--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The test for whether or not you can hold…" description: "\"The test for whether or not you can hold a job should not be the arrangement of your chromosomes.\" — Bella Abzug" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/673/bella-abzug-14368_chromosomes_the-test-for-whether-or-not-you-can-hold_73723.jpg" --- # The test for whether or not you can hold a job should not… ![“The test for whether or not you can hold a job should not be the arrangement of your chromosomes.” quote by Bella Abzug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/673/bella-abzug-14368_chromosomes_the-test-for-whether-or-not-you-can-hold_73723.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/673/bella-abzug-14368_chromosomes_the-test-for-whether-or-not-you-can-hold_73723.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/673/bella-abzug-14368_chromosomes_the-test-for-whether-or-not-you-can-hold_73723.jpg) > “The test for whether or not you can hold a job should not be the arrangement of your chromosomes.” [Bella Abzug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-abzug/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Job suitability depends on skills, work ethic, and performance, not genetic makeup. **In simple terms:** Merit over genetics Key Takeaway Ability, not DNA, determines employment Themes equality meritocracy anti-discrimination social justice Mood determined optimistic Type statement social commentary When to use this quote - hiring decisions - career advancement - workplace diversity policies Key Concepts bias genetics employment Practical Applications - HR screening tools - inclusive hiring training Questions to Reflect On - How do we ensure hiring focuses on competence? - What biases might still affect job assessments? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arrangement Chromosomes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrangement-chromosomes-959871/) [Chromosomes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chromosomes/) [Equality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equality/) [Hold Job](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hold-job-955425/) [Job Arrangement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/job-arrangement-959873/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Test Hold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/test-hold-959872/) ## Related quotes > [“The test of whether or not you can hold a job should not be in the arrangement of your chromosomes”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-abzug/the-test-of-whether-or-not-you-can-hold-a-job-should-not-be-in-the/) [Bella Abzug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-abzug/) > [Do you know what makes life confusing? It's when you can't determine if things are signs for you to give up or simply a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-you-know-what-makes-life-confusing-it-s-when-you-can-t-determine/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To catch a husband is an art; to hold him is a job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/to-catch-a-husband-is-an-art-to-hold-him-is-a-job/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [Anyway, I am unfitted to hold down a job anywhere unless they were to pay me for getting angry at the world." 96](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-roth/anyway-i-am-unfitted-to-hold-down-a-job-anywhere-unless-they-were-to/) [Joseph Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-roth/) > [“A brick could be used for job security, like an employment paperweight. Hey, in this economic depression, I’ll take anything I can get to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/a-brick-could-be-used-for-job-security-like-an-employment-paperweight/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [I am a psychologically disabled person and it's difficult for me to get and hold down a job. When I don't work people accuse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhonda-byrne/i-am-a-psychologically-disabled-person-and-it-s-difficult-for-me-to/) [Rhonda Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhonda-byrne/) > [“But the fact that I couldn't hold my job was worrisome. I was probably crazy. I'd been skirting the idea of craziness for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-kaysen/but-the-fact-that-i-couldn-t-hold-my-job-was-worrisome-i-was-probably/) [Susanna Kaysen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-kaysen/) > [No one wanted a job. No one could hold a job. You tend to see those going hand in hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babatunde-adebimpe/no-one-wanted-a-job-no-one-could-hold-a-job-you-tend-to-see-those/) [Babatunde Adebimpe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babatunde-adebimpe/) > [Before I was an actor, I was never able to hold a job for more than 3 months for some reason. It just wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-quaid/before-i-was-an-actor-i-was-never-able-to-hold-a-job-for-more-than-3/) [Dennis Quaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-quaid/) > [Pieces of something to hold on to a job that you just can't hold down distracted for seconds you're gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quicksand/pieces-of-something-to-hold-on-to-a-job-that-you-just-can-t-hold-down/) [Quicksand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quicksand/) > [From day to day you just try to come in and do what you can to contribute to the team and hold on to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-slater/from-day-to-day-you-just-try-to-come-in-and-do-what-you-can-to/) [Matthew Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-slater/) > [I am a working woman. I take care of a home. I hold down a job. I am nuts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-dale/i-am-a-working-woman-i-take-care-of-a-home-i-hold-down-a-job-i-am-nuts/) [Barbara Dale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-dale/) > [“A brick could help me hold down a job. Hey, in an economy as bad as this, every little bit helps. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/a-brick-could-help-me-hold-down-a-job-hey-in-an-economy-as-bad-as/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [I could never hold a job for more than three months, which works out well because that's how long a movie shoots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-quaid/i-could-never-hold-a-job-for-more-than-three-months-which-works-out/) [Dennis Quaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-quaid/) > [“Except for the rare cases of plastid inheritance, the inheritance of all known cofactors can be sufficiently accounted for by the presence of genes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hunt-morgan/except-for-the-rare-cases-of-plastid-inheritance-the-inheritance-of/) [Thomas Hunt Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hunt-morgan/) ## More by Bella Abzug > [I am not a centrist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-abzug/i-am-not-a-centrist/) [Bella Abzug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-abzug/) > [As women, we know that we must always find ways to change the process because the present institutions want to hold on to power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-abzug/as-women-we-know-that-we-must-always-find-ways-to-change-the-process/) [Bella Abzug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-abzug/) > [When I was a young lawyer, working women wore hats. It was the only way they would take you seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-abzug/when-i-was-a-young-lawyer-working-women-wore-hats-it-was-the-only-way/) [Bella Abzug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-abzug/) > [They are a very extensive minority who have suffered discrimination and who have the same right to participation in the promise and fruits of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-abzug/they-are-a-very-extensive-minority-who-have-suffered-discrimination/) [Bella Abzug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-abzug/) > [All of the men on my staff can type.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-abzug/all-of-the-men-on-my-staff-can-type/) [Bella Abzug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-abzug/) > [I prefer the word 'homemaker' because 'housewife' always implies that there may be a wife someplace else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-abzug/i-prefer-the-word-homemaker-because-housewife-always-implies-that/) [Bella Abzug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-abzug/) > [Women will change the nature of power, rather than power changing the nature of women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-abzug/women-will-change-the-nature-of-power-rather-than-power-changing-the/) [Bella Abzug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-abzug/) > [I am not elevating women to sainthood, nor am I suggesting that all women share the same views, or that all women are good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-abzug/i-am-not-elevating-women-to-sainthood-nor-am-i-suggesting-that-all/) [Bella Abzug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-abzug/) > [Women have been trained to speak softly and carry a lipstick. Those days are over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-abzug/women-have-been-trained-to-speak-softly-and-carry-a-lipstick-those/) [Bella Abzug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-abzug/) > [the women's movement, not only here in the U.S., but worldwide, is bigger and stronger than ever before and in places where it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-abzug/the-women-s-movement-not-only-here-in-the-u-s-but-worldwide-is-bigger/) [Bella Abzug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-abzug/) > [Our struggle was political, ideological and economic, and we felt we couldn't make something of ourselves unless we bettered society. We saw the two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-abzug/our-struggle-was-political-ideological-and-economic-and-we-felt-we/) [Bella Abzug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-abzug/) > [Maybe we weren't at the Last Supper, but we're certainly going to be at the next one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-abzug/maybe-we-weren-t-at-the-last-supper-but-we-re-certainly-going-to-be/) [Bella Abzug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-abzug/) > [“Our struggle today is not to have a female Einstein get appointed as an assistant professor. It is for a woman schlemiel to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-abzug/our-struggle-today-is-not-to-have-a-female-einstein-get-appointed-as/) [Bella Abzug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-abzug/) > [Women's struggle for equality worldwide is about more than equality between men and women. Our struggle is about reversing the trends of social, economic,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-abzug/women-s-struggle-for-equality-worldwide-is-about-more-than-equality/) [Bella Abzug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-abzug/) > [Our struggle today is not to have a female Einstein get appointed as an assistant professor. It is for a woman schlemiel to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-abzug/our-struggle-today-is-not-to-have-a-female-einstein-get-appointed-as-2/) [Bella Abzug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-abzug/) [Explore all 47 Bella Abzug quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-abzug/) ## More Chromosomes quotes > [“Except for the rare cases of plastid inheritance, the inheritance of all known cofactors can be sufficiently accounted for by the presence of genes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hunt-morgan/except-for-the-rare-cases-of-plastid-inheritance-the-inheritance-of/) [Thomas Hunt Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hunt-morgan/) > [“You'd better leave your chromosomes at the door.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/you-d-better-leave-your-chromosomes-at-the-door/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [Sometimes no matter how well you prepare, no matter how conservative your decision making, no matter how few Y chromosomes are along on your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-houston/sometimes-no-matter-how-well-you-prepare-no-matter-how-conservative/) [Pam Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-houston/) > [Cartoons are like fruit flies. Biologists use fruit flies because their large chromosomes and short life cycle make them ideal for studying hereditary changes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mankoff/cartoons-are-like-fruit-flies-biologists-use-fruit-flies-because/) [Robert Mankoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mankoff/) > [Individuals are not stable things, they are fleeting. Chromosomes too are shuffled into oblivion, like hands of cards soon after they are dealt. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/individuals-are-not-stable-things-they-are-fleeting-chromosomes-too/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Although life is a continuous process, fertilization is a critical landmark because, under ordinary circumstances, a new, genetically distinct human organism is thereby formed……](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronan-o-rahilly/although-life-is-a-continuous-process-fertilization-is-a-critical/) [Ronan O'Rahilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronan-o-rahilly/) > [The male is an incomplete female, a walking abortion, aborted at the gene stage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-solanas/the-male-is-an-incomplete-female-a-walking-abortion-aborted-at-the/) [Valerie Solanas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-solanas/) > [The gods that we've made are exactly the gods you'd expect to be made by a species that's about half a chromosome away from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-gods-that-we-ve-made-are-exactly-the-gods-you-d-expect-to-be-made/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [When the man who knows all about the fruit fly chromosomes finds himself sitting next to an authority on Beowulf, there may be an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brand-blanshard/when-the-man-who-knows-all-about-the-fruit-fly-chromosomes-finds/) [Brand Blanshard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brand-blanshard/) > [If I could put my finger on it, I'd bottle it and sell it. I came down here originally in 1972 with some drunken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-goodman/if-i-could-put-my-finger-on-it-i-d-bottle-it-and-sell-it-i-came-down/) [John Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-goodman/) > [Royal blood isn't blue, it is a jaundiced shade of red and riddled with broken chromosomes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/royal-blood-isn-t-blue-it-is-a-jaundiced-shade-of-red-and-riddled/) [Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/) > [This is a strange book: visionary and dark. It stutters out a kind of music: repeated phrases which accumulate errors and mutate as they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/this-is-a-strange-book-visionary-and-dark-it-stutters-out-a-kind-of/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [Yes, there's genetics. Yes, there are chromosomes. Yes, there's biology. Yes, there are environment, sociology, parenting, economics, class, and all of that. But there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hillman/yes-there-s-genetics-yes-there-are-chromosomes-yes-there-s-biology/) [James Hillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hillman/) > [In mathematics and science, there is no difference in the intelligence of men and women. The difference in genes between men and women is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christiane-nusslein-volhard/in-mathematics-and-science-there-is-no-difference-in-the-intelligence/) [Christiane Nusslein-Volhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christiane-nusslein-volhard/) > [I may finally call attention to the probability that the association of paternal and maternal chromosomes in pairs and their subsequent separation during the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-sutton/i-may-finally-call-attention-to-the-probability-that-the-association/) [Walter Sutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-sutton/) [Browse all 38 Chromosomes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chromosomes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The test for whether or not you can hold a job should not be the arrangement of your chromosomes.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bella Abzug" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-abzug/the-test-for-whether-or-not-you-can-hold-a-job-should-not-be-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Chromosomes" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-abzug/the-test-for-whether-or-not-you-can-hold-a-job-should-not-be-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/673/bella-abzug-14368_chromosomes_the-test-for-whether-or-not-you-can-hold_73723.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/673/bella-abzug-14368_chromosomes_the-test-for-whether-or-not-you-can-hold_73723.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/673/bella-abzug-14368_chromosomes_the-test-for-whether-or-not-you-can-hold_73723.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The test for whether or not you can hold a job should not be the arrangement of your chromosomes.” — Bella Abzug", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Bella Abzug", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-abzug/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The test for whether or not...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-abzug/the-test-for-whether-or-not-you-can-hold-a-job-should-not-be-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-abzug/the-test-for-whether-or-not-you-can-hold-a-job-should-not-be-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```