‘Woman’s Work’ Not Sole Option, Teens Told : Careers: It may be a dirty job, but a woman can do it. That’s the message four female workers took to a class of high-school students who are mothers.

Four women who bucked tradition and chose jobs typically held by men encouraged a class of high-school students who are mothers to seek mechanical and technical jobs for the better pay.

“Exciting jobs are out there for young women who will consider working in careers normally thought of as a man’s world,” said Sherlie Miller, a San Diego City College “gender equity coordinator.”

On Wednesday morning, Miller was the host of a conference on women in nontraditional jobs for San Diego High School students who are members of the school’s parent-infant development program. The program assists students who are mothers or expecting a child.

The four women told the students to expect harassment but not to let it discourage them from going for the jobs and the money.

After 18 years at San Diego Gas & Electric, Kathleen A. McLaughlin now earns $45,000 a year as a warehouse supervisor.

She said that, although women are programmed to think they can only do secretarial-type jobs, she never wanted a desk job.

When McLaughlin applied to be a legal secretary at the utility in 1972, she saw a job posted for women interested in mechanical work. She was hired to work in the garage, changing oil and tires, and washing trucks. She said she earned three times what she would have in the secretarial position.

“I was the first woman that SDG&E; hired to work in the garage,” McLaughlin said. “They tested me by giving me jobs that normally took two men to do. They would hide and watch me struggle.”

Eventually, McLaughlin was promoted to foreman. Eleven men worked for her, and some did not find it easy, she said.

She is now the only woman store supervisor at SDG&E;, with seven people working for her.

Leah Fitzherbert is an electrician for an SDG&E; power plant in Chula Vista. It took her three years to work her way up to her $40,000-a-year job.

She began at SDG&E; as a helper in 1977. And she, too, was tested by men, she said.

On her first day, she said, she was told to hang a bulletin board. On the second day, they gave her a sledgehammer and told her to remove 5-foot-long bolts that weighed about 80 pounds. She hammered away unsuccessfully for three hours. Later, she said, she found out that the bolts were supposed to be heated internally first.

“The non-traditional part is working with men,” she said. “The work isn’t. If you can sew, put groceries away, then you can do my job. You only need to know electrical and mechanical theories, or how to put things together.”

Fitzherbert brought along her work materials to demonstrate how easy it is for women to carry certain equipment. She showed the class her 30-pound tool pouch.

“People think you need a lot of strength to do things,” she said. “But carrying around this tool pouch is the same as carrying a baby. Taking care of a child is just as hard.

“If you can read a street map, then you can read a blueprint, it doesn’t matter if you’re male or female. A lot of men get lost reading a street map,” she said.

Fitzherbert said she applied at SDG&E; because she was a single mother with two children to support and wanted to make more money.

Barbara Jackson and Leticia Gallegos both work for the Metropolitan Transit District. Jackson is a maintenance linewoman hired four years ago, and Gallegos is a linewoman for light-rail vehicle for the San Diego Trolley.

Jackson was the first woman to be hired in maintenance, paving the way for Gallegos.

“My boss said that it would be a cold day in hell before he would hire a woman. So, I said, ‘You better get your jacket because I’m determined,’ ” she said. At the time, Jackson was seeking a promotion from washing windows and sweeping trolley floors.

She finally got moved up and now repairs ticket machines, crossing gates, overhead wires and track switches among other things.

She said the maintenance job requires only a high-school diploma, an electronics background and a driver’s license. She has all three.

“I was surrounded by ex-military who said they wanted to work with someone strong,” she said. “I weighed about 105 pounds then.”

For two years she was ignored until she was allowed to prove herself when the crew had to perform an emergency repair on a broken wire. After that, she was part of the team.

For Gallegos, the job of repairing and rebuilding trolleys started three years ago.

She had planned to become an engineer, but after going to school full time and working, she dropped out and joined the Army.

After the Army, she applied to be a trolley linewoman and became the first woman hired for the position.

Gallegos said her job requires good math skills, a high-school diploma and the ability to operate mechanical and electrical equipment.

“It’s a dirty job,” she said. “I change oil, adjust brakes, but I like it. It’s challenging and not as hard as it looks. You don’t have to be strong because there are cranes to lift things. Still, you have to know how to lift right, or you could hurt yourself. You don’t need to ask men for help, just think safety all the time.

“Men feel threatened; they don’t want women to do better than them. You’re constantly proving yourself. They think you don’t have much up here,” she said pointing to her head.

She admitted that she was not thrilled about the dirty work, but for a single woman trying to make a living, the pay is good.

McLaughlin agreed:

“Dirt washes off. A little dirt is a small price to pay for a job you enjoy, especially when you add up all the money you make in nontraditional jobs.”