ae WOMEN

by Elizabeth Smith

The enrolment of women in
athe Toronto area Institute of
Canadian Bankers’ lecture

program increased by 115 per

ent in the year 1971-1972 over
he previous year, In 1971-72
4 women represented 31 per cent
Bae of the tolal enrolment compared
Bwith 17.2 per cent in 70-71.
i Canadian figures (including
both lecture and correspon-
dence enrolments) show a
similar though not so dramatic

rend. Female enrolments
Rincreased from 17 to 26.6 per
gcent.

What are some of the changes

taking place which might ac-
Mcount for such a marked in-
Hcrease in the participation of
@ women in the ICB Program? To
Bwhat extent is women’s in-
Mi volvement influenced by our
M perceptions about men’s and
Swomen’s roles? Are these
Nfounded on fact? Are they
B myths? What impact, if any, do
Mour expectations for women
Bhave on the roles they play in
organizations? Are there other
options to consider.?

In her study ‘Manpower

Utilization in Canadian
AChartered Banks’, (for the
Royal Commission Report on
the Status of Women in Canada)
1971, Marianne Bossen reported
that 89.7 per cent of all women
employed in Canadian char-
tered banks earned more than
$5,000 This was the finding, in
spite of the fact that 64 per cent
of the employees were women.
She found no woman at all] in the
level one of line management
and one woman at the lop level
in specialist management, Her
study indicated that there were
29 fernale branch managers and
709 female branch accountants.
It would appear tha ¢ this
noticeable movement of women
up to accountant level, com-
bined with their placement in
specialized staff areas
requiring post secondary
Zeducation, might be factors
encouraging them and_ their
female colleagues to enrol in
professional development
programs such as, the ICB

ae Program.

Whether or not she increased
participation of women in the
ICB Program, of which one
objective is to help employees
equip themselves to become
managers, will result in more
women being promoted to
@ positions... of......increased
responsibility, is difficult, to
predict. One general’ manager
of a Canadian chartered bank,
in talking about the fact that so
few women were perceived aS
being sufficiently competent to
handle the manager role, stated

fo that his particular bank was
A focusing onsimplifying the

decision-making required of
managers. He hoped, as a result
of this, to be able to place more
in branch manager
ae positions. His reasons were that
@ he fell pressured to use more
2 women inline management, but
fam most importantly, his bank was
Mhaving difficulty securing
sufficient numbers of capable
young men who wished to make
banking a career, When asked
whether or not his bank had
considered offering special
development programs to
women of demonstrated
competence, his reply indicated
B that he had not to date seen this
™ s: s a viable alternative. His
m@ remark supported Marianne
| Bossen’s finding that
“generally speaking, women
are not looked on as career
malerial - and, of. course,
women do nol imtend to make a
career of banking.” ;
Women in the Labour Force
) Before World War II.
i women worked prior to
marriage but gave up gainful
} employment oun their wedding
day; never to return except in
-ecases of economic. necessily,
Men, on the other hand, were
i looked upon as the producers
and the breadwinners, and, in
f most cases have worked until
7 relirement at the age of 65.
Following the war, women
S continued to work for-a short
; time after marriage. It became
accepLable for a young girl to
work for one or two years after
J her marriage or until ‘she
became pregnant, Gradually,
f year by year, increased
numbers of married women
have been exlending this period

tothe point where a teenage gir] |
is now advised to ‘plan for 25°"

years of gainful or paid ‘em-
a ployment, Employer needs for
trained’ staff .have combined
with the rising cost of living and

the increased use of. labor-
saving devices in the home to.
the point where fifty-eight, per _
cent of the Canadian female -

labor force was made up of

relurn Lo the labor, force. This wie
has contributed to ‘the higher

mber of married women who

begin a second phase of work-
life aller withdrawal from the
labor market for the child-
bearing and child-rearing
years. Il is this post war
phenomenon which contributes
lo the present descriplion of
women's working lives as being
discontinuous. That is, they
work for several years, marry,
slay home for a few years and
then return {o gainful em-
ployment when their children
enter school. Men, on the other
hand, have (ended to conlinue to
work for pay, without in-
terruption. These patterns may
change however, for both men
and women, if we accelerate
present trends which show a
rapid increase in the number
and use of day care centres as
well as in unemployment and
adulls returning to school or
college for periods of intensive
study.

In spite of women’s in-
creasing labor force par-
licipation, there is still a
division of labor between male
and female occupations. The
last comprehensive data
available is provided by the 1961
Canada census.

We note women’s con-
centration in a few occupations
as follows; Clerical 28.9 per
cent; Services and Recreation
22.4 per cent; Professianal and
Technical 15.4 per cent,
Manufacturing 12.8 per cent;
Sales 8.3 per cent; Managerial
3.3 per cent; Miscellaneous 8.9
per cent. Women do not appear
(o advance to higher levels or
organizations and it is not un-
common for a woman to end a
working career of many years,

nol far above the level at which -

she started,
Altitudes at root of under-
utilization.

It would appear that changes
in attitudes are occuring more
slowly than adjustments in
legislation designed to ensure
equality for both men and
women, John Carson, Chair-
man, Public Service Com-
mission of Canada, stated that
there is no discrimination
against women in the Public
Service Employment Act which
determines conditions of work
for federal civil servants. He
said, however, that “there are
forces within the public service
that serve Lo prevent women
from enjoying complete quality

of opportunity. These forces are

not as a result of legislative
shorteomings but stem instead
from human attiludes and
prejudices, Attitudes are hard
to detect, difficult to define and
quite impossible lo destroy
except through the process of
evolutionary erosion.”’ ,

Assuming that provincial and
federal legislation does support
equal opportunities for men and
women, whal are some of the
attitudes to which John Carson
refers? Are they present in
banks? How have they
developed? What are some of
the outcomes?

One altitude referred to
earlier suggests that women are
not considered career oriented.
Inslead, they are looked upon as
short-lerm employees  in-
terested in working until

- marriage or lo buy a new home.
They find themselves employed
in low-level jobs, and, in the
majority, of cases, are pér-
ceived as helpers and ap-
pendages, rather than as
persons with a useful con-
tribulion to make in their own
right. Seldom are they seen as
sources of help or initiators of
action. Woman appears to be
define d not in terms of herself,
but in terms of man: “Adam's
temptress, his helpmate, _his
wife and. asother of his
children.” The work roles of
men and women appear to
follow their. social roles, We
have develdped organizations
where, for example, a
secretary's classification is
determined by the level of her.
boss, not by the kind of work'she
is required to perform. In the
same way, a woman's social
slalus lends to be delermined
by that of her husband.

An analysis of labor force
trends indicates that women's
employment is not short-term.

_ Rather, it is discontinuous, The
assumption thal men will stay
indefinitely and produce a
relurn on investmerat is also
opén' to question. Young men in

discontinuous careers.. It is

predicted thatthe average male :._

’ will make at least three major

‘- occupational ‘shifts in his

* lifetime. He is’ likely to un-
-dertake a full-time commitment
_to education as a mature
’ student, make shifts and
ayo gain experience in. com-
pletely different kinds of

organizations, There will be. eto

times when -he will not

necessariiy:be the provider for .;
. the house!

d.: Thus; itis :ex

pected’ thal: there may be:

increase, in the’ number. of oc:

- castons when. the wife .is ‘the
“major family breadwimer,

the present time, however

any ‘married women, fin

plement. the family income:

-particular are looking ahead to.

+ (empelves working for reasons th
of,.economle necessity or. to:

In addition to married women
who work for economic reasons,
we have the 9 per cent
separated, divorced or widowed
as well as the 33 per cent single
women in the labor force who,
as well as providing for
themselves, are in. many cases
responsible for dependents.
Also, we have a rapidly in-
creasing number of highly
educated women who are
reluciant to let their education
go to wasle, They are seeking to
combine a career with home
and family responsibilities.

Frequently, the rationale for
the under-utilization of women
in organizalions is the claim
that women have a highe r rate
of absenteeism and-or

turnover. This lends to be a-

factual] statement when data for
(he entire working population
are analyzed by sexes.
However, studies carried out
by the Women's Bureau of the
Federal Department of Labour
as well as the Public Service
Commission of Canada indicate
that women have favorable
records of attendance and

THE HERALD, TERRACE, B.C,

labour turnover when these
data are compared at similar
job levels and under similar
circumslances. The routine,
low-level job, where we find the
majority of women employed, is
where we find the greatest
turnover. —

It is frequently assumed that
women are not interested in
advancement and respon-
sibility. They do not seem to
demonstrate the same desire as
men to enrol in training
programsandten .o turn down
opportunities for transfer and
promotion, Are we to draw the
conclusion, based on this
behavior, that women have less
potential than men, or is there
something more subtle al work?

David McClelland points out
thal psychological tests indicate
that women are characterized
by certain strengths specific to
them as opposed to men, These
are: working with people,
taking account ‘of context and
doing many things at once, all
par-lime, For example, they
are able to manage their homes
and carry on their varied

responsibilities as wives and -

mothers in spite of constant

interruptions. On these same,

tests, men were found to be
more assertive and single-
minded than women, ‘Con-
formity to external codes of
ethics and morality have been
found to be much more im-
portant to girls, while autonomy
of self directiveness appears to
be more important to boys.

In spite of the fact that indi-
vidual studies reveal that there
some apparent differences
between men and women in
addition to the biological ones,
generally speaking there are
more differences among men
and among women than there
are between the sexes.

It has been suggested by
many writers and supported by
exlensive research, that people
are what you expect them lo be,
“The way managers treat their
subordinates is subtly in-
fluenced by what they expect af
them. If a manager's ex-
pectations are high, produc-
tively is likely to be excellent,
If his expectations are low,

Se AE CRAY BET OPA

s

productivity is likely to be poor.

It-is as though there was a law
that caused a subordinate’s
performance to rise‘or fal] to
meet hig manager's ex-
pectations.”” A report by
Sterling J. Livingston
elaborates on these statements
and is supported by studies he
has conducted in industry, as
well as by reference to ex-
periments demonstrating the
impact of teacher expectations

on public performance, In -

summary, he states thal all
evidence presently available
points to the fact thal
“Subordinates, more often than
nol, appear to do what they
believe they are expected to
do.”

Expectations in organizations

Let us look for a moment then
at some of the different ex-
peclations we have of men and
women in organizations.

. It is: accepted that men
supervise men and women, but
not for a wornan to give orders
lo a‘man. In other words,

WEDNESDAY, OCTUBER 4, 1972 .

-women should not initiate ac-

tion for men, This is considered
unfeminine. -

. Women are. not sufficlently .

assertive. They are tem-
peramentally or emotionally
incapable of coping with Abe
tensions and pressures of the
managerial role. .

, Most clients will not be
comfortable dealing with a
woman in a position of in-
fluence. .

. Women are first and

foremost wives and mothers.
Men are expected to be suc-
cessful in their careers in ad-
dition 18 being husbands and
fathers,

If we agree with what
Livingston has to say about the
influence of expectations on
behavior, is it not possible that
we have a “self fulfilling
prophecy’! at work? Do we not,
therefore, put the intelligent,
capable and creative woman in
a double bind? She realizes that
she has ability; she has a strong
need as a human being to fulfill

herself, to grow and develop,,

yet at the same time she is a

above point,

d human resource...

woman responsive lo soci¢ly’s
expectations. © For her self
image, it is important that she
be perceived as feminine.

Malina — Horner, | a
psychologist now at Harvard
University, conducted some
studies al the University of
Michigan, \bat relate to the
In her ex-
periments on achievement ,
motivationshe found thata high
percentage of women were
repelled by competition and
showed some natural Jack of
aggression. - _

On turther investigation, she
discovered that they did nol
exhibit a will to fall, but rather
an active, anxious desire’ to
avoid success. Her theory is

‘called “The Motive to Avoid
In her study she .

Suecess,””
found that ‘‘unusual excellence
in women was clearly.
associated for them with the
loss of femininity, social
rejection, . personal or. social
desiruction on or some com-
bination of the above.”

¥ Cont'd on Page 17

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