Professional women & equity issues in the 1990s.

Twenty years ago, Cora Lee Lonardo wrote an article for Parks & Recreation Entitled "Get Involved with a Married Woman - Like Me." The theme of her article was that many women, particularly older students returning to school would make excellent employees for park and recreation departments. Little did Lonardo know that by 1993, more female students than males would major in recreation in institutions of higher education. The future of our profession, therefore, may be directly correlated to the future of women as professionals in this field.

Historically, the field of parks and recreation has had many active males and females. The author of the recent article entitled "The Invisible Pioneers: The Impact of Women on the Recreation Movement," suggested women have frequently worked behind the scenes and have not been visible as leaders of organizations and national associations. Female employees predominated from the beginnings of the playground movement at the turn of the century until the early 1930s, when males first outnumbered females. In the 1980s, women once again became the majority of recreation workers.

Throughout history, however, the roles assumed by professionals have been frequently gender segregated, with men likely to work with administration and sports and women likely to work with community organization and arts. The only exception to this generalization is therapeutic recreation where women have outnumbered men since that field became organized in the 1950s.

We believe that a profession such as ours, which addresses human needs and provides human services, ought to be free of discrimination. We believe that any woman or man who is qualified ought to be able to enter and move up or around within the field. As we become immersed in the 1990s, it is useful to examine the role of women in this field and discern whether the field has overcome sexual discrimination in personnel management.

During the summer of 1992, a close-ended survey about personal and professional characteristics, career patterns, career satisfaction, family situation, and equity issues was sent to a sample of 300 female practitioners who were members of the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA). The instrument used was developed by Dr. Wendy Frisby of the University of British Columbia, who has been collecting similar data on women and men employed in Canadian leisure services organizations. The names were randomly drawn from a list of female American Park and Recreation Society (APRS), National Therapeutic Recreation Society (NTRS), and National Society for Park Resources (NSPR) professional members. Educators were not included. A response rate of 70 percent was attained from APRS (n = 74), NTRS (n = 64), and NSPR (n = 38).

The respondents were all members of NRPA. About 25 percent were front-line staff, 43 percent were supervisory or midmanagement, and 28 percent were senior management. More than 94 percent were full-time employees. The average salary for the respondents was between $20,000 and $30,000 a year. The women were responsible for supervising an average of ten full-time employees (median = 2; range = 0-430), 29 parttime (median = 2; range = 0-850), and 42 volunteers (median = 3; range = 0-1000 plus). Nine out of ten had a bachelor's degree and half had a master's degree or were working toward it. The average age was 36 years (media = 35; range = 22-57 years). The majority (94 percent) were European American with six percent African American. Marital status included 61 percent married or living with a partner and the remainder who were single, widowed, separated, or divorced. The average household size was 2.37 people (median = 2; range = 1-6).

The majority of women (56 percent) in this study perceived that women do not have as many opportunities for advancement as men within the field of leisure services. We analyzed all these data to determine if any particular segments of the profession experienced opportunities differently. No differences were found among women in their perceptions of opportunities for advancement based on marital status, position, age, race, or NRPA affiliation.

Discrimination was not defined for the women in this study. They were simply asked how often they had been discriminated against in the field of parks and recreation based on gender. Almost two-thirds (63 percent) said that they had been discriminated against one or more times.

Women in APRS and NSPR were more likely to say they were discriminated against than were women in NTRS. Women over the age of 30 had encountered greater discrimination than women 20-29 years old. No differences were found among women based on position, race, or marital status.

We defined sexual harassment for the respondents by saying it is "any conduct, comment, gesture, or contact of a sexual nature that is likely to cause offense or humiliation to an employee or that might be perceived as placing a sexual condition on employment, training, or promotions." We asked, based on this definition, do you feel that you have been sexually harassed while employed in the field of leisure services? More than half (53 percent) said that they had experienced sexual harassment. National satistics suggest that 53 percent of the women in the United States will experience sexual harassent at some time in their lives, so the response rate of leisure services professionals was comparable to women in general.

Based on NRPA affiliation, women in NSPR were more likely to have experienced sexual harassment than were women in NTRS and slightly more likely than those in APRS. No differences were found among women based on position, race, age, or marital status.

The respondents were asked to respond to statements concerning their beliefs about certain factors that might contribute to gender equity or inequity in their jobs. The greatest amount of agreement was found with the statement, "There is unconscious discrimination based on gender," with 76 percent of the women agreeing. Women in NSPR were more likely to agree than those in NTRS, but all three groups were in strong agreement about the statement.

The statement with the second highest agreement (65 percent) was "Women are often excluded from informal male networks." Again, women in NSPR were in greater agreement than were women affiliated with NTRS or APRS. The statement with the third highest score, but with 41 percent agreeing and 29 percent unsure, was "There is conscious discrimination based on gender."

The greatest disagreement (90 percent) was with the statement, "Women often do not bring the necessary skills and abilities to senior management." Similarly, more than 81 percent and 77 percent disagreed with the respective statements, "Many women lack the education and experience needed in management" and "Women are less committed to their careers because of family obligations."

One of the most interesting results was obtained about the statement, "There is a lack of female role models and mentors." While there was slightly more agreement (41 percent) than disagreement (40 percent) with 19 percent in the neither agree or disagree category, a difference existed among the NRPA affiliations. Women in therapeutic recreation had greater agreement with the statement than did women in NSPR or APRS. In a field dominated by women like NTRS, one would think that NTRS affiliates would have a number of role models or mentors, but this was not the finding.

Although not a surprise, 41 percent of the respondents agreed and 29 percent neither agreed nor disagreed with the statement, "Men prefer working with other men and will therefore recruit and select them over women."

The most pessimistic finding of this study was related to the statement, "In time women will move into senior management positions. "Only 8 percent agreed with the statement, which seems to indicate two possible conclusions. either women do not want to move into these positions or women in leisure services are realistic about and congnizant of the glass ceiling that they keep hitting in higher levels of management.

The results of this survey show that equity issues are a concern of women employed in leisure services in the 1990s. Leisure service organizations and agencies continue to reflect the issues of a society at large, where social structures are reflected in power and equity relations that influence women. The park and recreation profession appears to be no less exempt than any other profession.

We all want to believe the battles for women's rights have been won. Great progress has been made, but as indicated by this study, cause for concern continues to exist among females in our profession. The power structure of the leisure service profession appears to remain deeply rooted in societal gender relations. The positive side is that as opportunities continue to develop for women in society, the opportunities for women in the leisure services profession ought also to improve. The negative side is that social change has been and continues to be slow.

Waiting for society to change, therefore, is not enough. Men and women in leisure service agencies and organizations, national professional associations, and women themselves have roles to play in addressing equity issues in the profession. All three groups need to examine what can be done to eliminate the gender domination that is perceived to exist.

The burden of proving inequity has often rested on the "victims," the women themselves. Objecting or complaining, however, may result in fear of reprisals, concerns about career and difficulties in obtaining proof of discrimination or harassment. While issues of inequality need to be addressed by everyone, women need to realize what role they can and cannot play in creating change in organizations.

Women in leisure services can do two things to address equity issues: admit that concerns exist and seek other women and men for support. The women in this study agreed that unconscious discrimination was a greater problem than conscious discrimination. Admitting and addressing intangible attitudial discrimination is more difficult than addressing tangible pay equity issues, but discrimination at all levels must be considered.

Women often do not want to believe that discrimination continues in the 1990s. Women in leisure services like other professionals, however, seem to encounter the glass ceiling effect where women believe they can obtain success within organizations but are blocked along the way by invisible situations and unspoken prejudices. Further, Goode and Glover (1988) found that female students were more likely than males to be concerned about social, work and economic equality. Thus, women are probably going to have to realize that not all equity issues have been solved and women will need to continue to push for the equity that they want and deserve.

Women need to talk to each other about the experiences they have as employees in their organizations. Sympathetic support groups need not be radical or activist but are often useful for women just to be able to share their experiences. Many women feel isolated and internalize their experience, thinking that they are all alone. More important, many women feel their inequity problems are a result of their personal history and not a part of a social system that has discriminated against anyone who is not white, middle-class, able-bodied, heterosexual and male.

Role models and mentors in the workplace are an issue that women themselves can address as they seek support from one another. Women who have been successful in leisure services have an obligation to nurture younger males and females. Similarly, women in the field need to seek out other women with whom they can network and obtain guidance, coaching and other types of assistance. A conscious effort should be made to establish these kinds of relationships among women. In recognizing the problems of gender in the workplace, an important step is to recognize that individuals are not alone and that others can give sympathetic and critical insight, support, and understanding that can lead to increased performance by women in the profession.

The study suggested that many women perceive that inequity exists within leisure service organizations. Just as the understanding of what constitutes sexual harassment has been broadened for both women and men, our understanding of the unconscious prejudices against women must also be expanded so that these issues can be addressed.

Men and women in organizations will need to remind themselves that discrimination encompasses more than just salary. While salary is a visible and readily identifiable aspect of discrimination, other unconscious dimensions such as not having needed information, being put into a deadend job or being assigned an impossible task, receiving little support or feedback, not being given training and development opportunities, and requiring extra hours beyond the job description, can result in discrimination or inequity in the workplace.

Frisby suggested in her analysis of Canadian women in leisure services that organizations need to respond to women's needs. Anyone who has not experienced conscious or unconscious discrimination may not know what it is like to be female or "different." As leisure service providers who are sensitive to human needs, males in organizations will want to understand what women need in terms of feedback and opportunities for training and development. Further, senior level managers in organizations need to know about career development patterns (e.g., the balancing of work, family and leisure) and personnel practices (e.g., flex time) that may help women become and remain successful in an organization.

The evidence suggests a need to develop an organizational philosophy of acknowledging the achievements of both women and men. This recognition, especially for women, can occur in the form of pay increases, promotions, participation in decision making, autonomy, additional resources, respect and credibility, and faith in what an individual can do. According to Morrison in her book, The New Leader, other common forms of support offered by supervisors in the organization may be collegialty, advocacy, permission to fail, information, feedback, flexibility and stress relief.

The women in the study perceived that men prefer working with other men and will therefore recruit and select them over women. With the recognition that diversity in organizations can be a strength, this awareness of past behavior and an emerging mindset of acknowledging the assets that a variety of people can bring to an organization will be necessary. The changes may be slow, but an awareness of the situation is a major first step.

While adding more women to organizations is important, the addition of women will not change discrimination without a conscious effort to give women opportunities to assume leadership in all aspects of the leisure services operation. This leadership is not token, but provided and nurtured in a way so that both women and men may make valuable contributions within the organization.

State and national associations also have a role to play in addressing issues of gender equity. First, these organizations cannot ignore the problems that continue to exist in the 1990s. The study described here was done with a completely random sample and the data suggest it is not just one segment of women in NRPA that are concerned but a mixture of women in various employment levels, with different NRPA affiliations, of both black and white racial backgrounds, in a variety of marital statuses and of all ages. Of course we have come a long way, but things can be better.

By acknowledging the concerns instead of dodging the issues, leaders in associations can take steps to make the profession a place that is not "chilly" for women, especially since women today dominate in numbers, but not in status. Individual women and even individual organizations cannot be expected to do all the changing without professional ethics and standards of practice that articulate the inclusiveness of employing women, people of color, people with disabilities and other groups that have not been visible in our profession.

Leaders in state and national organizations will want to examine the opportunities that are available for women to experience professional growth and development. Sessions can be offered at conferences that address issues pertinent to gender in the workplace. Career development seminars can be offered to help both women and men learn about balancing their personal and professional lives. Support groups and mentoring programs can assist women in their professional development. Many other opportunities exist for working collectively to address some of the issues that women and other less empowered groups face. The first step, as this study showed, is to acknowledge that problems continue to exist.

Gender is an issue in the workplace. The likelihood of conscious and unconscious gender discrimination ending in the near future is slim. Thus, each individual woman, the males and females in each leisure service agency and organization, and all branches of professional associations and societies need to be concerned about gender equity. We are not proposing a major revolution. The needs of women, however, must be a priority in a field that is now dominated by women who are often segregated in lower paying and lower status jobs. Discrimination and harassment should not be the reality of anyone's professional life. All of us now possess the knowledge to make the workplace more equitable for all employees if we seize the opportunity.