General Chat

My ex and brother in law both did TOPS courses.
Ex became an agricultural engineer, then trained special needs teenagers in agricultural engineering.
Brother in law became a boat builder.
Brilliant courses!

I was welding in the seventies, alongside a number of men, several with long,shaggy hair. I had a mullet so most of my longer hair was at the back.

Only one welder was made to wear a hairnet.

In the evening, I was taking the course for the certificate and was forced to use the staff toilets in the foyer because there was no womens lavatory in the engineering department.

:-D :-D :-D

maggie ............

I was in the Assistant Mistresses Union when I was a teacher in the UK ;-)

I taught in an all-girls grammar school, the county being one that kept grammar schools years after they were supposed to be replaced by Comprehensive Schools.

There were 3 men on staff, all the rest were women.

The men belonged to NUT (National Union of Teachers), almost all the women to AMU

My Dad made great play of the names :-D

Don't forget the recent furore at the BBC.

I agree with you about unionised jobs, Sylvia.

Fifty years ago I joined a union whose membership was well above 95% male and found it well worthwhile.

Some union leaders are worth their weight, so to speak, but I did come across a couple (both in the UK and overseas) who needed a boot up the proverbial!

There is still apparently pay inequity in a lot of jobs here in Canada, and the "glass ceiling" is also apparently still there in many jobs.

They keep trying to solve the problems, but there are still also lots of "white men" in positions of importance, eg in banking.

Unionised jobs seem to be reaching pay equity and balance.

They'd changed the job title, Madge, so Tom wasn't, in theory, doing the same job as Sue, but in reality he was.

I am no doubt doubting you Maggie are but you sure they can pay men a higher wage doing the same job as a women in 2019?

Before I went in the civil service I worked for the local council, just before I left I received a letter advising of equal pay I thought no more about it. About 3 weeks after I left , in local the newspaper it was announce that women who are and had worked for the council would be receiving a payout for equal pay as the said council had not adhered to this. I rang the council and they ask when I left, I finished that job on the Friday and started my new one on the Monday. I did receive the payoff 2mths and very nice it was :D

I was actually referring to the clip - 'rights not privileges' - but I have to admit a lot of women get equal pay now.
However, there is a 'subtle' way of ensuring men get more pay than women - change the title of the job.
I was temping somewhere once, with a lad - I shall call him Tom.
Tom was an admin officer. No more, no less. No 'special' experience, no courses taken. That job finished for me, I moved on.
A few months later, I was in the same organisation - but in a different department.
An e-mail went around from Sue - an admin officer, who was leaving.
Her position was being filled by - Tom. The Tom I knew.
However, although Sue - an admin officer could do the job - Tom, it appears, had to be upgraded to a 'finance consultant', to do the same job and would therefore be receiving a lot more money than Sue.

Ah - you may say, perhaps they were restructuring the department.
I asked around - no. Just as it was, but it appears, it takes a man with a higher title to do the same job a female admin officer could do :-|

Do you remember the old Skillcentres / Government Training Centres?

I was the first woman to take the Motor Vehicle Repair and Maintenance course at one.

To be honest, I didn't do well in the job stakes but I do feel that it was the mould-breakers like me who paved the way for girls who came later.

I was, initially, the only woman with 250 men and it really was not a problem.

My husband and sister do exactly the same job and receive exactly the same pay...standard. You can imagine my shock when my Mum made a comment " does Itsmytelly not mind being paid the same as Bossy sister?" :-0 She used to ask me some strange questions as well baring in mind she had the inset of dementia by then. I was a manager in the Civil service.

Do you have men on your team ? Yes Mum, do they do what you tell them? No because I ask them and informed them what is expected Mum no one tells people what to do anymore. Do they try it on and touch you? Pardon.. you know do they try and touch or feel your breasts ..Only if they want to wake up with a crowd round them and then face arrest of course not why mum? Then she began to tell me how it was part of the course when she was in the civil service in the early 50's and no man would of worked for a women and had a women on more money than them and how lucky I was to be able to continue in my job as I earn more than my husband not many would put up with it.

Now I may add my Mum was widowed at 42yrs and was one of most strongest independent woman I have ever known.

Some areas have improved, my daughter couldn't have done the job she's doing now 50 yrs ago.

She's an area director of a largish firm, a civil engineer and she's in charge of road schemes, the latest one she's being contracted for is worth 60 million pounds.

Still needs sorting in places though. My daughter goes into schools and colleges to talk to children and young adults about becoming engineers. Part of the reason she's been chosen to do this is she's female, 5 ft 4 ins and size 6. Most if not all the young people she meets are bigger than her so they know if she can cope physically with her job so can they.

She's only met one man who moaned about her on a site and she quickly proved to him she was very capable at her job - she married him and he now admits he was wrong. ;-)

50 years on - and this is still relevant :-(

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbjSOt7NxIY