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Show 1 I 4 VERNAL JOB SERVICE Manager, Judy Burns discusses the job listing on the board at the office with David Feltch. Burns encourages Comparable-wort- women to get education and training to prepare themselves for the job market so they can avoid the pitfalls of low paying positions. h Women speak up for equal pay for equal work By Merle Young Express Society Editor With the comparable-wortissue raging around the state and the nation, many were hopeful that a federal court ruling against the concept of equal pay would calm the fray. 'Not so!" announce the women who have learned to read statistics and who are working side- - by- - side with men who are making more pay and in some instances shouldering less responsibility. If we can do the same job, and have the same experience, then we should be equally compensated for it," they insist. As the percentages of working women continue to climb in Utah, so does the wide margin between pay scales for men and women. Those who are suffering the most in this situation are the women who head single parent homes. Women in Utah who work full time make only 53 cents to every dollar earned by Utah men. Nationally, women make 56 cents to every male earned dollar. Records of the 1980 census in Uintah County showed that womens income locally was only 44.9 percent of the males. The annual income of those 15 and older in the median income bracket was $19,502 for males and $8,761 for females. Further, the average monthly salary in the county in December of 1984 including both male and female salaries was $1,575 monthly and $9.09 per hour. h -- As Judy Burns, manager of the Vernal Job Service Office stated, "Uintah County is somewhat unique in that the majority of female employment lies in services, retail trade and clerical occupations. Females employed in the educational, medical and management positions are making the highest wages. There are virtually no manufacturing firms here which offer jobs in the middle salary bracket, or $6 to $9 per hour. Burns noted that social situations make a difference in the lives of women who work and those who dont. She said, Among women who have traditionally worked in the home, there is commonly a loss of which downgrades their worth in the labor market. Responsibilities of the homemaker often preclude the ability of the female to obtain necessary education and experience required to enter the labor market at more than entry level wage. The to employment barriers erected by the necessity of child care drastically imposes limitations to the hours women are able to work. Although both physically and mentally. many women could compete in the construction, transportation, and mining (oil and gas exploration included) trades where higher salaries could be expected, lack of child care during the traditional hours, shifts and days worked, makes these jobs impossible. The majority of women in our area are not interested in jobs in these t h r i self-estee- U f I ! 1 i . It fields simply because of the extreme physical demands, working conditions subject to bad weather and distant locations. Burns and others who are supporting good wages for women say they strongly recommend that women break out of the female dominated jobs by making wise career choices and by getting the proper training, especially before marrying and starting families. "It is time the young women in Utah woke up to the fact that marriage is more than happily ever after. be prepared for They must something besides marrying well and raising a large family. Children grow up. Priorities change and women continue to grow themselves. What is there for a young widow, a divorcee, a woman whose last child has graduated from high school in the job market? There is plenty for her if she has some education and some training. Even better, more educational scholarships and apprentice programs are being offered to women of all ages. Soon women will be saying, This is what I do. Not, Oh dear, what will I ever do? stated one of the proponents of the comparable- - worth idea. A major obstacle for working women has been the long standing stereotyping insisting that the man is the breadwinner" and a womans place is home with the children. In interviews with men in several age ranges and in both high and low income brackets some common facts When asked if the emerged. possibilities of their wives working was discussed before marriage, only one in ten said it had been discussed. The question of who would be responsible for the care of the children and management of the home if the wife went to work was not discussed by any of the ten before marriage, but became a touchy issue in some of the cases after she did. The men said they wanted to go home and relax after working and many hadnt even considered having dinner ready or cleaning up a room or two after work. In the younger men, however, there was more concern for family planning and more willingness to work as a team with their wives. One even stated that he was proud of his wife and her accomplishments at her work and she was a better wife because of this. Contrast this with the man who said "I don't know why she just doesnt stay home where she belongs. What piddling little money she makes just goes for clothes, lunches and the baby sitter. Besides it puts us in a higher tax bracket." The question, if women making equal or better pay than them was a threat to their masculinity, brought some hesitation and in some, an immediate defensive maneuver. After blushing and stammering one man said, Well if she thinks she can make more money than me then I will just stay home and watch the soap operas all day while she works." One other fellow chuckled and said, I will probably never see that in my lifetime. The kinds of work women traditionally do that are heavily tipping the scales as "female type jobs are: nurses, secretaries, clerks, school beauticians and teachers, waitresses. There are high and low pay scales in some of these positions depending on the employer. As an example, a secretary with a local oilfield company is making a starting wage of $8 per hour plus benefits. Meanwhile across the street in a private office, a secretary who has equal or possibly more responsibility is receiving a few cents above minimum wage and no benefits. Another contrast is between two waitresses. One of the women is a waitress in a family restaurant who receives the standard few cents less than minimum wage per hour as required by the State of Utah and depends on her tips to make an adequate living. A cocktail waitress across town is making minimum wage plus almost double the tips serving the public. Conditions and atmosphere are the obvious determining factors in this instance. Many large companies have a stanon the job re- dard pay scale based quirements and the individuals experience and skill level. This is usually discussed at the time the individual is hired for a position. Equal opportunity employers are proud to display their signs and insist that they do not discriminate between the sexes, color, race or origin. Men who work at union jobs say this has caused some problems for them. One man said, I would like to have a few of my rights back. I work with a woman in construction. She doesnt have to do what is so called equal work. I do all the lifting and she just points. NOT MANY WOMEN get into fields of work like highway construction. Here Linda Gilbert fills her duties for W.W. Clyde Construction Company as work nears comple- - hours a day. I say the employer has just got to use his head and the issue would be settled. The job and wage picture for women in Uintah County can be summed up in this report from Job Ser- vice: During the program year July 1, 1984 through July 30, 1985, Vernal Job Service registered for work 4,720 individuals. Of these, 1,990 were women, or 42 percent. From the applicants, 1,622 were placed in jobs, 649 of which were women, or 40 percent. Approximately 65 percent of those jobs paid $4 per hour or less. Less than 10 percent of the males placed were in jobs of less than $4 per hour. The job market most definitely makes a world of difference in what a person can expect to earn. There is no question that all employers could not pay top wages for every job filled. They have to look for the going market for that job the same as a product price is set by the demand. It would take a miracle to ever get all things equal in the job market because of so many varying factors. Women are demanding, however, that they are given equal pay for equal work and their work be recognized for comparable-worth.- " "The men are being discriminated explained against in the Navy, another male individual. "The women are not assigned over seas duty and are filling all the billets on shore which keeps more men out at sea and away from their families. Equal pay for equal work can be found in county, city, state, and union jobs. This is because most laws that govern these bodies do not reach into the private sector of business. School teachers of both sexes are paid the same as are politicians, police officers, social workers and others under city and county and federal contracts. Benefit packages are always better in these jobs, too. Deciding comparable-wort- h tion on US Highway 40. The pay scale for most large companies is set for each particular job weather it is filled by a man or woman. WORKING AS A jailer for Uintah County Sheriffs Department is a rather unusual job for a woman. Female jailers have the same duties, training and pay scale as their male counterparts. PROJECTED JOBS BY MAJOR OCCUPATIONAL GROUPS UINTAH BASIN SERVICE DELIVERY AREA 1888 - is a sensitive issue that is being tossed into the laps of the state legislatures like a hot potato. As a foreman with a large construction company said, "What difference does the sex of a person make. Either they can do the job for you or they can't. If I hired a woman to run a big jackhammer all day. it would be my fault if she couldn't do the job. On the other hand, I would not expect one of my heavy construction workers to sit at a nice clean desk in a carpeted office working a maximum of 40 hours a week with holidays and all weekend off, and ask for the pay he gets for working in the rain and snow, and being on call 24 PROJECTED JOB forecast for 1989 is given in this graph prepared by experts in the planning A field. Note the largest number remain in service industries. of jobs will |