Utah women still suffer from discrimination. And one of the most obvious ways is in the field of education.
Oh, I realize that women have dominated the public school classroom ever since the 19th century. In fact, many of us can say that all of our elementary teachers were women.The only male teacher I recall was Mr. Naylor in fifth grade. And I wasn't even in his class. I just played basketball with him during recess. I did have a male student teacher in the sixth grade. Mr. Russon. That was it.
But school administration is another thing.
In a recent sobering announcement, the Utah Governor's Commission on the Status of Women declared that Utah has only TWO female superintendents of schools (Nancy Moore, Park City, and Sister Joan Allem, private Catholic Schools), and FOUR assistant superintendents: Mary Jean Johnson, Salt Lake; Luana Searle, Alpine; Patricia Wright, Cache; and Nancy Fleming, Davis.
While calling attention to the limited role of women in the administration of schools, the commission commented on the history of discrimination against women and dredged up an almost unbelievable list of 10 rules governing the behavior of FEMALE Massachusetts schoolteachers in 1900. These were the sacred maxims:
l. Do not get married.
2. Do not leave town at any time without permission of the school board.
3. Do not keep company with men.
4. Do not loiter downtown in ice cream parlors.
5. Do not smoke.
6. Be home between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m.
7. Do not get into a carriage with any man, except your father or your brother.
8. Do not dress in bright colors.
9. Do not dye your hair.
10. Do not wear any dress more than 1 inch above the ankle.
Whew! Now THAT is sexism.
According to tradition, there was at least one teacher who refused to obey perfectly each of these rules. She had been employed for 15 years, and in spite of an exemplary record, she was fired when she returned from the Thanksgiving holiday for breaking rules 2 and 7.
She had been guilty of leaving town without permission in a carriage containing a man who was not her father or brother.
And Massachusetts has been regarded as a progressive state. Especially regarding the status of women.
Utah, too, has been regarded historically as comparatively progressive. More early Utah women trained as doctors than anywhere else. But by 1900, only 8 percent of Utah's total female population over the age of 10 were gainfully employed. Of these, 37 percent were in domestic and personal services, 22 percent were in manufacturing, and less than 18 percent were in professional employment, including teaching.
Women generally did not expect to have a career away from the home.
When schoolrooms became overwhelmingly female preserves in the 19th century, men moved overwhelmingly into the supervisory posts. To date, only one woman has ever held the post of Utah State Superintendent of Education (later called Public Instruction). She was Emma J. McVicker, and she was a fluke.
In the 1895 convention, the Republican Party nominated her for that office, and placed the name of John R. Park as an alternate, in case the courts ruled that women could not hold the office. Sure enough, they did.
Park became superintendent and died in office. McVicker was appointed to fill the last three months of his term. It was OK to select a woman as a last resort.
In spite of slow beginnings, there were other influential women in Utah education. Amelia Brotherhood and Maud May Babcock were the first women appointed to the faculty of the University of Utah. Rebecca Little and Antoinette B. Kinney served on the Board of Regents, and Lucy May Van Cott became the first Dean of Women.
Alice Louise Reynolds founded the department of Literature at Brigham Young University. Ida Smoot Dusenberry was a leader of the kindergarten movement.
Women have proved their abilities and are no longer the exception on university faculties. Yet they still lag far behind in administrative and supervisory roles in the public schools. It seems indefensible.
Women have distinguished themselves in the classroom. They deserve the supervisory role if they want it. Whether they will get it any time soon remains an unanswered question. It is also a major embarrassment. I just hope they don't give up.