Collegian
April 3, 1986
Study finds feminist theses could hurt job prospects
(CPS)--Women may have a hard
time getting a job if their resumes
evince strong feminist feelings or
refer to school projects that a pro
spective employer may see as
meaning they could cause "trou
ble" on the job, a new study by
two professors suggests.
Employers surveyed by Michael
Hit of Texas A&M and William
Zikmund of Oklahoma State
seemed especially reluctant to hire
female students who had done
studies of job discrimination.
But corporate preferences for
male applicants in general seem to
be fading, Hitt adds.
Other job placement officals,
however, question Hitt and Zik
mund's study, and note
"political" references on a
resume are always a risk.
"I am not sure if (discrimina
tion) is specific to women's
groups," says Joe Santos, a place
ment officer at Miami of Ohio.
Employers in general seem to
respond less positively "to social
stands of any kind" on resumes,
he observes.
Hitt and Zikmund's study sug
gests companies appear anxious to
"Coffee with the Provost"
allows students to speak out
by Pat Schilpf
Collegian Staff Writer
All students- can chat over a
steaming cup of coffee with the
Provost once a month.
"Coffee With the Provost"
provides a time for both Dr. John
Lilley, provost and dean, and
students to communicate with
each other.
"I don't make contact with too
many students. "Coffee" helps
me get in pulse with the
students," Lilley said.
The nature of "Coffee" is a
meeting with no agenda. Matters
that students are concerned with
can be voiced at this meeting with,
Lilley then using various sources
THE CARD GALLERY
K-Matt Plaza Eaat
Buffalo Rd.
899-8782
Send the one
you love the
very best
respond to feminist applicants
with appropriate care, if not with
jobs.
"The study shows companies
tend to respond to feminist ap
plications to make sure they are
responding to feminists," Hitt
says.
Hitt and Zikmund sent the
resumes of two women to some
200 companies.
To see if companies respond to
feminist applicants differently
than they do to others, the resear
chers sent resumes that identified
the applicants only by their in
itials, resumes that identified
them by full name, resumes that
said the applicant had written a
thesis on job discrimination, and
resumes that did not mention the
thesis.
Invariably, the firms replied to
the resumes identified only by in
itials with a salutation of
"Mister," Hitt recalls.
The resumes that mentioned the
discrimination thesis and had the
women's full names received the
most responses, but the majority
of them were negative.
Companies, Hitt concludes
to solve legitimate problems.
Anywhere from ten to 30
students attend, however, often
leaning more towards ten. "There
are usually familiar faces, but on
the other hand there are new ones
too," Lilley said.
New students . are always
welcome to attend. "The newer
students that attend always act a
little nervous the first time, but
that frequently ends at the next
meeting," he continued.
"Coffee" accomodates all
students since the time schedule
varies monthly. It is presently be
ing held in the Reed Seminar
Room.
Tuesday, April 15 at 10 a.m.
marks the next meeting date.
*
+J:i..,k•isAti,
from the response, are leery of
hiring someone who might ques
tion how they operate.
Santos thinks they're just leery
of hiring anyone whose politics
may offend someone in the firm.
"Whenever you mention in
volvement with a political stand,
there is always the chance ther
person reading the resume may
have a bias the other way," San
tos says.
But Hitt and Zikmund were
most intrigued by firms' replies to
the resumes that mentioned the
job discrimination thesis, but
TOTH provides campus link in message board
by Karen Koper
Collegian Contributing Writer
Have you ever raced around campus frantically
trying to get in touch with someone you knew was
here somewhere? Or hung around for a couple hours
after classes to attend a meeting that was cancelled--
but you never got the message? ...Problem solved.
The Top of the Hill Club is trying to make the pro
cess of getting a message to someone on campus a lit
tle less frustrating with the recent installation of the
"CAMPUS MESSAGE BOARD" 'in the Gorge
Cafeteria.
Fiber optics TV continued from page 1
"The stadium screens that are now available sell from 100 thousand
dollars for a small unit to two million plus for a large unit. We plan to
reduce those prices by two-thirds," Reidinger said. "That market alone
right now is approxiMately a 100 million dollar a year market," he
continued.
After the stadium screen is developed, research will continue to
miniaturize the crystals and create a smaller version. Uses for this
system include flat screen TV sets for the home, and monitor and
display systems for airplanes and automobiles.
In 1983 Reidinger contacted the Ben Franklin Partnership which
helped him with management and steered him to develop the program
in Erie. He chose Behrend because of the new research facilities in the
Hammermill/Zum Building and also because Marande had been con
ducting crystal research.
The program is funded by Tru-Lyte, Behrend and the Ben Franklin
Partnership with the Partnership matching funds of private individuals
and universities and coordinating them in the development of their
programs.
"That's the thing about the Ben Franklin Partnership that's so
good," said Provost and Dean Dr. John Lilley. "You have a private
company working with the university (and) working with the state. So
we bring together private money and state money to do research here,"
Lilley continued.
The Ben Franklin Partnership promotes products and jobs for the
people of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Robert Light directs the Northwest Satellite of the Ben Franklin
Partnership which is located at Behrend. He said that Tru-Lyte donated
$lO,OOO in equipment to Behrend and forwarded another $50,000 for
Tru-Lyte employees' time, travel, and communication purposes.
Behrend put forth $23,000 to the project and the Ben Franklin Partner
ship matched this total with $24,000.
Reidinger and his assistant Joe Sarte stated that Tru-Lyte, based in
Beaver, will continue to do research in the Erie area continuously.
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were identified only by the appli
cant's initials.
"It seems companies were ap
prehensive only if they felt a
woman was doing a discrimina
tion study," Hitt says.
As a result, Hitt advises women
who wish to mention on their
resumes activities that might be
considered vaguely "feminist" to
identify themselves by only their
initials.
But companies responded to
women who did not evince any
feminist philosophies on their
resumes at the same rate they did
The new bulletin board is located directly under
the S.I.S. monitor on the west wall of the cafeteria.
Everyone is asked to refrain from using the board for
advertising purposes, but all are welcome to leave a
message for anyone else. However, posting the
message is only half the battle. All of us must get in
the habit of checking the board daily to see if anyone
has left us a message. Because most of us make it to
the Gorge at least once a day, it should be easy to get
into the habit of glancing at the board as we're coin
ing or going.
This can be your lost communication link—TAKE
ADVANTAGE!
to men.
In previous studies by Hitt and
other researchers, companies
tended to respond to male ap
plicants more frequently and
more positively than they did to
female applicants.
Hitt concedes each firm got on
ly one version of the resume, but
maintains his data show a
"statistically significant" dif
ference between the positive
responses to the "feminist
resume" Lnd the three other
types.
Fashion show
sponsored
On Saturday, April 12,
1986, the Behrend College Stu
dent Programming Council
will present "Ready for the
World", a fashion show.
In addition to the fashion
show a reception and dance
will follow. The shovi will be
held in the Reed Lecture Hall,
located in the Reed Student
Union Building, at 6:30 p.m.
The reception and dance will
be held in the Gorge Cafeteria,
also located in the Reed Stu
dent Union Building.
The price for the fashion
show with reception and dance
is $3.00. The price for atten
ding just the dance and not the
fashion show is $1.50.
Fashions will be provided by
Wilson's Suede and Leather,
Susie's Casuals and J. Rigg
ings. Music for the dance will
be supplied by Stacy Hitt.
Tickets are available at the
John F. Kennedy Center, Mar
tin Luther King Center,
Wilson's Suede and Leather,
Susie's Casuals, J. Riggins and
Caren Charles.
For more information, call
Gregory D. Goldsmith at
898-6669, or contact our Stu
dent Affairs office at
898-6155. Hope to see you
there!