V
omen unaware’ of employment rights
By LINDA WELCH
Of the Emerald
Now that University women have governmental laws
and University provisions to protect them from sex
discrimination, everything is fine, right?
Not exactly.
Many women simply aren’t aware of their rights.
And even those who are familiar with the laws may be
reluctant to take advantage of them.
Most women, perhaps, don’t have the time, money
and energy it takes to wage legal battles. And, perhaps
more importantly, there seems to be fear that com
plaining against her employer will hurt a woman’s
career mere than help it.
Why is there fear among some women toward filing
discrimination complaints? And do all women feel
such fear, or just some?
In an attempt to answer these questions, the
Emerald interviewed various women — academic and
classified staff — an campus last month. Many of the
women interviewed said they did not wish to be
identified because of fear that, if they indicate
dissatisfaction, it will hurt their careers more than
help them.
“This is not an unreal paranoia,” says one woman.
“There are enough examples around of people who
have gotten screwed.” Examples cited by those in
terviewed not necessarily involving women at the
University, but they have had sufficient impact on the
women here to make them think twice before filing
complaints.
Job security ’ a deciding factor
One of the biggest fears toward filing complaints is
that the woman will lose he- job, some said. The
process of making a formal complaint and having
hearings is sometimes stretched out over a long period
of time, and some feared that, during this time, the
woman who complains will be quietly fired. If the
University gives an excuse such as “We don’t think
you’ve lived up to our expectations,’’ some said it
would be difficult for the woman to prove that she was
fired because of bo- complaints.
Joyce Mitchell, professor of political science and
associate dean of the Graduate School, pointed out that
many women simply can’t afford to jeopardize their
jobs. She said they may have children to support or
husbands in graduate school here. “They’re locked in
and their employers know it,’’ Mitchell said.
Job security or job alternatives may be the deciding
factor in whether or not a woman files a complaint—
but the woman with the least security is likely to be the
one who has the most to complain about, according to
those interviewed.
Some housekeepers in the dorms, for example, said
they’ve been complaining about the difference between
their pay and the pay received by the janitors for
years. They said their work is basically the same. But
few housekeepers said they wanted to risk their jobs by
making individual complaints.
“If one of us complained, they could say, ‘Oh, she’s
just a troublemaker,’ ” one of the housekeepers said,
“but if we all stick together we might see some
progress.’’
Now, with the support of the Oregon State Em
ployees Association, some housekeepers said they are
trying to get their jobs reclassified and-their pay in
creased.
By making a group complaint, women said they are
no longer afraid of losing their jobs. Said one of the
housekeepers, “We plan to help each other as much as
we can.”
Louise Walker, chairer of the University faculty’s
Committee on Equal Employment Opportunities, said
she felt job security makes a definite difference in
whether or not a woman complains. “Those without
tenure will be shot right down if they make waves,” she
said. ‘Tenure is a woman’s best friend around here.”
Another problem women cited is money. Although no
cases at the University have reached the courts, the
fear of not having the money to carry through with the
case if it did go to court may discourage some women
from taking initial action, those interviewed said.
“Women don’t go to court because women don’t have
money," says Judith Merkle of the political science,
‘and women don’t have money because women don’t
get equal pay.”
Publicity was listed as another obstacle. A woman
might be reluctant to earn a reputation as a
troublemaker, since this could hurt her chances of
getting a job anywhere else in the country, some said.
Also, if a woman has to fight to keep her job or to get
equal pay, some said she may find herself unpopular in
her own department. As one woman put it, “They treat
you like you’ve got the pox.” No one wants to work in a
hostile atmosphere, and, those interviewed said, this is
one of the possibilities that women who feel
discriminated against are forced to consider before
filing complaints.
Lack of time and energy
hinders complaints
According to some women interviewed, lack of time
and energy can prevent some women from pursuing
complaints. A case that drags on for months, or even
years, can take a lot out of a person, and one woman
who has had experience in filing complaints said, “It’s
just a pain to do this kind of battle. ”
So why does she bother?
“You have to live with yourself. I’m filing because I
have to do what I feel is right,’’ she said, “and I know
I’m right.”
Jan Newton of the economics, gave another reason
for women to file complaints: “Even if it’s hard on you,
filing may make it easier for the next woman.
Hopefully the department will be less inclined to turn
down a qualified woman in the future.”
Perhaps the biggest overall obstacle in filing com
plaints, according to those interviewed, is the difficulty
of proving that sex discrimination has taken place.
Some said the best case a woman has is when she holds
the same job as a man and he is being paid more.
But few cases seem to be so ovbious.
“The biggest problem for women has not been equal
pay for equal work,” said Lois Martin, a doctoral
candidate in political science, “it has been lade of
equal opportunity.”
Martin is doing her dissertation on the effects of
equal opportunity laws on employers. She said that she
feels it is necessary to look at employment patterns to
see the subtler forms of discrimination. She cited I960
census figures which show that 50 per cent of working
women are concentrated into occupations where 70 per
cent or more are women, such as secretaries or nurses.
“And nothing much has changed since then,” she
added. On the average, women hold the lower paying
jobs, she said.
Those interviewed said it is difficult to prove these
subtler forms of discrimination, because so many
subjective judgments are involved. As Walker put it,
“It’s very easy for management to say, ‘We’ve been
disappointed in you, please go away.’ ” She added that
in some cases this may be the truth, but if a woman
feels she was fired solely because of her sex, she has a
hard time trying to prove it—and the burden of proof is
always on the woman. “The idea of equal opportunity
is great,” she said, “but awfully hard to enforce.”
‘Roadblocks' in graduate
school a problem
Walker said academic women start finding road
blocks in their way when they begin competing for
fellowships and teaching assistant positions in
graduate school. She noted that women are especially
discouraged in the sciences.
Teaching appointments were also cited by several
women as examples of sex discrimination. A woman
may be assigned to teach so many classes that she has
no time to write, some said, and then when it’s
promotion time, her male counterpart will get the job
“because he has published.”
Of course, not all women on the campus seem to feel
they have been the victims of sex discrimination.
Marge Ramey, director of Hamilton Dorm Complex,
said, “I don’t feel I’m being discriminated against. If I
thought that I was and it couldn’t be worked out in the
department, then I would file a complaint.” As far as
the obstacles women face in filing complaints, Ramey
said, ”1 can’t imagine any of the women around here
being intimidated by red tape. They seem pretty
capable of taking care of themselves.”
Women’s attitudes on the campus seem to range all
the way from total satisfaction to active dissatisfac
tion. In between are the women who suspect
discrimination but prefer to ignore it (“I don’t like to
make trouble and besides, I’m not in dire need”), and
women who exist in a state of controlled rage because
they are aware of discrimination but don’t have a case
that can be proved.
No complaints have been filed at the University’s
Affirmative Action Office since Myra Willard became
head of the program in December, but things may pick
up in a few months when salaries and appointments
are reviewed, some said.
University women who do choose to file complaints
can work through a variety of channels, one of which is
the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and
Welfare (HEW). In the past, several cases at the
University were settled fairly quickly after women
filed with HEW. Women involved speculated that the
speed of the settlement was due more to fear of in
terference by HEW than to any direct pressure from
that agency.
But, effective last summer, individual complaints
are now no longer handled by HEW. Instead, they are
referred to the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC). HEW will continue to handle
class action suits and conduct reviews of various in
stitutions, however.
These two governmental agencies enforce laws
which prohibit employment discrimination on the basis
of race, color, religion, national origin or sex. This
includes discrimination in hiring, upgrading, salaries,
fringe benefits, and training.
Opportunties for grievance
still available
Women who file under these laws may also file a
complaint under the federal Equal Pay Act of 1963.
This act was extended to cover academic women at
universities in June of 1972. The act is concerned solely
with equal pay for equal work and is enforced by the
Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Labor Department.
According to Claude Hall, compliance officer for the
Wage and Hour Division in Eugene, one woman has
filed a complaint against the University under the
Equal Pay Act since June. (The name of a woman who
complains is kept confidential by the division.)
Hall said the labor department can take a case to
court if necessary, in which case the woman wouldn’t
have to worry about court costs. He added however,
that before taking a case to court, the department will
want to make sure it is “air-tight’' in order to set a
precedent.
Larry Omo, HEW Contract Compliance officer with
the federal Office of Civil Rights regional office
Seattle, said that any government agency wants
have “quite a bit of evidence” before backing a case.
He pointed out, however, that it’s the responsibility of
the agency to check out any complaints, and many
cases are settled through administrative hearings at
no cost to the woman.
But whether a government agency backs her or not,
a woman still has the right to take her case to court.
Women wishing to file complaints should contact toe
local Wage and Hour Division of the Department of
Labor or write to these addresses:
Office of Civil Rights
Health, Education and Welfare
Arcade Plaza Building
1361 2nd Avenue
Seattle, Washington 96101
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Federal Office Building
909-1st Street
Seattle, Washington 96104
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