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January 22, 2007
Rank and File
by Nova Stubbs, insurgent49

“Man, Oh Man”

    Today, at this moment, I wish I were a dude (i.e. a man). Not because I am upset about being a woman, but because sometimes I get frustrated with the fact that men have a higher earning potential than women do.

    I have a college degree. I have worked very hard to achieve this personal goal, but even with a BA (with no specified skill) my earning potential remains grim. Construction workers, welders, electricians etc. are male dominated industries where they can earn just as much as I can with limited education.

    Is this fair?

    Not too long ago, I had a casual conversation with an acquaintance. He is a welder, and he seems like a pretty nice guy. I spoke with him about why women were underrepresented in his industry. He apologized directly before he stated, “women can’t often deal with the physical demands, and to be honest this makes them less productive.”

    I knew he wasn’t trying to offend me, but still I could feel my temperature rise and my heart begin to beat faster. I retorted, “women endure child birth and you’re telling me they might not have the stamina?” He looked at me squarely, and said, “it is the nature of capitalism.”

    “Look if you could carry one hundred bananas a day to a specific location and another person could only carry fifty”, he said, “who do you think would get paid more? The thing is that we still rely on human strength, and let’s face it, men are typically stronger than women.”

    He was right, and his logic was sound.

    So, while I understand the reasons as to why men in general are more likely to earn a greater income, it still pisses me off because while men simply get paid more for their muscle power, women either accept the fact that their earning capacity sucks or they commit to furthering their education.

    A study done by the U.S. Census Bureau shows that men who have some college are likely to make approximately 7% more than women who have earned a bachelor’s degree or more. A woman with a bachelor’s degree does, on average, earn more than a male high school graduate, but only marginally.     

    So yes, there is an ounce of me that wishes I were a man. Don’t get me wrong … I do get by financially and as of today, and I do not fit the official definition of poverty. But it can still be frustrating at times, because I wish I had a greater earning potential and more options. In all reality, I could go and work twice as hard to get one of those manual jobs that offer good pay plus benefits.

    Yeah, why not? I could go get a Slope job, they have to hire chicks because of affirmative action and all.

    Former U.S. congressional candidate Diane Benson was once a truck driver up on the Slope in the early pipeline days. In a documentary, she noted that she loved her job; however, she recalls eating fried chicken in a camp once, and looking up to see all the men staring at her like it was the most erotic thing they had ever seen.

    Well, sign me up. Being a woman in a male dominated field is probably not that fun, unless you enjoy sexual harassment. And no … I am not calling all men who work in such industries pigs, and I know that there has been much improvement for women in these workplaces, but chances are there are still a few men who are willing show their snout to any woman who enters their work place.

    It’s like there is a bit of an unspoken code as far as women in male dominated industries are concerned. They never really feel welcome or at least feel like they are on the same team as their coworkers. They are often treated like they are either a piece of meat or incompetent.

    I have never worked in any of these male dominated industries although I do have some female friends who have. For instance, my good friend Karen has worked for the State of Alaska building trails, in the fishing industry pitching fish in Seward, and she had a brief stint as a fire fighter. Needless to say, she is one tough chick.

    Karen has also experienced a great deal of sexism. When she was pitching fish, she noted that the crane operator would only address her as “girl.” And later on, she found out that she was earning a dollar less than her male coworkers.

    When Karen was building trails, she said that her crew was pretty progressive overall. However, there was one incident when her crew was teamed up with another and sexism reared its head. Karen was trusted by her team leader to perform a tough chainsaw job, which required an abundance of skill and stamina. A man on the other crew was pissed off that she was chosen for the job considering she was a girl. So, he went ahead and did the job himself. According to Karen, he did a crappy job.

    Sometimes I wish I could get the benefits of being a man. I wouldn’t be harassed in an industry where I was dominant and I wouldn’t have to further my education in order to get a higher paying job. Man, oh man … I wish.



       
     

     

      Nova Stubbs is a freelance writer and activist, and is co-founder of Insurgent49. Nova resides in an undisclosed location in downtown Anchorage and may be contacted at nova@insurgent49.com.

     'Rank and File' appears on insurgent49.com every Monday.
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in-sur-gent (in sur'jent), n. 1. a member of a group which revolts against the policies of its leadership.