Please feel free to comment on any or all of my ramblings they are intended
to represent questions as much as observations.

1. I have observed that most occupations that were "womens'" as opposed to
those that were "mens'" have always seemed to require more formal education
and certification.

2. I have also observed the following pattern: When I hired a woman she
worked very hard to get the job right and if possible took formal training
in the subject. When I hired a man he seldom asked for formal training.
When he got the job half mastered he took off for his next position. She
stayed until she had really mastered it.

3. I remember a friend speaking of a conversation with her elderly aunt.
Now her aunt was a very bright and very wealthy woman. She never "worked."
However, she was always very active in the community as a volunteer. She
ran programs that did a lot for her community. (Probably as effective a
manager as anyone of either gender.) Her observation was that all the women
were working now and there was no one to do the work that she and her peers
had done for the community.

4. The most recent issue of Modern Maturity (AARP's rag) said in 1950, 87%
of men between the ages of 55 - 64 were working, and last year the figure
was 68% for the same age group. NPR radio said this was the best year in 25
years for summer work for students (at minimum wage). NPR also interviewed
a young woman (high school) who was working two minimum wage jobs while her
father was unemployed. I am drawing from these disparate reports an
uncomfortable picture of the country turning to minimum wage jobs, assuming
the parents can support the kids, and terminating the parents. How does
your industry fit into this picture?


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Douglas W. St.Clair
Tir Na Nog
400 Burton Highway
Wilton. NH 03086-5022
PH: 603-654-9321
FAX: 603-654-5440
EMAIL: [log in to unmask]
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