[speaker001:] uh do you want to start do you have any ideas
[speaker002:] well the the the changes of course in the past past generation are the women in the work force
[speaker001:] that's for sure
[speaker002:] um and the while their positions salaries still aren't there yet the opportunities for women who are at least driven uh do do tend to be a little bit more compatible with uh changes in life style
[speaker001:] um um-hum
[speaker002:] so I suspect that that may have had more to do with uh changes in society than anything else is the number of the women in the work force
[speaker001:] um-hum yes and you know you said um along with salaries I also think that I think there's a little bit um that can be I don't know a little more development in the area of respect as well I don't know if women in higher positions are necessarily given the same respect as men
[speaker002:] um-hum um I think it depends on which positions and perhaps the personalities of the women
[speaker001:] yeah that's true
[speaker002:] um let's face it there there are men executives who have um uh gotten gotten there by uh rather um unsavory means uh you know trapping everybody up along the way um when uh uh they may not be necessarily liked but if when a woman does that she is ridiculed
[speaker001:] um-hum um-hum right
[speaker002:] uh to the n-th degree where as it's almost expected of men so some of that is stereotype I think
[speaker001:] right it's true like the uh the movie Working Girl did you ever see that
[speaker002:] um-hum I think I have although at the moment you I mean I know a little bit about it but
[speaker001:] oh um-hum well I think that sort of it was funny because it it sort of gave two very different types of women that both had very strong potentials and one had extremely aggressive and step on whoever you can
[speaker002:] yeah right
[speaker001:] way of getting to the top and the other one just worked hard and did you know her job and did it well and all that but um
[speaker002:] um-hum um-hum um-hum I think the educational opportunities have made some difference uh because at one point I know my mother-in-law used uh talked about when she went to college
[speaker001:] yeah
[speaker002:] she really sort of had to to do her own way because although she was one of three daughters um and while her parents were um very supportive in many ways they didn't really seem to have the um the the uh I don't know the understanding that that daughters should go on for a college degree uh had they been sons uh you know that would have been expected but for daughters it wasn't as necessary um and see I don't think that's so true anymore I think
[speaker001:] sure oh yeah exactly oh not at all
[speaker002:] people expect both daughters and sons to have whatever opportunities are available uh I know we have three sons and one daughter but the differences
[speaker001:] um-hum right and
[speaker002:] are are negligent in that area and in fact they they were in my own families as well um it was never considered that my sister and I wouldn't go to college uh you and you know certainly my brothers would but but we were included in that so I think those things do
[speaker001:] um-hum um-hum um-hum right well my mother I my parents are older because my siblings are all older I'm the youngest of older siblings and my mother um was
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] had the uh had three sisters and one brother um so she had two sisters and one brother in any case um her she and her two sisters actually had to work and not go to school to put him through school
[speaker002:] uh-huh oh yeah
[speaker001:] and that I when I mean she she obviously at the time people didn't think twice about it you know that was just the way you did it but um and and and what was most important to them if they wanted to get a job was if they could type
[speaker002:] right right right right well you know that hasn't changed so much
[speaker001:] you know um take shorthand and um-hum well that's true that's the
[speaker002:] I know uh it's it it's always appalled me because I did not uh suffer that same problem fortunately uh because I went into biological research when I first got out of college um and so you know I was not in a in a situation where I would
[speaker001:] uh-huh oh
[speaker002:] asked to do typing uh but um I know that even now um many young women getting out of college
[speaker001:] right
[speaker002:] tend to find themselves in that position of of having to be uh sort of part of the secretarial pool it might not be called that but that boils down to what it is
[speaker001:] yes no it is it is
[speaker002:] until they work their way up and I don't think very many young men are ask to do that although perhaps they are asked to do somewhat uh less uh technical jobs or you you know too perhaps uh you know start working their way up but I don't think it's quite as um as low on the totem pole
[speaker001:] um-hum um-hum no exactly I know and you know just another whole thing I work at Manpower Temporary Services so I see I see the work force out there and I see a lot of um like what's just what's going on and I'm finding that
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] and maybe this is just the way it always was people in the secretarial pool um that really stand out are the people that that end up being the supervisors of the departments or the managers or whatever and so even though it might be belittled when they first go for the job
[speaker002:] um-hum um-hum um-hum
[speaker001:] it really is a stepping stone to something a lot greater
[speaker002:] yeah I do know that uh there are plenty of uh executive secretaries whose responsibilities are greater than the CEO's uh that and they may not make the money but they they have a lot of prestige many do make the money too actually but
[speaker001:] sure and they I know well but they keep the CEO running you know they keep them oh yeah
[speaker002:] um-hum and sometimes those are men too sometimes those secretaries are men which is good I'm glad to see that change um
[speaker001:] that's true yep um-hum but you it's it's I've always heard I I don't know if you know this joke it's uh it talks about um this this child and his parents were in a car and there was a car accident and you know that one right right
[speaker002:] oh yeah and they go to the hospital and uh uh uh one parent what what I guess the the uh father was killed
[speaker001:] uh yeah right
[speaker002:] and they get to the hospital and the doctor comes in to uh work on the injured child and says oh I can't uh do that that's my child
[speaker001:] uh-huh right how does that happen
[speaker002:] yeah I mean but see it's so obvious I guess the first time I heard it I immediately thought of a doctor because that's what I originally wanted to do so it's but it's amazing how many people do you know for a minute stop and think
[speaker001:] oh okay well you know I well I think I even did seriously and I
[speaker002:] yeah I'm I'm yeah sure we're all victims of this sure we've we've been brought up in the society that's perpetrated that problem
[speaker001:] um-hum right um oh what was oh you know one other place is um women in the Army that I think that's really changed a lot
[speaker002:] yeah yeah
[speaker001:] um I I don't know if I necessarily agree with that but I I don't think I agree with the Army but that's a whole different topic
[speaker002:] well I don't have yeah right right I I suppose my feeling is that it doesn't matter male or female uh at least they if they're given the same opportunity then that's good although they can't always there there are certainly differences of men and women the I guess the other thing that was asked in this to for us to discuss was um what kind of changes this has brought about or what do we see in the future and uh just because this Sunday past Sunday was Mother's Day of course there was some articles in the newspaper about the uh mother s in the work force and that has that has certainly made a tremendous difference in society
[speaker001:] um-hum oh oh yeah
[speaker002:] but what is interesting is at least in the Washington Post there was um a a a report of a study that suggested that there were more women now who regretted the necessity for having to work and and leave their young children and that more if given the opportunity if if financial if it were not financially necessary would stay home you know would have the choice would make take make the choice of staying home
[speaker001:] um-hum yep yep
[speaker002:] while their children were young um and it's interesting because I don't know if that's a switch if somehow maybe that's being revalued or reevaluated or not I was fortunate enough that um well it was a decision
[speaker001:] yeah um
[speaker002:] uh when we had children to make that decision and we determined that we would live on my salary on my husband's salary when we first got married so that when we had children we would not you you know fall into that necessity of having my having to work and so we made that choice we didn't live as well but we lived well enough
[speaker001:] um-hum um-hum right uh-huh um-hum but you made sacrifices and you gained things you know but
[speaker002:] uh uh sure but you see for me that was the more more important I know of plenty of friends of friends who did not were not able to make that choice
[speaker001:] right right
[speaker002:] and that's difficult because I think in the long run uh part of the problem in society and maybe part of what happens to the bad the negative attitude of women working comes about because children remember the the traumas of their mothers trying to work and run the household and some of those things that that has not changed and I think that's a serious issue
[speaker001:] yeah yeah right and and and you know and then the marriage suffers because how much time can you physically spend with your husband if your being torn in in all the direction
[speaker002:] exactly yeah right oh yeah it it's very difficult so that needs to be done and education perhaps education will eventually do it but uh the idea that that all those uh things that were traditionally thought to be the housewife when she was home as a housewife are still hers even if she's out working
[speaker001:] yeah right um-hum yeah right
[speaker002:] uh you know that's a serious problem uh
[speaker001:] right uh one thing that I I think Rochester is being a little proactive um several companies are actually now providing some on site very reasonably uh reasonable cost day care
[speaker002:] wow that's nice yeah
[speaker001:] that is great because then at least the child is going with the parent to you know right to the company
[speaker002:] um-hum and can take care of the child if if if the child is ill or something yeah yeah
[speaker001:] yeah exactly and then the mother the mother or the father whoever can see them during their lunch or you know the um they're just a lot more available even though they're still at work they're not over at some stranger's house you know
[speaker002:] um-hum um-hum right and actually I have a few friends who who uh have a a nontraditional a nontraditional uh family in that the husband is is home with the children
[speaker001:] oh really
[speaker002:] uh and the wife is is out with the more uh uh nine to five kind of job and then the husband in one case is a is a musician so he does uh was uh
[speaker001:] uh-huh um-hum oh
[speaker002:] guitar lessons and does a lot of uh professional playing you know for weekends and so on but essentially it's his wife who uh is the primary uh uh money provider there it's an interesting situation and they have three children
[speaker001:] um-hum huh it is oh wow
[speaker002:] uh so and it seems to have worked very well but um but those things are rare I I must say they're still not uh
[speaker001:] that's great um-hum society still isn't up to just being okay with that you know they're really not um because even the way you say it you you talk about it as the exception you know right and um
[speaker002:] no no it is the exception yeah