A quiet revolution

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34044, 7 January 1976, Page 6

A quiet revolution

A quiet revolution is under way in the United States. It may not be spectacular, and it mat have escaped much notice. but it is changing; life in America in dramatic, if even quiet The revolution is in the impressive progress women are making toward full achievement of their rights. This progress gained new momentum last June as the House of Representatives and the Senate passed legislation that would allow women to enter the UnitedStates service academies, and new regulations were issued by the Federal Government to require equal treatment for women in the nation’s schools and colleges in vocational training, athletics. financial aid. and faculty hiring. More doctors Although most of the attention in the area of women’s rights has focused! on the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, which now requires approval by four more states before 1979 to become a constitutional amendment. a number of less noticeable, but significant, changes are taking place Women comprise about 40 per cent of the nation's work force and they are entering a number of occupations which were once* open only to men. including such traditionally male fobs as carpenter, police officer.; and locomotive engineer. Women are also entering, professional schools in un-; precedented numbers. From; the mid-OO's to 1973. the en-l rolment of women m law schools lumped from about 2500 to more than 17.000., and the percentage of women receiving medica’ degrees rose from 6.5 to 10 per cent In higher education as a whole, enrolment of womenrose by 120 per cent from 1963 to 1973. In 1974 about 40 per cent of master’s degrees. up from 34 per cent, in 1966. and 15 per cent of] doctor's degrees, up from

i 11.6 per cent in 1966, were | earned by women. ( The numbei of women! teaching in colleges and uni-! versities. although far below j the number of men. has also' • increased noticeably. We are; moving towards a time! when intellect, talent, and! skill will be recognised and! rewarded, regardless of the! sex of the persons con-| • cerned, and the country will) certainly benefit Rape law changes Many stale legislatures, are dealing effectively with; problems confronting; women. Legislation intended to protect women, but ac--tuallv protecting jobs for, men, has been challenged ini over half the states. My own state. Indiana, for instance, has made several* changes in state law to re-! move sex distinctions which* had previously denied! women the full benefit of! the law and. like other* states, has passed legislation; to encourage women to report rape assaults by’ pro-! tecting their personal life; from unnecessary public dis-1 • closure. The chief aim of the ■ changes in the laws con-' ceming rape is to encourage women to seek police help, in arresting their attackers and to enhance the chance 1 of convicting the assailants. Women are also playingi an expanding role in politics; and government. More than I 1200 women in America rani for state or national office in 1974 and. as a result, the] nation has 19 congress-; i women, one governor, one lieutenant-governor, and 466* state legislators who are, women. These women are! bringing fresh perspective! and new vitality to the; search for solutions to a] whole range of state andnational challenges. In spite of these gains, j pervasive sex discrimination ; .continues to exist. Although women con-; stitute 51 per cent of the, population and a growing! share of the work force, they hold most of the lower- • paying jobs in the economy and lag behind men in pay. earning approximately 60! per cent of w’hat men earn, and. whatever the type of iob. women earn less than! men on the average. !

■ The average woman with a bachelors degree who; i‘works full time earns about) ■the same median income as I ja man who is a high (secon-: i dary) school drop-out. The

Congressman Lee Hamilton, who wrote this article, i is a Democrat from Indiana. He is a member of the International Relations Committee of the United States House of Repre- ' sentatives, and vice-presi- | dent of the United States group of the Inter- ’ i Parliamentary Union.

female unemployment rate]* today is nearly two per cent { i above the male unemploy-:] iment rate. There are a number of 1 i other sources of dis- ’ ]| crimination against women. ( > The Social Security’ system , • discriminates against women ! I both in terms of contribu- , jtions and benefits. Women , i also have greater difficulty ( ; obtaining credit than men, , ; and they face higher insun- , ance costs for basic health, , medical, and income dis- . ability coverage. ;; In some states women’s! rights to establish indepen-]; dent businesses or to be a|i guarantor or a surety are re-i; jStricted. The criminal laws!; iof some states discriminate 1< ; against women, for example, ji I making a sentence for a, woman ha her than a man’s!' i sentence for the same of-!’ 'fence. p The admission policies ofj 1 (Colleges and schools often;' require higher standards for j I women than for men. Even ' :in Government employment,!' * women are crowded in the] I lower grades of the civil ;] service and rarely found in ] the highest grades. : So the struggle for the ' fundamental dignity and! 'individuality of each human]] I being goes on, and more is]] happening and still needs to h (happen in the area of I, women’s rights than most of us realise. These may be the times jj that try men’s souls, but no], matter, because the quiet;] revolution cannot be turned' back, and life in these ], : United States will never beli quite the same again. jt 1