Monday, November 8, 1982
Page 2
Daily Nebraskan
Women slowly enter 'male' jobs
By Melissa Dunlevy
Despite the increasing number of women entering
traditionally made-dominated fields of study, the num
bers are not as impressive as they should be, according to
Helen Moore, acting chairperson of women's studies and
assistant professor of sociology at UNL.
The increasing amoung of women in the labor force,
now about 42 percent, is one reason women have moved
into non-traditional jobs, Moore said. Though they may
be entering male-dominated fields, she said, there has been
a feminization of certain jobs.
"There may be more women in computer science,"
Moore said, "but in the real world they are more likely
to become programmers and keypunch data into the
computers rather than repair them."
Because the more skilled jobs pay higher salaries, she
said, men have moved out of the less skilled positions
and left them to women who must accept them for econ
omic reasons. Until the economy improves, Moore said,
there will not be a great increase in women moving into
traditionally male jobs.
Schools responsible
Moore said elementary and secondary schools are
responsible for much of the socialization of traditional
male and female work patterns. However, the Title IX
act in 1972 prohibits discrimination of sex in all activities,
including sports and vocational training in schools. There
also has been a movement ''to rid educational materials
and texts of discriminatory material.
"Young women, because of this act, are more likely
to compete with men for scholarships, and it affords them
the opportunity for an equal education," Moore said.
An informal survey of third- and fourth-graders at
Prescott Elementary School asked what the students
would like to be when they grow up, according to Mary
Blankenall, a UNL elementary education major who
student teaches at the school. The boys said they want
to be football, soccer and baseball players. The girls said
they want to be artists, musicians and dancers, a secretary,
a teacher, a baby sitter and a grocery store clerk. One
girl wanted to be a scientist.
That one girl could, in the future, increase the percen
tage of women, at UNL going into traditionally male
curriculum. Since the mid-70s, there has been a significant
increase of women studying law, geology, criminal justice,
2ngineering, agriculture and architecture, according to
UNL department heads.
Women engineers
There now are only one or two women students in
some engineering classes, Stanley Liberty, dean of the
College of Engineering and Technology, said he believes
women will make up 50 percent of the engineering
students by 1990. ,
"If there isn't an increase of women, we won t be able
to meet the demand for engineers in the future," Liberty
said.
Engineering is one of the few professions in which
women have a higher average salary, he said. He attributes
this to large companies that are recruiting women to fill
openings and to the affirmative action quota set by the
federal government.
Liberty cited the development of differing childhood
interests according to sex as one reason women don't
choose engineering as a profession.
"A boy may be given an erector set and rockets to
play with, where a girl is given dolls," he said. "Boys
are allowed to develop more technical skills."
Liberty said that even in high school, boys are en
couraged more in math and lab science classes.
However, Joanne Wilson, UNL instructor of
engineering mechanics, said she had the complete Barbie
doll collection when she was younger, and that chemis
try, math and physics were her better subjects in high
school. Her ability in these courses enable her to go into
engineering, she said. She is currently working on her
doctorate in inductrial engineering.
Women push harder
As an instructor, Wilson believes the women in engi
neering are a little more intelligent than the men, she said.
"The girls are going to push themselves more," Wilson
said. "I know I have always put a lot of pressure on my
self, because if I failed, I thought the guys would think
I failed because I was a woman."
As students, she said, the women stick together more
than the men. They help each other with homework and
offer encouragement and support to each other, she said.
Wilson said she experienced discrimination in her care
when she was being recruited as a troubleshooter for an
oil company.
"The interviewer was telling me of a high sea's adven
ture solving vibration problems on an oil rigger," Wilson
said. "But women aren't allowed on ships. Then he moved
to the rain forest of South America. Women aren't
allowed there either. He offered me a job in Montana."
Moore and others interviewed cited the lack of role
models as a reason women haven't gone into male-dominated
felds.
"They have never seen another woman do it before
until recently," Moore said. "Women are just beginning
to realize what they can do."
Reward offered
for information
on stolen monitor
The UNL Police Department is investigating
the theft of an RCA color TV monitor from West
brook Music Building 1 19.
The theft is believed to have occurred between
Oct. 14 and 15. The monitor is a 25-inch Lyceum
model With the number 11755-1377, said Bob
Fey, crime prevention investigator for the UNL
police.
Anyone with information on the crime may
earn a maximum reward of $1,000 and can remain
anonymous by calling Lincoln-Lancaster County
Crime Stoppers, Inc. at 475-3600.
"Crime Stoppers is a non-profit corporation that
originated in Albiguergue, N.M. Fey said. "It
has spread around the country, and each branch
has a board of directors made up of people from the
community."
Any law enforcement agency that has an
unsolved crime calls Crime Stoppers, Inc. and the
offense is publicized in newspapers, on the radio,
or re-enacted on television, depending on the
crime, he said.
"The public then sees, hears or reads about the
offense, and anyone with information can call
Crime Stoppers Inc.," he said. "The person is not
asked their name, address or phone number. Crime
Stoppers Inc. just asks what they can tell them
about the crime," he said.
The caller is assigned a code number and asked
to call back later, he said. Crime Stoppers, Inc. then
takes the information back Jo the law enforce
ment agency to determine whether the informa
tion is of value.
If the information is good , or results in the
return of stolen property, then Crime Stoppers
Inc. takes the case to the board of directors to ask
that the person be given a reward, he said.
The amount of the reward varies, he said. If it is
a major felony, the reward will be as much as
$1,000. If it is a lesser offense, the reward goes
down accordingly.
The arrangements for the reward also are made
anonymously, usually through a bank, he said.
Fey said he believes that the university
community could use Crime Stoppers Inc. more
than they have been.
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