Male Secretary Treated ‘Like One of the Girls’ : He’s Not Just Another Pretty Face

William Schanning is a male secretary who usually is treated “like one of the girls.”

But not always--it can be an advantage being a man in a job traditionally held by women.

Schanning, who is near the top of the state Senate’s clerical heap as secretary of the Business and Professions Committee, says being male in the male-dominated Senate means sometimes being taken more seriously than female colleagues.

“I think I do get treated a little better as a male secretary,” he said. “I think the males I deal with give me a little more credibility and that’s not fair (to female secretaries).

‘Men Still Sexist’

“I’m not a pretty face and I don’t expect to be. I’m here to do a job. I do not have to put up with as much of a stereotyped attitude being thrown at you by men. You don’t have to play games. I think men still are more sexist in their attitudes in the workplace.”

Schanning is the only male secretary in the state Senate, not counting Darryl White, whose historic title of “Secretary of the Senate” means that he is the parliamentarian and doesn’t do clerical work at all. There are a couple of male secretaries in the Assembly, which has 80 elected members, twice as many as the Senate.

But 87.5% of legislators and most lobbyists are men.

While women are encouraged to enter male-dominated fields to bolster their salaries and careers, Schanning says few men are interested in pursuing female-dominated clerical jobs that, in fact, were once handled solely by men.

Not a Steppingstone

“I would really urge men to look at this as a serious career, not just as a steppingstone,” Schanning said. “I do not intend this as a steppingstone. It’s exactly what I want to do.

“You can support your family. It may not be a union job. It may not be working in an auto plant. It is very fulfilling and it has nothing to do with machismo .”

Schanning, 33, and an Assembly secretary, Michael Beltram, 35, say sometimes people stereotype them as homosexuals--a notion that they are accustomed to hastily dispelling. Both are married, both are fathers, and Beltram says he became a secretary because it was a great way to be around women.

Schanning notes with amused irony that his wife, Sandra Jenkins, is a machine operator in the Senate’s reprographics unit.

‘Complete Role Reversal’

“We’ve done a complete role reversal,” Schanning said. “It doesn’t affect how I feel about myself at all. There’s a general feeling in society that if you’re a secretary and you’re male, you’re gay. That’s totally baseless.”

With a smile, Schanning added, “Some women going into male-dominated trades are ostracized. I have never been ostracized here. They treat me like one of the girls, so to speak.”

He says his boss, committee Chairman Joseph Montoya (D-Whittier), “does send me flowers on secretary’s day, just like any real secretary, and I love it.”

One minor difference is that he is required to wear a coat and tie on the Senate floor--as are all men. Women simply wear “appropriate” attire.

Muscle Comes In Handy

“An advantage to being a male secretary is that you’re kind of like a bodyguard,” said Beltram, whose boss is Assemblywoman Sally Tanner (D-El Monte), chairwoman of the Consumer Protection and Toxic Materials Committee. “If anything came to the point where you needed more muscle, a male secretary can come in handy.”

Although Tanner’s personal safety generally is not threatened, things around her office do break down or need moving. “I look upon myself as an in-house handyman,” said Beltram, who says he handles repairs and heavy lifting.

Both men said they took typing courses in high school because it was a solid, logical skill. “It was the only class that had girls in it,” Beltram added.

Schanning did clerical work for several years for Catholic hospitals in Boston before applying for a secretarial job in the Legislature. Beltram worked seven years in the night typing pool for the Sacramento County Welfare Department--the only man among 30 women--before turning elsewhere.

Pay Without Risks

He abandoned attempts to become a sheriff’s deputy when he learned that the pay for Assembly secretarial work was not far behind a deputy’s pay--without need for risking life or limb.

Schanning joined the Senate in 1982; Beltram has worked since 1976 for the Assembly and is now secretary of Tanner’s committee. Schanning makes $1,640 per month; Beltram makes close to $2,000. Both say the pay is generally better in the Legislature than elsewhere, but the hours are sometimes very long.