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6 « The Red and Black « Tuesday, May 12,1992
FOCUS
Attacking academic traditions
Feminism succeeds, but slowly
By GARY PEEPLES
Campus Correspondent
Feminism’s influence on the
academic world has brought about
many changes, but there is still a
long way to go, a researcher of fem
inism said.
Sociology Professor Linda Grant
has done research involving the ca
reers of women in academia and in
the feminists’ attitudes toward the
Social Sciences.
Grant said feminism has had
positive influences on academia.
She named the Faculty
Women’s Caucus, which started at
the University a year and a half
ago, as a positive product of femi
nism’s influence. It was developed,
“as a group to look at the
University as a workplace for wom
en faculty," she said.
The Faculty Women’s Caucus
has addressed many issues includ
ing pay equity and the University’s
tenure and promotion guidelines.
She has also seen an increase in
the number of women in the vari
ous departments, and “more sensi
tivity on campus to some of wom
en’s special concerns."
Grant commended health edu
cators for their work with such is
sues as date rape and eating disor
ders.
But, “Progress isn’t always
steady," she said, adding that the
University could make many
changes to benefit women.
“It would be smart for the
University to become a female-
friendly University," she said.
Becoming a female-friendly
University involves more women in
administrative positions, better
day care facilities, and changes in
tenure policy, among several other
things, Grant said.
Grant said these changes are
necessary for the University to
compete with other universities in
the hiring of female faculty mem
bers.
She said feminism has brought
about changes in the curriculum
and in research.
A lot of research centers around
going back and rediscovering the
female contributions to disciplines
that have been overlooked before.
This research “Explores the dis
cipline from the perspective of the
female," she said.
In addition to rediscovering for
gotten kno*’ rf ., feminism has
expanded and hropdened tradition
al research interpretations and
methodologies.
Grant used the medical field as
an example, “We don’t know that
Sociology Professor Linda Grant: She says feminism
has had positive influences in academia, but 'progress
isn't always steady' and further changes are needed.
much about the health care of
women," she said, adding a lot of
research involves white males.
Partly due to feminist’s influ
ence and partly due to the increase
in the number of women in the
medical field she said there is a
whole initiative to research wom
en’s problems such as breast can
cer and pregnancy problems.
The increase in feministic re
search has paved the way for
changes in curriculum.
Grant said there has been addi
tion of courses in many depart
ments, especially the humanities,
that highlight the accomplish
ments of women.
She described the University’s
Women’s Studies Program as vi
able development of a curriculum
that teaches the importance of
women’s accomplishments.
Kyle Ellis, a junior from
Stockbridge taking part in the
Women’s Studies Program, said
the program has taught her to “be
more receptive to differences and
to better appreciate people for who
they are, not for their gender, race,
class, or anything else.”
Ellis said her women’s studies
experiences have allowed her to
become more aware of the oppres
sion of women and the way they
are portrayed by society.
■ IN FOCUS
People are fed up with government that doesn't care, and
I think people believe women care ... Because of this, getting
elected could almost be easier for women than men.’
- AthensClarke County CEO Gwenn O'Looney
Feminist politicians face a new era
Challenges abound for the
political harvest of the 70s.
By KEITH ST1REWALT
Staff Writer
The feminist movement that
blossomed in the 1970s produced
a whole new breed of women
xriiticians, who, over the years,
lave secured a permanent posi
tion in American politics.
In 1988, the National League
of Cities reported that women
held about 16 percent of all local
government positions in the
United States. The NLC also not
ed 13 percent of U.S. city council
presidents and 10 percent of U.S.
mayors were women.
In the early days of feminism,
more than one half of Americans
polled believed men were better
suited emotionally for politics.
Fourteen years later, public opin
ion changed to the point where
only one third of Americans felt
that way.
Pennsylvania State University
Sociologist Glenn A. Firebaugh
said in an article in American
Demographics, the shift is not
due to a change in public attitude.
Rather it is due to the fact that
many older, traditional thinking
Americans died in the last 20
years. The older generation is
merely being replaced by the
younger generation.
Athens-Clarke County Chief
Elected Officer Gwen O’Looney,
said however, she thinks people
prefer women to men in politics
because of their greater caring ca
pacity.
“People are fed up with gov
ernment that doesn’t care, and I
think people believe women care,"
said O’Looney. “Because of this,
getting elected could almost be
easier for women than men."
But she did say it hasn’t al
ways been easy being a woman in
politics.
“While my sex has never hin
dered my role in politics, I have
been the first woman in a lot of
positions,” said O’Looney. "It
takes time to introduce yourself,
and I am the only woman at most
meetings that 1 attend."
State Rep. Louise McBee (D-
Athens) said she hasn’t encoun
tered any problems in the Georgia
General Assembly, which is
known for its good ole’ boy sys
tem.
“I really didn’t have a problem
being a woman, because people
already knew me,” McBee said.
"A lot of the state legislators were
students at the University whom
I knew as students and student
leaders, and who knew me as an
administrator. I also gained a lot
of notoriety and attention from
the election against Barbara
Dooley."
Candidate for U.S. Congress
and state Sen. Cathey Steinberg
(D-Atlanta) disagreed with
Athens area female politicians
saying women definitely have a
harder time getting elected.
“They shouldn’t, but they do,"
Steinberg said. “It is much hard
er for women to raise money for
their campaigns, because most
women don’t come out of the busi
ness sector-they come out of the
volunteer sector.
“Men aren’t as confident giving
money to women," she said.
Rep. Louise McBee
Steinberg, McBee and
O'Looney attribute the increase of
women in politics to the feminist
movement, because it increased
female awareness of the roles
they can play and created a net
work for women.
The three women said the def
inition of feminism often has bad
connotations, but their definition
is simple: women should have
equal opportunities and equal
CEO Gwenn O’Looney
pay.
Rep. Ann Mueller (R-
Savannah) said she had more
trouble in the state legislature be
ing a Republican than she did be
ing a woman.
“My problem came from being
a Republican," said Mueller.
“Granted women aren’t commit
tee chairmen, and they don’t
serve on a lot of ‘green-door’ com
mittees or policy committees, but
I have never had a problem (as a
woman) dealing with the men."
Currently, there are 32 women
in the General Assembly, 29 in
the House and 2 in the Senate.
Mueller said she believes those
numbers will start increasing this
year, as she predicts more women
and more blacks will be elected to
the General Assembly because of
reapportionment. In fact, she
said she expects to see more black
women in elected seats in
January.
However, Mueller said she
does not feel the feminist move
ment has helped women in poli
tics.
“I’m not a fan of the feminist
movement,” she said. "I think it
has hurt us sometimes, because
men see us as pushy and don’t
want to work with us. It may
have helped in the very begin
ning, but I don’t think it is help
ing anymore."
The four public officials said
they believe women’s roles in pol
itics will increase and women will
be the new face in American poli
tics in the next 10 years, and in
creasing statistics are backing
them up.
than men
For doing the same job, many women still earn less
$30,000
$25,000
$20,000
$15,000
$10,000
$5,000
$0
Average Income for Full-Time Workers
Source: Current Population Report*, U.S. C*n$u* Bureau
“““"““TfvTan MddelLTh.RJ.nd'Bra'
JOHNATHAN BURNS
Staff Wnter
Kathy Wileman intends to go
into the work force next year and
be paid on the basis of her ability -
not her sex.
But what the University senior
doesn’t know about pay equity may
hurt her.
In 1989, full-time female work
ers made an average of 68.6 cents
for every $1 that full-time male
employees earned - up from 59.7
cents per dollar a decade before.
That is humiliating," the edu
cation major said, “It just shows
that women’s minds are underval
ued in the work force."
Though some improvement has
been made in the gap between
male and female wages, the aver
age male worker still makes almost
32 percent more than the average
woman.
To combat the wage gap, com
parable worth programs were es
tablished in the early 1980s in an
effort to overcome practices in
which employees often paid women
or minority members less than
men for virtually the same job.
Vanessa Williams, administra
tive specialist in the Office of
Minority Services and Programs,
reflected her feelings on pay equi
ty-
“How are we supposed to feel?”
Williams said, “If you’re doing the
same work, you should get the
same pay. It’s just not fair, and I’m
required to have the same educa
tion as a male in my position. Job
descriptions do not state sex."
As the education level of women
rises, so does their average pay.
Female college graduates between
25 and 34 who are working full
time earn 80 percent of what their
male colleagues do.
But even an MBA doesn’t assure
a woman equal pay. A 1990 study
conducted by Business Week, in
conjunction with the magazine’s
ranking of the top 20 business
schools in the nation, shows that a
female MBA from a top 20 business
school makes $54,749 in her first
year after graduation. And al
though that salary leaves little to
be desired, it is almost $7,000 less
than a male at a comparable posi
tion.
The largest gap was at MIT,
where a male graduate makes
$77,539 while a female counterpart
makes $58,500. Linda Grant, an
associate professor of Sociology,
said there is a lot of variation in
the wages of women, but they re
main low mainly for two reasons.
“There has been more growth in
semi-professions, such as public
teaching, and health care work,"
Grant said, “and we have seen the
feminism of some professions."
Grant said that many profes
sions, such as those of pharma
cists, real estate brokers, and pro
fessors have seen an increase in fe
male membership because men
have mostly moved on to more lu
crative jobs.
“New studies say men are leav
ing because they nave better op
portunities, and that is giving
women more opportunity in the
fields they’re leaving," Grant said.
WOMEN
From page 1
licity, it’s almost become part of
the women’s movement that can
not be disassociated from it"
Markham said she felt the
abortion issue is a way of side
tracking women from other im
portant concerns.
“It’s dangerous for us to be fo
cused on one issue,” she said. To
be just concentrated on abortion
is to be narrow-minded in a way
that women can’t afford to be."
Cowie said she thinks most
women’s issues come together
under the concern of reproduc
tive freedom.
There are a lot of economic
equality issues there to lead to a
variety of better life changes, in
cluding whether or not to bear
children," she said.
Cowie also said women’s
movements are fighting discrim
ination against gay men and les
bians.
Binkley agreed that the abor
tion issue is only the tip of the
iceberg for the women’s move
ment.
There are so many more is
sues out there,” she said. “For ex
ample, equality in pay; we’ve yet
to establish that.”
Binkley also voiced adamant
views on the ERA, saying the
reason it met with such
widespread disapproval was be
cause people were reading too
much into it.
“It says you cannot discrimi
nate," she said. “It does not say
that women will be drafted. They
didn’t see the ERA for its sim
plicity.
“If we could get that on the
books, that’d be a nice start."
According to Binkley, another
m^jor goal of the women’s move
ment will be to continue fighting
for economic freedom and power
for women.
“Women are an economic force
in this country that needs to be
reckoned with," she said.
Binkley also said women are
even experiencing inequality in
health care. She said, for exam
ple, the controversial RU 486
pill, which can be used to induce
abortions, has been outlawed in
the United States because of op
position to the women’s move
ment.
Even research on the AIDS
virus, she said, has been dis
criminatory to women.
“Researchers have kept up
with the male homosexual popu
lation," she said. “But the
(Centers for Disease Control)
have not been keeping up with
the lesbian population."
Cowie said after the Supreme
Court decision on abortion this
summer, she expects to see even
more activism within women’s
groups.
There’s a clearer demonstra
tion of serious threats," she said.
“In response, women are saying
we're going to take initiative to
improve our roles."
After witnessing the realities of sexism,
uninvolved male becomes active feminist
James Silvers
works to protect
rights of women.
By CATHLEEN EGAN
Staff Writer
Several years ago in Birmingham, Ala., a
young woman was pushing through a scream
ing mob which engulfed the Summit Medical
Center, a clinic where abortions are performed.
James Silvers recalls watching in disgust as
the crowd yelled “murderer" in the young girl’s
face, and it was that moment he decided to be
come involved in the women’s movement.
“If we let them take the rights away from
women, who make up 51 percent of the popula
tion," Silvers said, “If we let the government re
strict women’s rights, then how are we to stop
them from taking the rights away from African-
Americans, or anyone else for that matter?"
Silvers, a sophomore and the only active
male participant at the local Athens Area
National Organization for Women said the
country’s priorities are off base.
“In Athens there is a lack of involvement,
people are too interested in beer," he said, “If we
put half the energy into women’s rights as we
do in Braves games, we could make the country
a much better place.”
Sandy Silvers, James’ mother, is the presi
dent of the Athens Area NOW and says in order
for the movement to take a boost towards more
public awareness and acceptance, greater in
volvement by men is needed.
“I think participation of males is essential,”
she said. “We are the mothers of our sons and if
we are to make a change, then we have to un
derstand equality and be able to look at each
other as people. How we view people is how we
bring up our children."
Mr. Silvers said just because he is a sup
porter of the women’s movement does not mean
he would want to be in their shoes.
‘I wouldn’t want to be a wom
an because you have to put up
with so much crap ... You have
to worry about 50 percent of
the population being rapists.'
- James Silvers,
National Organization for
Women
“I wouldn’t want to be a woman because you
have to put up with so much crap," the male
feminist said, “You have to worry about 50 per
cent of the population being rapists.”
The University’s women’s studies program
said they encourage male student enrollment
because they feel that education could help pre
vent ignorance.
“I recommend men to take these classes be
cause we could all work toward a more egali
tarian society," said women’s studies adjunct in
structor, Jackie Markham, “Men and women
have to work together."
Heather Kleiner, assistant director of the
program, said the classes aren’t just beneficial
to the female students, but men get something
out of the classes as well.
“I think they feel good when they get past
their prejudices," she said.
Mrs. Silvers said she feels the reason why
some women remain suppressed is due to their
ignorance of important issues and not necessar
ily the man’s fault.
“Women in our society don’t value them
selves and aren’t involved in legal issues,” she
said. “Typically the Southern woman was taken
care of by her man and that sort of philosophy
has carried over today. Women need to become
more involved in today’s issues."
Silvers said he believes another troubling
misconception occurs when people label partici
pants in the women’s movement as lesbians,
and he said he becomes annoyed when women
blame men for the past.
“It makes me angry that they were forced
into subservience,” he said, “But I didn’t do it
and I'm not part of the society that did it
“But society does need to change things,” he
added.