ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, February 15, 1996 TAG: 9602150051
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: NEW YORK
SOURCE: KAREN SCHWARTZ ASSOCIATED PRESS
WOMEN ARE A LOT LESS SATISFIED in their careers than men realize, a recent poll says. More women than men think females work harder. Very few women think men work harder.
Results of a new survey show that men and women disagree about a number of issues concerning the status of women in the workplace.
The poll, of subscribers to Fortune magazine, shows, for instance, that three-quarters of men thought both sexes worked equally hard in the workplace, but less than half the businesswomen - 44 percent - agreed.
A majority of women, 54 percent, thought female employees worked harder, a sentiment shared by only 17 percent of men. By comparison, only 8 percent of the men thought they worked harder, and only 1 percent of women agreed.
Similarly, 77 percent of female respondents thought women need to have more experience or a higher degree than men when applying for the same job; 43 percent of men agreed. A like number of men, 43 percent, thought the sexes are judged equally when applying for a job; only 20 percent of women agreed.
The survey, conducted by Fortune Marketing Research and Yankelovich Partners, was released by the accounting firm Deloitte & Touche LLP. It evaluated about 2,100 mail questionnaires returned last fall by Fortune subscribers. About 1,880 of the replies came from women, and about 230 came from men. The average age of the women respondents was 41, and their mean personal income was $87,500. For men, the average age was 47, and their mean income was $113,000.
Eileen Collins Neri, a senior research manager at Fortune Marketing, said the survey was intended to ``focus on solutions, not to gripe about the problems and the barriers.''
Although not representative of the population as a whole, the survey found some interesting distinctions between the way men and women perceived the workplace.
Women were a lot less satisfied in their careers than men realized. The majority of men, 61 percent, thought women were satisfied with the overall status of women in the workplace. But only 44 percent of women agreed.
On a personal level, 87 percent of the male respondents said they were satisfied with the current state of their careers. Only 78 percent of women were similarly satisfied.
``It's very clear that we have a different experience in life and a different perspective as a result,'' said Patricia Ireland, president of the National Organization of Women.
She said that the quest for equality must take those differences into account. ``We are the ones who get pregnant. We are overwhelmingly the ones who face sexual harassment in the workplace,'' she said.
One area in which men and women nearly agreed was in their estimation of how women are doing overall. Ironically, both sexes were overly optimistic. They estimated that 4 percent to 5 percent of chief executive officers in corporate America are women. According to the U.S. Labor Department, only 2 women, or less than 1 percent, are CEOs of the 1,000 biggest companies in the United States.
The respondents thought 7 percent to 10 percent of the top 10 officers of Fortune 500 companies were women. The Labor Department reported that women hold only 5 percent of the senior-level management jobs in America's 1,000 largest companies.
And women and men were both overly generous when estimating the number of women earning $100,000 or more annually, guessing 8.5 percent and 5.8 percent respectively. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, only 1.1 percent of women earned $75,000 or more in 1994.
On a positive note, both men and women said the presence of women in the workplace has had a positive effect. More than two-thirds of men and women said it has placed more emphasis on families and promoted a greater awareness and acceptance of different styles and points of view.
WHAT WOMEN SAY
Drue Barker, associate professor of economics, Hollins College, Roanoke: "Women have come a long way and are in the workplace to stay. But women are still burdened by being the primary caretakers of children ... [and] this is going to restrict their ability to make it in corporate America. Women have obviously learned to do men's work. What we need now is for men to learn to do women's work."
Norma Carlisle, store manager, Sears, Roebuck & Co. at Valley View Mall, Roanoke: "I was the only female in my management class in college. In our organization, there is no need to prove yourself or work harder. We have many women in nontraditional roles - we have a female auto-shop manager. A lot of it really has to do with how you're conducting yourself.
Sandy Williamson, customer service manager, Food Lion supermarket, Blue Ridge Shopping Center, Vinton: "Women here can rise as fast as gentlemen. The only thing I can see that would hold them back is that a woman still has to tend to the children. And most baby sitters quit at 6 p.m."
WHAT MEN SAY
Ben Hartman, investment representative, Edward D. Jones & Co., Roanoke: "In the CPA field, women are doing very well. They're well respected, and a lot of them like it because they can work flexible hours. In the investment field, women are definitely more respected these days."
Jason Pethel, home improvement manager, Sears, Roebuck & Co., Valley View Mall, Roanoke: "A little further south, in Florida and Georgia, it's a little more toward the male side; there's a little bit of gender stratification. But here, it's pretty much equal. I have more women working for me in hardware and plumbing and paint than men. And they've taught me some things about hardware."
Joseph Richardson, Cloverdale, retired trainmaster, Norfolk and Western railway: "When I met her, my wife was a bookkeeper. At the time, a married woman could not work for the company, so when we got married, she had to resign. I was the first one to train a lady trainmaster to ride the trains and make efficiency checks. I don't think it's as difficult for women as it once was."
LENGTH: Long : 113 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: Chart by AP: Women in the workplace.by CNB