-_

@ =~ Terrace Review — Wednesday, October 23, 1991

— Road to new |

career fields

- getting easier

‘for women

‘Pay differential enormous’

Dr. Norma Kerby has seen atti-
tudes and opportunities opening
up over the past decade for women
who want to go into careers and
jobs that have traditionally been
‘done by men. “In five to 10 years I
expect that there won't be any

' such thing as traditional or non-
traditional,” she said last week at a
seminar in Terrace.
Kerby, a doctor of land use plan-
ning who has done extensive
research and consulting in Ter-
race, was one of three guest speak-
ers at Women in the Workforce, a
‘conference at the Terrace
~ Women’s Resource Centre intend-
-ed to inform local women about
the opportunities, advantages and
drawbacks of going into non-tradi-
tional work. The conference also
gave the women attending a
chance to enrol in a Canada
Employment Centre-sponsored
_ program to help them get into non-
traditional occupation fields.
The main changes over the past
~ ‘decade have been in technical
diploma and university degree
_ fields, Kerby said, while the
change for women has been slow-
~ er in the less formal skills like
. mechanics, logging and construc-
tion,
Women want to become estab-
“lished in traditionally male occu-
pations for one primary reason,
Kerby pointed out: the pay. For
the numerous single mothers, or
‘even mothers living with spouses,
~ the opportunity to earn $5 to $8
per hour in a clerical or service
industry job has little appeal; after
‘child care expenses, transporta-
tion, clothing and the other costs
of going to work every day are
subtracted, there is little left in net
earnings. The situation is dramati-
_ cally different if the rate of pay, as
in a sawmilling or technical job, is
in the order of $20 per hour.
_ “The wage differential is enor-
. mous,” Kerby said, and that
_.explains why there is no flow the
‘other way, Men are not clamour-
~ ing to invade the traditionally
:- female occupations because the

pay is so poor.

a

: - Kerby also told the women that

“one of the reasons many of the -

‘high-paying occupations have
~-been dominated by men is that the
“jobs are physically demanding and
_ “often performed in unpleasant or
_ downright hostile conditions.
“You have to evaluate you own
. abilities, toferance, and the impact
“on your home,” she said. The jobs
“under discussion can involve
working outside in wet, cold and
dirty weather, or in other instances
“working around chemicals that
~ might provoke allergic reactions.
_- Although the economy has
forced more and more familics to

_a heavy load and should be con-

two incomes, Kerby pointed out,
women still do 70 to 90 percent of
the domestic work in the average

home, even when they are work-. F

ing full time. She believes the
home work load will become more

equitable over time, but the com-

bined effort required by a paid job
and work in the home can become

sidered by women intending to go
io work in any field. For that rea-

son, Kerby said, women often find

home-based businesses an aitrac-
live option because they have bet-
ter control of their time.

The workplace itself, Kerby said,
is becoming increasingly tolerant
of the presence of women in areas
where they weren’t seen 20 or
even 10 years ago. “Better atti-
tudes are developing, there are
fewer sexist comments, The men
are looking more at women as Co-
workers,” she remarked.

“Discrimination often comes
from people who are afraid of los-

ing their jobs. It. comes from inse- .

curity and the fear of job competi-

tion.

The conference also heard from
Hedi Brouwer, who has worked as
a lumber grader for 12 years at the
sawmill currently operated by
Skeena Cellulose in Terrace, and
Diana Wood, a partner in a Ter-
race-based forestry consulting

firm

Wood graduated with a technical

diploma in forestry from the B.C.
Institute of Technology in 1980
with a class that was only 10 per-
cent women, She said women
have to be suited for forestry work
because of the physical and mental
demands of the job and the sea-
sonal and cyclical nature of the

career.

Woods, too,-is finding that dis-
crimination against women has
diminished over the years. Kerby,
who is also an instructor at North-
west Community College, said
from her experience in dealing
with men 18-20 years of age who
are her students, the future looks:
even better. She wasn’t able to
recall a single instance of discrim- .
inatory behaviour or talk in the

entire group.

Thirty women attended the semi-
nar; of those, 20 made appoint-
ments to see Women’s Re-entry
Project coordinator Charlynn
Tocws, the seminar organizer.
Toews said she’s certain of having
cnough qualified applicants to fill
all 14 positions in the 18-week re-

cniry course.

The course will involve numer-
ous components designed to get

women into non-traditional occu-

pations, including on-the-job

expericnce with local employers.

ea

Vida Carson is veteran of non-traditional work for women — she’s been an

t

‘A

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installer-repairman for B.C. Tel in Terrace for over 10 years. A seminar last week
at the Terrace Women's Resource Centre provided information for a group of 30
women on entering career fields in which the workforce up to now has been

predominately men.

Committee examines bias
in Law towards women

by Mary Swift

Is this justice system fair
and equitable to both sexes?

This question was raised by the
Law Society of B.C.’s Gender
Bias Committee on Oct. 4 and 5
in Terrace, Individuals and groups
were invited to present personal
accounts of sexual discrimination
or to comment on the biased or
unbiased conduct of the legal pro-
fession asa whole,

Ted Hughes, the chairman of the
committee, stated that the Law
Society of B.C., which is respon-

‘sible for the operation of the jus-

tice system, has received reports
of perceived gender bias, and
wants to find out if the perception

is real, and whether changes can.
be made within the system to’

eliminate any discrimination
based on sex.

The problem, according to.
Hughes, “is mammoth in scope” .

and involves an examination of
family, criminal and civil law, the
response of the justice system to
violence against women, and gen-
der bias within the legal profes-
sion itself.

Family law, states the committee
director Catherine Bruce, is the
most problematic and frequently
cited area of sexual bias. Cases
involving custody, maintenance
and battering are heard most
often, and affect the largest num-
ber of people reporting to the
committee. A local woman, for
example, was frustrated in her
attempts to secure child support
payments from her husband who
has defaulied over a period of
months, and who has not been
forced to continue payments or lo

pay his arrears. The ex-wife is not

permitted access to the ex-hus-

band’s bank account to disprove
his reported income, and must pay
her own legal fees, while he
receives legal aid, She is support-
ing two children with a $10-per-

‘hour job, while her ex-husband is

not paying child support.
While the issue of gender bias

applies more to women than men,
the committee has heard from

fathers who feel that women defi-

nitely have an unfair advantage
when it comes to child custody. A
Kitimat man appeared at the hear-
ing, testifying that his rights as a
father had been denied. After he
and his wife separated, she imme-
diately gained temporary custody
of their two children, and the hus-
band’s lawyers discouraged his
intention to pursue permanent
custody. Since the wife already
had the children, he was advised
that his chances of securing per-
manent custody were minimal. -

The husband has since tried to
get custody of the children, to
“have his turn” at being a full-
time father, but his application
has been rejected. The children
now live in a distant community,
and the father drives approximate-
ly 800 kilometres every other
weekend to see them.

The problem extends beyond the
focus of individual difficulties
and into the everyday workings of
the system itself. The police.
lawyers and the courts all fail in
some way to fulfill their duty to
administer justice fairly to both
sexes, Staled Karla Hennig. co-
ordinator of the Terrace Women’s
Resource Centre. Low incoine

women and women with poor lan-
guage skills are afraid of the law
enforcement system, and some
victims of sexual assault or batter-
ing will not report their abuse
because of real or perceived dis-
crimination.

Perceived bias, Hughes pointed
out, is as dangerous as the real
thing.

After pressing charges, some
women seek advice and support
from the Women’s Resource Cen-
tre because they are confused
about the legal process and the
status of their cases, Lawyers,
concludes Hennig, are not telling
women about how the system
works. Hughes contends that men
are as daunted by the legal pro-
cess as women are.

The Law Society, made up of an
equal number of men and women,
has been meeting with members
of the legal profession, and now

wants to act upon the recommen- |

dations of the Gender Bias Com-
mittee. The committee is travel-
ling throughout the province and
wil] be gathering information
from the public until December |,
1991.

In addition to Terrace, hearings
will be held in Nelson, Prince
George, Kelowna, Courtenay,
Victoria, Abbotsford and Vancou-
ver, For those unable or unwilling
to attend a public hearing. Cather-
ine Bruce encourages individuals
to submit their experiences to
her either by writing to the Law
Society's Gender bias Committee,
t/o Catherine Bruce, 300-1275
West 6th Ave., Vancouver, B.C.,
V6H 1A6, or by calling colleet —
732-4784. ‘

—* Pe ee
Sp manera. oN ,

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