A father and son were in a tragic car accident during which the dad instantly died on impact.

The paramedics immediately rushed the son to the hospital, and he needed surgery instantly.

In the operating room, a doctor came in and looked at the little boy and said 'I can't operate on him. He is my son'.

Who is the doctor?

The answer is, the boy's mother.

This riddle has even been posed to classes at university as an example of the unconscious bias that both men and women have towards gender roles in the workplace.

Someone mentions a doctor or engineer, and we conjure up an image of a man. Someone says a nurse or teacher, and we think of a woman.

According to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the gender composition of the workforce aged 20-74 years old differs across occupations and industries.

In 2017-18, three in every four clerical and administrative workers were women, and nine out of 10 machine operators were men, which has remained mostly unchanged over the last decade.

While managers are 63 per cent more likely to be men, this proportion has fallen in the last 10 years.

The industries with the highest proportion of women are health care and social assistance, at 79 per cent, and education and training, at 72 per cent.

Men dominated 88 per cent of the construction industry and 84 per cent of the mining industry.

So what can we do about it?

Next time you see a male teacher, do not act as though he doesn't belong in the role or that it is too "feminine".

When you meet a female surgeon, do not be surprised and wonder at how she might cope with the pressure.

Because both of them are qualified to be in the roles they have chosen.

And above all else, encourage any young people in your life to explore any and all career options from astronaut to zoologist, no matter what their gender is.