Women's Exposition 1980: Women at Work

By Deborah Van Kleef

Feminists may differ widely in their opinions on the sources of women's oppression and the solutions to it, but most would agree that in some way the fundamental problems center around economic power and work. Certainly the route to equality is through economic empowerment; depending upon one's point of view this may mean giving women the samé opportunities as men, or it may mean changing the system to create new possibilities for all. Common to all strands of the women's movement is the idea that for women to become fully realized human beings, we must have access to the whole range of human activities, arts, skills, avocations, and that we must insist on a re-thinking of the values, both cultural and economic, that we assign to these activities. Given, then, that the issues around women's work and economic status are basic and pervasive, it is fitting that the first major gathering of women's organizations in Cleveland since International Women's Year has as its theme "Women at Work".

"Women's Exposition 1980: Women at Work" will bring together representatives of women's organizations, corporations, foundations, unions and government agencies to consider the needs of women in the workforce and the actions that each of these groups can take to help meet those needs. Cosponsored by WomenSpace and over 20 local corporations, banks and foundations, the Exposition will take place September 29, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the Bond Court Hotel, E. Ninth Street and Superior Avenue. Registration is $20 and includes lunch. Childcare, provided by Tremont Day Care Center, will be available for children aged six months to five years; fees are $6 for the day or $.75 per hour for one child and $1.25 for two. Parents should pack lunches for children staying all day. Participants must pre-register for both the conference and childcare by sending payment to WomenSpace in ad-

vance.

The Exposition program includes speeches, workshops and displays. Opening remarks will be made by Congresswoman Mary Rose Oakar and Sandra Frank, Regional Coordinator of the Women's Bureau of the U.S. Department of Labor. Frank will probably explain new government policies regarding the concept of equal pay for work of equal value.

Keynote speakers will be Joan Goodin, Executive Director of the National Commission on Working Women, and William McCaffrey, Vice President of Equitable Life Assurance Society of the U.S. Equitable is a corporation that has its own day care center and whose record shows concern for its women employees. Goodin will discuss working women's issues from the perspective of a women's rights advocate, while McCaffrey will present the subject from a corporate point of view.

In the Grand Ballroom of the Bond Court, which will serve as the Exposition Hall, women's groups will have display booths with informative, educational and resource materials, presenting a panorama of women's activities in Cleveland. The fee for setting up a booth is $10 for WomenSpace member --organizations and $50 for non-members.

Throughout the day, there will be workshops on issues arising from women's participation in the workforce, such as affirmative action, womenowned businesses, non-traditional jobs, sex discrimination, childcare, women in management and job-related stress. Panels will explore existing . options for women, the possible opening of new ones and creative solutions to the problems confronting women workers, with emphasis on the responsibility of employers to take initiative in these areas. The panels are designed, when possible, to include at least one member of WomenSpace or a member organiza-

tion, one representative of a corporation that has taken constructive steps around the issue under discussion, and when appropriate, one official of a government agency that deals with that issue.

Conference Coordinator Barbara McLean expects that the conference is likely to draw most of its participants from among women who are employed or who own their own businesses, who are contemplating changing careers or re-entering the workforce, or who are enrolled in business programs at local colleges, corporate executives who work in

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the fields of personnel, EEO enforcement, recruitment and public affairs, foundation directors and program officers and government department heads and issue specialists.

Women's Exposition 1980 is modelled on the Women at Work Exposition held in New York.in. 1978 and 1979 by the Women's Action Alliance, Inc. WAA planned the Exposition as both a fund-raising

event and an educational program. Their aim was to familiarize the corporate and foundation community with women's issues and groups, and to encourage them to develop policies and practices that meet women's needs and to participate in and fund women's programs.

When during the past year WomenSpace began to consider having a major program involving the business community and the public, WAWE presented an exciting model. According to McLean, "It seemed natural that we should be able to launch this in Cleveland," 'a city that has the third highest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the country, as well as several major banks. Cleveland also has a variety of vital, well-established groups assisting individual women and advocating women's rights on a number of fronts. WomenSpace adopted the concept and format of WAWE, but decided to omit the fund-raising component and concentrate on the educational process.

WomenSpace hopes that the Exposition will provide a forum for dialogue and help further the legitimization of women's concerns. The program has the potential, not only to foster communication between women's groups and the corporate community, but to encourage corporate policy-makers to exchange ideas about women's issues. Representatives of corporations that are committed to equity for women will be able to present their programs as positive examples for other corporations. The conference planners also hope, by using the exposition format to show the women's community in all its diversity, to make corporations and foundations aware of the need to support the essential services that women's groups provide..

For more information, contact Barbara McLean at 696-6967.

Commentary: Whose Exposition?

By Linda Jane

The "Women's Exposition 1980: Women at Work," co-sponsored by WomenSpace and various corporations, banks and foundations, represents an ambitious undertaking. Its potential to reach area women in an important aspect of our lives is reflected in the broad range of workshops: affirmative action, women in the sciences, non-traditional jobs, funding women's programs, sex discrimination, recruitment, women returning to work, women and banks, women in sales and marketing, child care, stress on the job, women in management, and women in union leadership roles. Hopefully, this diversity, as well as the opportunity for women to meet with those who hold economic power, will result in a constructive forum. Upon closer inspection, however, the event has some severe limitations.

Due to problems in finding a downtown space, the exposition is scheduled for September 29 during the daytime. This may not inconvenience some of the representatives from the corporations and foundations, but how many working women do you know who can easily take a Monday off?. Even if they could afford to, hopefully without being docked, the exposition itself costs $20.00. For non-working mothers, there is the additional expense of $6.00 for childcare. What happened to sliding fee scales? And especially, what happened to free childcare, which i

thought was a fairly universal feminist vision? Other details of the event are disturbing as well. First of all, honorary chairperson is Mary Rose Oakar, a woman who takes a strong position against abortion in Congress. At least Oakar has some prowoman credits to her name, such as her efforts in social security for older women and the perhaps misguided but sincere effort to have Susan B. Anthony adorn the silver dollar. But what has National City Bank done for women? WomenSpace right now is under duress from funding agencies for their support of Cleveland Women Working and, thus, their implicit support of CWW's suit against National City . Bank for sex discrimination. WomenSpace has courageously stood its ground, yet invites Duane Salls, Public Affairs Officer of National City, to moderate the panel on Women and Banks.

Although we believe that the Women at Work Exposition may have an important impact-On some women's economic lives, the inherent limitations and contradictions of the event can only blunt that impact. We hope that WomenSpace will more strongly and consistently-pursue its goal of being a voicc for all women. And it is our responsibility as member organizations and individual women in the larger women's movement to hold it accountable to that goal. We are not trying to discourage women from attending the event. It may be more important than .ever that we try to attend. We need to give WomenSpace our input and raise our voices to ensure that it does indeed represent us.

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