Women may be diffident about attending courses

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33580, 8 July 1974, Page 6

Women may be diffident about attending courses

Possible reasons for an apparent lack of interest by women in the New Zealand Institute of Management’s courses have been given in a statement by the Christchurch branch of the National Organisation of Women.

An article in “Canterbury Management News,” reprinted in “The Press” on July 2, mentioned the “surprisingly low” number of women taking advantage of courses and study programmes run by the Canterbury division of the institute. Comparative figures were given and the article said that “the Canterbury division believes this wrhole question deserves further considers-1 tion.”

The branch president of N.O.W. (Mrs Pat Syme) says that women could be to blame as they may be diffident about attending courses where they are likely to be “the only woman” among a large number of men. EXPENSE “On the other hand, the courses are expensive and women (who today are still employed in the lower-paid jobs in business) may be less able to afford the fees than men,” says Mrs Syme). “Employers (in the experience of some of our members) offer little encouragement to women on their staff to become executives and are not inclined to pay for a woman to attend a management course. In fact, women are

seldom recruited into management jobs as a glance at any ‘Situations Vacant’ column in a newspaper will show. “Another reason wh'y fewer women are represented in the business world is the difficulty that mothers with school-aged children have in making arrangements for the care of their children after school and during the holidays. This partly accounts for the large number of women who choose teaching as a career as it is 'one of the few jobs which enable a mother to be at home after school.

“A survey conducted by the' Society for Research on Women showed that most of the employers interviewed felt that women should be home for their children after school yet were reluctant to provide more flexible. working hours. “Until we see the estab-

lishment of regular afterschool care centres and holiday camps for children, glide \ time-for men and women, job I sharing, shorter working ■ hours, and job benefits for; part-time workers, women ■ have little chance of achiev-| ing equality in the business world,” Mrs Syme says.

Plunket Society officers.— At the recent annual meeting of the Hanmer Springs branch of the Plunket Society officers elected included the following:—President, Mrs P. Ensor; secretarytreasurer, Mrs A. Alleyne.