C) O

A welder or an elctrician hemett’ s work) can expect
to make approxiartely “700 tu $4,900 a month, buth a steno-
erapher can expect approximately 350 a month. Anyone
buying srocieries for hunsry children will realize the
inadequacy of women s wages. Hconomic independence is the
first step twward freedom for an oppressed people - a fact
elearly recognized by Manpower when it forbids job orders
specifying the race, relizion or color of a prospective

employee.

A woman who seeks work at a Manpower center is
faced with work listings blatantly segregated by sex. Man-
power forbids “whites only” or “Catholics only” but apparently
sees nothing wrong with discrimination on the basis of sex.
Justice surely calls for an end to prejudice and discrimination:
qualifications, not sex, must determine the type of job a
woman is offered.

,rie nost flagrant example of this is the basis for
the women s caucus demonstration against post office discrimi-«-
nation on Saturday afternoor at the main vost office. A
spokesman for tae post office personnel department told us
that they requsst tianpower to hire women for the $1.25 an
hour Christmas help work and to hire men for the 1,50 an
hour work. He added that only sex and availability were
considered. we are accusins both the post office and Man-
power of ugly discrimination - both participated in the act.

4 nenber of Wonen s Caucus recently applied at Man-
pewér for a job as desk clerk in a hotel - a job for which she
had five years experience. Ske was told that the openinss for
this work specified “men only”. (This example and others in
the brief are not based on hearsay. If you desire, witnesses
wan be called to verify the events,)

lanpower also accepts and defends the prejudices of
employers regarding marital status and the existence of children.
Application forms in Manpower offices list these criteria
though they have no relation to ability to do the job. Fartic-
ularly in the case of women, these criteria are used as reasons
for denying women employment.

The myths about women must be destroyed, Manpower
must accept the responsibility of a federal department to
initiate chanze which would ensure justice for all people. It
must take the lead in educating people against prejudice and
discrimination, ‘“ininally, it must stop discriminatory
practices in its own offices.

axaminine the jobs offered women in a Manpower office
or the help wanted - female columns in the Newspaper (which
Manpower uses also), pone sees that “female” occupations, as
traditionally defined, are those which are extensions of the
work women do as housewife and mother, This society defines
wonen ag the socializers = the mothers, teachers, librarians ~
the homemakers - waitresses, cooks, domestic labor, maids -
and ag the carers of the young, sick and aced = the nurses,
nurses aides, babysitters, Wemen do the werk men seorn,