We are still slaves to old stereotypes, though being in the 21^st century now. For instance, take the idea of male-dominated and female-dominated jobs. Ladies tend to opt more rarely for scientific and technical specialties, developing their potential mainly in the spheres of healthcare, education, social sciences and human behavior. However, gender inequalities are still a fact not only in this country, but also in Europe. No matter their serious higher education, women’s making a career tends to be harder. Eurostat data for 2012 said that barely 18 percent of board members of the largest stock exchange companies in the EU were women. Besides that the tender half of mankind receives an average hourly rate of 16 percent less than men. One of the myths, now busted by the stories of two young girls is that occupations like a conductor or a train driver are terra incognita to women. Kalina Vassileva heads the symphonic orchestra in the town of Shumen. She says her job gets her acquainted with prominent musicians, professors from the Music Academy that sometimes demonstrate some lack of trust when they first see her. “They only see me as a young woman at first, but at the end of the concert their looks are changed. This makes me feel good,” says Kalina Vassileva.

“I hadn’t realized my specificity for this occupation, perhaps because I had been involved in music activities since my childhood years. Both my parents are musicians, I have grown up in this environment and I feel like home there. I dreamt about a singing career as a child. My voice was really nice, but I opted for the flute when I grew up. In the course of 10 – 15 years that was the goal of my life – to become an excellent flutist. I entered the academy with that specialty and graduated with it. However, somewhere in the middle of my studies there I realized that wasn’t enough. I need an overall look for music, I wanted to lead it and to go through the entire work and not a single line only – the one of the flute. I came upon the exact people, they encouraged me and it worked. I gradually turned into a conductor.”

Daniela Kostadinova has opted for an even more untraditional for a lady occupation:

“There are no railroaders in my family. However, I always knew I wanted to be a train driver. I graduated the Todor Kableshkov Transport University and I majored in the classes for train drivers there. I have been a deputy train driver with the Freight Services Dept. of the BDZ state railway company for three weeks now. I knew that was my job, but barely during my university studies I realized the seriousness of the job. That motivated me even more.”

It is also quite untypical to see a man working as a nurse – the occupation doesn’t even have a masculine version to its name. Ivaylo Eftimov has no trouble with this fact at all, as he has been working as a male nurse with the Medical – Military Academy for two and a half years now. He says there are three other men at the hospital with the same job and their overall number for the country is barely 50. Ivaylo is a veterinary doctor with a diploma, but nursing has always been his dream. He claims that some of his masculine qualities help him for the job.

“I tend to remain cold-blooded, while my female colleagues often suffer crises. I am more confident, physical strength is also important, especially for reanimation and intensive care, ER and the anti-shock halls,” Ivaylo explains about his job.

English version: Zhivko Stanchev