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W.I.S.E. Works for Women

By Amy Schuman

Although the women's movement has made many gains, we haven't yet abolished the traditional segregation of women into "pink-collar" jobs. Occupational segregation is a key factor in the stillgrowing earnings gap between men and women. To support the goal of women's employment in all occupations, WomenSpace has initiated a project called "Women in Skilled Employment" (WISE). Funded by the Gund and Cleveland Foundations, WISE is

1. One-half of working women are single, widowed, divorced, or have mates earning less than $7,000 per year.

2. 15 percent (8.5 million) of American families are headed by women.

3. The median income of families headed by women is less than one-half that earned by families headed by men.

4. 42 percent of families headed by women live below the poverty line, as compared with 15 percent of families headed by men and 6 percent maintained by two parents.

5. Unemployment rates in 1979 were: white women, 6 percent; white men, 4 percent; black women, 12 percent; black men, 10 percent.

aimed at increasing opportunities for women in bluecollar jobs:

WISE is currently focused on sensitizing employers, unions and employment services to the needs of women workers in "nontraditional" fields. Workshops for these groups will include an analysis of organizational policies, procedures and attitudes. Do the policies of organizations maintain or break down sex segregation of workers?

Many companies will not allow a woman to retain her seniority when she moves from a clerical position to a blue-collar position in the same company. This discourages women from making the switch. Unions may discourage the full participation of their female membership, even unwittingly. Counselors at some publicly funded employment services may systematically neglect to mention certain blue-collar training programs to their female clients. Other agencies may push women into "nontraditional" occupations without adequately explaining the hardships involved, which leads to a high drop-out rate among

women.

WISE workshops will suggest multiple ways that employers, unions and employment services can recruit and retain women in nontraditional jobs. The program is based upon the experiences of women in blue-collar jobs, and covers many areas that other programs have consistently neglected. Topics to be covered in the program will include sex stereotypes, statistics regarding working women, Equal Employment Opportunity laws, occupational safety for women, and supportive service considerations such as child care, transportation, and bathroom and locker room facilities for women. As often as possible, women from Hard-Hatted Women or the Coalition of Labor Union Women will be included for their first-hand experience. In addition to large workshops, a few pilot consultation programs will be offered to individual companies with favorable oc-

cupational outlooks for women in skilted employ-

ment.

resource center at

WISE is developing a WomenSpace to include information regarding nontraditional occupations for women. The resource center will have everything a woman needs to know about blue-collar employment. Labor market statistics, occupational outlooks, information on apprenticeship programs and employment services, preemployment programs, weight training and physical fitness programs, directories of role models in various fields, and listings of support groups will be available. This year, a clearinghouse will be developed for job information exchange between women interested in nontraditional jobs, and employers interested in hiring women. We already

have the names of some Cleveland-based companies looking for qualified craftswomen.

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Many myths support the occupational segregation of women. Women supposedly can't bear to get dirty, but who cleans the toilet, the rancid refrigerator, the garbage? We can't lift heavy objects, but who lifts the 80-pound 9-year-old to the drinking fountain? We can't stand the brutal elements, but who waits for RTA or lugs home groceries in the snow? We can't think mechanically, but who fixes the car, the toilet? One of the most destructive myths is that women work for "pin money" to supplement, not provide, their families' income. Statistics do not support this fantasy (see box).

While women are now nearly 50 percent of the labor force, only 20 of the more than 400 occupations identified by the Department of Labor include significant numbers of female workers in their ranks. Predictably, the occupations employing substantial (continued on page 11)

Rosie the Riveter Returns

By Sandy Pope

"When we first got into the war, the country wasn't prepared. They needed all the heads they could get and they drafted them all. And as the manpower in the country was getting pulled into the service, all of the industries were wide open. So they decided, 'Well, we better let some of those blacks come in.' Then after the source of men dried up, they began to let women come in. It wasn't a struggle to do it; it was just plain necessity. The doors were opened. We'd never had any opportunity to do that kind of work, Do you think that if you were classified in a category where you did domestic work all of your life, where you'd cleaned somebody's toilets and did all the cooking for some lazy characters who were sitting on top, and you finally got a chance where you can get a dignified job, you wouldn't fly through the door?"

-Lyn Childs, former welder, Richmond, Ca. (from the film Rosie the Riveter)

As a truckdriver who has fought tooth and nail to get and keep a "man's job," envy was the first emo-

Travelinglight/LNS

tion I felt as I watched The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter. Government and industry joining together to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars recruiting and training women for skilled industrial jobs: this set off incredible fantasies in my mind. In-

stead of getting cold shoulders, laughs, and general disbelief when I applied for a job, I would be welcomed, invited into the personnel office and asked "When can you start?"

On my first day I would be introduced to all my coworkers (men and women). Instead of being left on my own with no explanation of my job responsibilities, someone would be assigned to train me. This person would be my partner for the first few (continued on page 11)

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Hard Hatted Woman

By Christine Haynes

On a typical work-day, Mary Bugbee might climb several telephone poles, locate and connect cables, lift and hang up to 75 pounds of equipment and establish correct circuitry. These are the usual tasks she perfo..ms while installing pay telephones in booths or public places.

Mary does not agree that bulky muscles are a necessary requirement for physical strength. Even with her slender frame, she is able to do the heavy work connected with the job. She also must demonstrate technical knowledge of electrical circuitry and the ability to apply her skills efficiently and independently in a variety of physical settings.

Mary likes being her own boss, and is usually alone on the job, seeing it through from start to finish. For example, she may be installing a pay phone in a store. First, she calls from another phone to make sure the new number is working. If there's a problem she checks and clears the connection. Then she connects the underground cable to the aerial cable and brings the black service wire from the aerial terminal to the building where she has to find or make a passage inside. Next she connects and grounds the wire and brings it inside. She determines how to hang the phone depending on the location and the structural material that will support its weight. She hangs the 45to 75-pound phone and tests it. When the circuit is established, she calls in to close out the order. In this complex-process, she may employ a hammer drill, volt and ohm meter for troubleshooting.

To qualify for the job Mary had to pass a written mechanics craft test and a physical abilities test. The physical test involved balancing on a beam with the ball of one foot, pulling cables attached to a strength guage, and a "flab" test which measured with a micrometer Mary's layers of fat.

When she first began the job, Mary was excited but nervous. Her trainer wasn't supportive and suggested

(continued on page 12)

Page5/What She Wants/February-March, 1981