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From: pamp@bcsaic.UUCP (pam pincha)
Newsgroups: net.women,net.singles
Subject: Re: career vs. relationships
Message-ID: <473@bcsaic.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 4-Mar-86 20:15:55 EST
Article-I.D.: bcsaic.473
Posted: Tue Mar  4 20:15:55 1986
Date-Received: Mon, 10-Mar-86 08:26:27 EST
References: <11785@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> <660@rti-sel.UUCP> <529@mmm.UUCP> <341@fear.UUCP> <557@mmm.UUCP> <1977@hao.UUCP>
Reply-To: pamp@bcsaic.UUCP (pam pincha)
Organization: Boeing Computer Services AI Center, Seattle
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Xref: watmath net.women:9625 net.singles:10809

In article <1977@hao.UUCP> woods@hao.UUCP (Greg Woods) writes:
>> This is the point of affirmative action programs - to be sexist or
>> racist in the opposite direction in the hopes of evening out the
>> unfairnesses. I support the concept of affirmative action
>
>   ...and I do not, in general. I have no objection to watchdog-type
>programs or laws that make sure minorities and women are given the SAME
>chance, but I do not support "reverse" racism and sexism either. NO
>preference should be given to ANYONE, even a minority or a female, based on 
>sex or race, and that's all most affirmative action quota-based programs are.
>
>--Greg

There's only one problem with this -- there are no really more effective
ways  of balancing things out *at this time*. The biggest problem
women have been facing has been getting past the stereotypes of certian
types of jobs are suitable for men and others for women. This is still
very much a problem -- even more so the last 5 years. I have been
reading of a couple of studies (I've not been able to get ahold
of the references - if anyone can find them please let me know) that
have come out in the last month and a half that have been pointing
out this is the problem women are still running into (I think
Science a couple of weeks back). Employers and personnel types have a
very stereotypical idea of what jobs women can(and should) handle.
The problem is that they still are hiring accordingly. One of the
results of the studies was that AFFIRMATIVE ACTION actually helped
tremendously to cut down this disparaty in hiring in certian job
catagories that are quite typically heavily male oriented. The reason
is that the threat of fines imposable on companies served to act
as a moderator of this stereotypic thinking in the hiring practices.
No other programs had as much effect. 

The problem over the last 5 years is that the current administration
has been undermining all such programs. The strides that were made
are being eroded badly. 

So, until someone comes up with any thing better, I would
rather keep it around a while -- maybe until a few of the stereotypes
are forgotten. (Beleive me it can be done. In my immediate family,
all of the females (4) are in non-typical fields (1 areonautical
engineer;1 areospace engineer; 1 geologist/computer researcher in AI;
1 National Forest Fire Management officer (she sets slash burns and
commands a crew putting out forest fires around here). And we've
all had our problems with companies.)

(Sometimes I wish the guys could take our places sometime to see
what it's like.:-)

P.M.Pincha-Wagener