WSW EDITORIAL
By Ann Bender & Marycatherine Krause
Most of us have (or know someone who has) ex. perienced the frustration which results when a job interviewer asks about the amount of work time we will miss because of motherhood. That being a parent is
не
Vor-7, 0x
even a consideration in employment has several implications: 1) parenting is not valued, 2) time away from work (for children's illness, school vacations, babysitter problems, etc.) is assumed to be part of a working mother's dilemma-even when one reassures a potential employer that there is a sound
CONTENTS
News National
Breast is Best...
Catholic Bishops Change Abortion Tactics...5
..5
.
Reviews.
Viewpoint......
Letters..
.6-7
7
..2.
.10
State and Local
Gay Rights Victory in Ohio..
.3.
Boos and Bravos...
Pro-Choice Events in January..
.2
Features
Classified Ads......
The Perils of Office Automation....
.7
On Women and Men:
Find It Fastest......
back cover
The Diaper Dilemma..
..8
Working Together in GEAR...
.9
What's Happening..
Cover photo by Nancy Gerard (See page 2)
What She Wants
.12-15
What She Wants usually goes to production the third weekend of the month. Copy should be submitted by the 15th of each month so that we can discuss it and edit collectively at our editorial meetings. Contact us for specific deadlines. Please print or type articles. Mail material to WSW, P. O. Box 18465, Cleveland Heights, Ohio 44118.
WHAT SHE WANTS IS:
A MONTHLY NEWS JOURNAL PRODUCED FOR ALL WOMEN. We always like input from our readers in the form of articles, personal experiences, poetry, art, announcements, and letters. We welcome women who are willing to help us in specific areas of the paper (writing, lay-ouf, advertising, distribution, publicity, etc.) and/or who are interested in our collective.
WHAT SHE WANTS ADVOCATES:
...equal and civil rights
.......the right to earnings based on our need, merit, and interest
...access to job training, salaries, and promotions we choose
...the right to organize in unions and coalitions to advance our cause
...the right to decent health care and health information
...the right to safe, effective birth control and to safe, legal abortions
...the right to accept or reject motherhood
...the right to choose and express sexual preference without harassment ...access to quality education and freedom from prejudice in learning materials
SUBSCRIPTIONS:
A one-year subscription to WSW includes
10 regular monthly issues
support system; and 3) the employer assumes these responsibilities and dilemmas belong solely to women. Besides the obvious lack of concern for fair employment practices these questions reveal, employers have talked to women this way for years and continue to do so.
At least one male in northeastern Ohio has learned-the hard way-what women with children face when trying to get a job. His name is Peter Borza. He and Karen and their two children live in Parma. Almost three years ago, Pete lost his job for the sake of principle. Because they wanted one parent to be with the two children full time and because Karen was able to get a job first (as a third shift CRT operator), Pete remained home with the children.
While there are many facets to the Borza story, a major one has, and continues to be, not enough money. National statistics verify the discrepancy between men's and women's salaries. That becomes even more pronounced when a woman must support another adult and two children on approximately 59% of what a man would earn on the same job. Additional problems include not being able to replace the family's one car because lending institutions, like employers, cannot easily accept the man as the athome parent while the woman is the wage earner. Meanwhile, Karen has had to learn to ask for raises while ignoring continued remarks by male and female co-workers about being a sole supporter.
Pete actively sought employment for a while, but the only one willing to hire him was a woman who needed her house painted last summer. He has begun to look again, but when the lines aren't too long and he is able to get as far as an interview, one mention of wanting to fit his work schedule around wife's job
Individual
―
$6.00
A
Contributing $15.00
Sustaining $25.00
--
Non-Profit Org. — $10.00
For Profit Org.
L
-
$15.00
DISTRIBUTION OUTLETS:
East: Appletree Books, Coventry Books, CWRU Bookstore, Food Communities, Food Project, Hemming & Hulbert Booksellers
Central: Barnes & Noble, Publix Book Mart, Thorma's on the Square, WomenSpace
West: American Indian Center, CCC Bookstore, Plants Plus, Six Steps Down
Chagrin Falls: Little Professor Book Center
Akron: Cooperative Market
Kent: Kent Natural Foods Store
Columbus: Fan the Flames Bookstore
Boston, MA: New Words Bookstore
Business Group
Marycatherine Krause/Coordinator Dianne Fishman Mary Redlinger
Editorial Group
Loretta Feller/Coordinator Marycatherine Krause/Coordinator
copyright © 1981
Production Group
Linda Jane/Coordinator Mary Walsh/Coordinator Willow Bentley Vega Buchbinder
Jean Loria
Pat O'Malley
Gail Powers Randi PowerS Michelle Vanderlip
and his children's needs, and he is given a quick brush-off.
While this is only one example of the need to change established attitudes while pursuing alternative lifestyles and career choices, we must include one comment Pete made, both because of and in spite of, his frustration. "I have become an avid supporter of women's rights because I have experienced and am beginning to understand some of the things women have to face in obtaining fair credit and employment opportunities."
What will it take to change predominantly male management's thinking about the relationship be tween an effective employee and that employee's responsiblity for a family? Perhaps when enough women with children are successful in their employment or, perhaps, when more men in management positions have full responsibility for their children.
December, 1981/What She Wants/Page 1