tunities for advancement. Lack of autonomy and re-
spect, low pay, often difficult working conditions,
and lack of unity among nurses led to strategies to
improve their status. In the late 1980’s, it was found
that nurses’ working conditions presented serious
physical, chemical, and biological hazards. Nurses
were often exposed to infectious diseases and suf-
fered high rates of hepatitis B and staphylococcus in-
fections. In addition, nurses were exposed to toxic
chemical agents and to carcinogens and radiation
hazards.
Teaching, another traditionally female profes-
sion, was, unlike nursing, highly organized. In 1985-
1986, 630,000 teachers were members of the Ameri-
can Federation of Teachers, and 1,537,967 (about
70 percent of public school teachers) were members
of the National Education Association (NEA). Dur-
ing the 1980’s, teacher shortages began to emerge in
such fields as mathematics, the sciences, data pro-
cessing, and computer programming. Teachers be-
gan to lose their enthusiasm for the profession for
some of the same reasons nurses had lost enthusi-
asm for theirs: lack of autonomy and respect, low
pay, and often difficult working conditions.
Women in Blue-Collar Occupations Blue collars
symbolize men and women who work at manual la-
bor: semiskilled operatives, skilled craft workers,
and unskilled laborers. Blue-collar workers are gen-
erally involved in some type of production process:
making and repairing goods and equipment. Tradi-
tionally, women were excluded from such jobs or
were limited to a small number of low-wage, semi-
skilled jobs in the textile, apparel, and electronics in-
dustries. During the 1980’s, some changes occurred,
and the work of women became divided into tradi-
tional and nontraditional categories.
Patience, dexterity, and speed are the main re-
quirements for the operative jobs within the tradi-
tional textile and apparel industries. These jobs do
not require formal experience or training and can
be learned within a few days or weeks, making them
good opportunities for women with little education,
little training, or limited English fluency. Nontradi-
tional occupations for women as carpenters, ma-
chinists, coal miners, and transportation operatives
proved more satisfying and better-paying than tradi-
tional jobs, as well as more challenging and reward-
ing. When women started to enter these jobs in sig-
nificant numbers in the 1980’s, studies showed that
these women had secured these jobs through great
initiative. On the job, they were not averse to filing
union grievances and reporting sex discrimination
to state and federal agencies when the occasion de-
manded.Impact The great influx of women into the work-
force during the 1970’s and 1980’s changed the ways
people think about work. Young women began to re-
alize that any occupation they dreamed of was possi-
ble for them to achieve. Girls began to think about
future careers in a more challenging way, often
dreaming of a career in law or medicine instead of a
more traditional field. Men, especially married men,
slowly revised their views of women in the workplace.
Husbands and wives grew to respect each other’s
achievements. In response to the rising numbers of
employed and employable women, new employment
opportunities arose. While society debated the role
of government in providing child care, private and
corporate facilities for preschools and infant care
arose. Demand for nannies continued to grow. The
food industry also felt the impact, as the need for
take-out food and home delivery grew. Women’s ap-
parel also changed during the decade, as designers
competed to provide suitable office attire for women.
These changes had lasting effects on society in the
United States, the repercussions of which are still be-
ing felt and studied.Further Reading
Acker, Joan.Doing Comparable Worth: Gender, Class,
and Pay Equity. Philadelphia: Temple University
Press, 1989. Reveals inconsistencies and inade-
quacies in pay structures of the 1970’s and 1980’s.
Ferber, Marianne, Brigid O’Farrell, and La Rue Al-
len, eds.Work and Family: Policies for a Changing
Work Force.Washington, D.C.: National Academy
Press, 1991. Describes and advocates many policy
changes to help double-income families.
Hochschild, Arlie Russell.The Time Bind: When Work
Becomes Home and Home Becomes Work.New York:
Henry Holt, 1997. A fascinating study of a hus-
band and wife employed by a family-friendly com-
pany and the challenges they meet as they try to
achieve a balanced life.
Stromberg, Ann Helton, and Shirley Harkness, eds.
Women Working: Theories and Facts in Perspective.2d
ed. Palo Alto, Calif.: Mayfield, 1988. An impor-
tant, comprehensive collection of essays that cov-1056 Women in the workforce The Eighties in America