to be discriminated against, Especially in underdeveloped societies, The way forward certainly isn't in further separating the 2 genders.