"Don’t Settle For Less.” - Director of Career Services at BSU, Margie Giauque
By Cheyenne Horien and Alexandria Leister
One of the longest months on the calendar is March, and besides hosting Daylight Saving Time and St. Patrick’s Day, the month of March is dedicated to the history of women. The National Women's History Museum - a museum based solely on commemorating accomplishments of influential women - is currently in the process of being built in our nation’s capital. According to the NWHM’s, their main goal is to "illuminate the role of women in transforming society and encourage all people, women and men, to participate in democratic dialogue about our future."
On March 15th a seminar was held at Bemidji State University addressing exactly those issues.
In BSU’s first official event of Women's History Month, a group of five women from BSU and around the area led the discussion on self-awareness and self-confidence in the work place.
BSU Director of Women’s Studies and Professor of Sociology Coleen Greer said that even though the panel comprised only women and was focused primarily towards other women, parts of the discussion related to all students who will be graduating and entering the work-place. “The fact that the way in which the work place is organized, it has a tendency to reproduce gender differences,” Greer said. These include everything from what kind of jobs are available to the wages we associate with those jobs. She added “We’ve seen a lot of differential in terms of how much women are paid verses how much men are paid.”
Northwoods Woman Magazine Publisher Karen Tolkkinen emphasized making sure you as an employee are getting paid fairly for the work you do, regardless of gender. “Women make 77 cents for every dollar that men make for the same jobs,” she explained. She posed the question to the audience: "How do you know what you're worth?" Tolkkinen also pointed out that assumptions and stereotypes can affect what careers women and men choose. Women seldom chose to go into engineering or scientific careers, whereas men rarely enter “feminized” positions such as nurses or elementary teaching. In addition, jobs traditionally held by women often pay less, even though the education and skill level needed for those jobs may be equal to or greater than many jobs traditionally held by men.
BSU Director of Career Services Margie Giauque told a story of an interview she had as a recent college graduate. She made the mistake of failing to ask for her starting salary of $22,000 in writing. At the time of her hire, she was told she would be making only $18,500 instead because she was supposedly under-qualified. After this bitter lesson, she realized that experience is needed even to negotiate salaries in addition to landing a job. Giauque’s work as the director of career services here on campus does just that. “Don’t settle for less,” she said adamantly.
BSU Asst. Prof. of Accounting Dr. Leah Carpenter agreed that the interview process has changed due to technology. “Employer’s are using technology to screen applicants beforehand,” she pointed out. This means that personal Facebook pages and other social networking sites should be kept professional. Carpenter added to “remember to prepare yourself for interactive interviews,” in which the focus isn’t just on your resume but rather your communication skills.
BSU Prof. of Mass Communication Louise Mengelkoch surprised the crowd, comprising mostly BSU students, with her story of her class-action lawsuit against BSU, in which she was the named plaintiff. The case, which began in 1999, was one of six class-action lawsuits at Minnesota state universities which revolved around pay equity. Mengelkoch found out that after teaching at BSU for 10 years, she was the lowest-paid tenured professor on campus. By agreeing to represent the class, which was female professors, she risked her career for the betterment of women like her.
The case lasted until 2001, before reaching an out-of-court settlement. One hundred women received benefits, including back pay, from the settlement. Mengelkoch said that “What shocked me the most about the whole process was the lack of openness, the lack of communication and the lack of curiosity.” She explained that wages should not be a taboo topic to discuss, and being curious is a good way to find out the information you need.
BSU student Brittany Glass attended the seminar. She said that there was good input from the panelists, and knowledge about what to expect in the workplace from those who have experienced it was helpful.
Another BSU student who attended the seminar, who wishes to remain anonymous said that even though she liked what the panelists had to say, she felt as though they only “scratched the surface” and was hoping they would go more in depth with their information.
Other events in honor of Women’s History Month will be taking place on campus throughout the month of March. To find out more, go the BSU Web site at http://www.bemidjistate.edu/ . Learn more about Women’s History Month at www.nwhm.org.
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In the middle, Louise Mengelkoch discusses her class-action lawsuit against BSU at a seminar on March 15th. Photo by Alex Leister |
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(Left to Right) Coleen Greer, Margie Giauque, Louise Mengelkoch, Karen Tolkkinen and Leah Carpentar discussing self-awareness and self-confidence in the work place for women. Photo by Alex Leister |
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