University Daily Kansan
4.
Monday, Sept. 21, 1970
13
Two Roles Are Equal For Doctor
By CHERYL MEHAN
Kansan Staff Writer
It may be the fashion today to parade in picket lines and march under the banner of Women's Liberation for some, while others master a career and the job of housewife. Dr. Mary A. Hatfield, Watkins hospital, is one such exception.
Dr. Hatfield, mother of six, has been a member of the Watkins staff for ten years. She is from Griswold, Ia. Her life's ambition was to be a doctor and she has not encountered discrimination in the course of attaining this goal. Dr. Hatfield said at one time the number of women admitted to medical school was limited, but they now are admitted or rejected on the basis of academic qualifications just as male applicants. After entering medical school, she said, they were all treated equally as medical students.
Dr. Hatfield
... Watkins physician
After graduating from the University of Iowa, she spent three years at a tuberculosis center before practicing at Drake University. Although her interests and emphasis was pediatrics, Dr. Hatfield said she enjoys working with college students. Her eight to five hours gives her regular time with her family. She devotes her spare time to home interests. Gardening and sewing top her list of hobbies.
Dr. Hatfield stressed that no discrimination is made between sexes of the doctors at Watkins.
"We are very under-staffed and must share the work load evenly," she said, "We all have the same classifications, we are all staff physicians and our salary is the same."
Her job makes it difficult to be involved in activities outside the hospital and home duties but she is a member of the Douglas County Tuberculosis Board.
Discrimination Found
Women Working For Less
By KIT NETZER
and
JULIE SMITH
Kansie Staff Writers
The extent of job discrimination against women in this country is much greater than many people care to admit, but Emily Taylor, dean of women, said last week, "The problem is prevalent and Kansas is no exception.
Men in the state of Kansas with the same educational background and years of service as women make more money per month, ac-
Miss Taylor said that she was disappointed with the law because the final statement essentially nullified it. She cited an example.
women. It states that it is illegal to discriminate by sex unless unless there is a bona fide reason why a woman could not do the job. The qualification decision is at the employer's discretion, Miss Taylor said.
The Commission obtained information for the study from employment records of 551 Kansas men and women. Age, sex, educational level, beginning monthly salary, beginning job classification present job classification and years of service were recorded.
cording to a 1968 survey by the AWS Commission on the Status of Women.
The results indicated that for men working from 1-24 years salaries ranged from $225 to $1150 per month and for women with the same amount of service salaries were from $200 to $700 per month. The Commission also found that the average college-educated woman with 10.5 years of service earned $480 per month, half as much as the average college-educated man with slightly fewer years of experience. In fact, the average man with a high school education and fewer years of service earned $480 per month, more money than the average woman with a college education, according to the study.
Gwen Revels, a graduate of KU, applied for a Douglas County job as a probation officer on a recommendation from Miss Taylor. She has a degree in personnel administration which she said provided a good background for this particular type of job. The job was given to a man and according to Miss Revels, the employer said that he simply was not interested in a woman for the position.
The Commission made several suggestions to remedy the situation. They recommended that the Kansas Legislators pass minimum wage and equal pay laws for women. They also suggested that the Kansas Act Against Discrimination add the word "sex" so that it reads, "It is declared to be the policy of the State of Kansas to assure equal opportunities and encouragement to every citizen regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, or sex, in securing and holding, without discrimination, employment in any field of work or labor for which he is properly qualified."
Miss Taylor said as long as discrimination is built into the law, no significant improvement for the working woman can be made.
Last year the Kansas Legislature passed an equal pay law for women, Miss Taylor said. She said that the law provides that access to and promotion in jobs be equally available to men and
"Legal equality has to precede everything else," she said.
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