Over the summer, the summer between my first and second year of college, I volunteered to work for my father in our family business. The business, not very flashy, was a quarrying business in its prepubescent stage, meaning there were a lot of open positions. I was selected, with my very, very limited expertise in operating machinery to, you guessed it, operate a piece of heavy machinery. I was the driller. My job was to put holes in the ground, using a thousand-pound piece of equipment, so that we can excavate the stone in the future. This luxurious job was my profession for the summer, and it would open my eyes to how much (or little) the world has changed.
During my daily shift, I would spend many hours on my own. Working in the hot sun, without supervision, and without means to use a restroom. Working in a quarry meant that 85% to 95% of the employees were men; this meant that certain amenities were not necessarily a requirement for some workers, AKA bathrooms. Being a woman, and without the means to whip it out and use the restroom where I please, this created a problem. The industries’ expectation of having a male staff meant that the companies pandered to a male population, and only spent the funding on amenities that would benefit this population. This meant the ability to work in these fields was difficult to enter as a woman. Although, from an outside perspective, the lack of a bathroom does not seem like the largest ordeal, but it represents the fundamental obstacles facing women in entering a predominately male profession.
An additional responsibility during my summer career as a driller was coordinating with a team of 3-5 men and schedule blasting. After a few weeks on the job, I understood the procedure and what was required from me and my team; however, this fact was often disputed. Working in a predominately white-male space, my capabilities were put into question often. Despite my many successful coordination and planning, I was doubted by my team. It was my role, not only to do my job but to constantly prove to these men that I was competent. I had to always be correct with my statements and measurements, I had to consistently bring my “A” game. No mistakes were tolerated or else I would have to restart the chore of proving myself.
The blatant sexism would not have been so sufferable if it weren’t for the inequality that coincided. If any of the middle-aged, white men were to make a mistake, they would experience a smack on the wrist or perhaps a minor form of punishment, but their skill or competence would never be put into question. Even if the mistakes were drastic. Even if the mistake halted production for over a week. Even if the mistake cost multiple people, individuals who were already in financial distress, a paycheck.
An instance occurred like this in the middle of July. One of the workers, Rob, decided he did not feel like coming to work for a week. Management was not informed. I was not informed. It was just Rob waking up and feeling like he needed a vacation. Rob’s job was to excavate the site in order for me to do my job; this was crucial to the process. Without Rob, the job could not be complete, and because of his lack of attendance, we were behind by a week and a half in our production. This lack of work ethic resulted in the loss of profits and paychecks for people who depended on Rob to do his job. Drastic consequences occurred due to the laziness of a single male worker, yet this man picked up his position the next week. Only experiencing a stern talking to about the importance of showing up to his job. A lesson that should already be well-known to a man who worked in the field for over 30 years.
Scenarios like this occurred often in the workplace. White, well-connected men in the community were able to take these kinds of risks. To be frivolous with their careers because many would not experience the consequences of their actions. Meanwhile, women were expected to tread carefully. Since they were already so “privileged” to be in this male-dominated environment, they were expected to make no mistake. They were expected to do more than was listed in the job description.
Women face social bias and stereotypes within the workplace because of the deeply embedded characteristics associated with the female gender, that despite their reality, impact the way male counterparts view their female coworkers. The patriarchal society that views men as the aggressive, ambitious, breadwinner, also views women as warm, subservient nurturers (Historic UK). In scenarios when an individual does not meet this archaic mold, for example, an ambitious woman CEO, they are often scrutinized. This reliance on gender roles and stereotypes defines society's expectations of what “women should and should not do in certain situations,” according to an analysis by the Barcelona School of Economics, and this directly contradicts the entire act of women entering the workforce and being the breadwinners. Therefore, the reliance on traditional archetypes of women is impeding the progression of equality in the workplace, and the only means to dismantle this mentality is to remove the patriarchal lens encapsulating our society.
No, working in the pit is not my ideal profession, but it widened my perspective on the abundance of inequality and obstacles women endure in the workplace. How many other women need to work twice as hard, just to be given a chance? Women are expected to be unemotional, but extroverted, friendly, but not a people pleaser, professional but not a prude. The expectations of women are above and beyond the traditional job description, and especially more than the obligations assigned to their male coworkers. The inequity that exists within the American office is a fascinating topic. As a society, we believed that inequality and sexism were eradicated from the workplace, however, I would like to enlighten you that, we as a nation, as the city of Pittsburgh, we have a long road ahead to truly abolish the archaic and debilitating mindset that affects half the world’s population
Sources:
Castelow, Ellen. “The 1950s Housewife.” Historic UK. https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/The-1950s-Housewife/. Accessed 21 Sept. 2022.
Gërxhani, Klarita et al. “Competition and Gender Inequality: A Comprehensive Analysis of Effects and Mechanisms.” (2021). http://www.iae.csic.es/investigatorsMaterial/a211012100607sp20107.pdf Accessed 16 Sept. 2022.
Sims, Ian and Brown, Bev. “Lea’s Chemistry of Cement and Concrete,” ScienceDirect. Edited by Peter C. Hewlett, Butterworth-Heinemann, 4th Edition, 1998. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/drilling-and-blasting Accessed 16 Sept. 2022.
Tekinbas, Ege. "How Will Women Fit Into the Mining Workforce of the Future? - Intergovernmental Forum : Intergovernmental Forum." 14 June 2022, https://www.igfmining.org/women-mining-workforce-future/, Accessed 16 Sept. 2022.