Personally, I think that getting to work makes my job a little dangerous. You see, I usually try to ride my bike to work and morning drivers are really something else. The normally safe 20-minute ride seems, in the morning, like an extreme sport. On a daily basis, I count my blessings when I make it to work in one piece. But soon, it will get too cold to ride my bike so I will indulge in another extreme sport: trying not to suffocate on the King streetcar.

Things are pretty safe once I get here, except for the occasional back cramp from sitting and staring at this computer screen for hours.

In the Top 10 Most Dangerous Jobs article there are some truly extreme careers mentioned. For example, under number five, a police officer, and under four a miner... Suddenly, I feel really stupid complaining about my bike ride to work!

ttyl

Jowita

When I went to university I was shocked to discover that I needed science to get my psych degree. I loved the humanities and thought psychology was in no way a scientific area -- I took it because I wanted to help people. Shows you how much I knew. I had to take calculus, biology, finite math, algebra and geometry. Later, I struggled through research methods and statistics, and by the time I got to my fourth year I was exhausted from all these numbers. When could I get to work with people? I thought as I codified “subjects” and calculated “medians.” I also wondered: why did I plan so badly?

Well, maybe it was because, like those kids in the Children as Young as Nine Turn Their Back on Science Careers article, I never realized that you need science for a number of careers. There are jobs that don’t necessarily have the word “science” anywhere in their description but rely on it entirely. In other words, you can’t be a veterinarian just because you get along with animals, and you can’t be an astronaut just because you think that the sky is cool.

ttyl

Jowita

It’s Women’s History Month in Canada and, really, does anyone know? I asked friends, both men and woman, and no one knew much about it. So, I thought I would pay tribute to the Canadian women who made my life easier by creating a women’s history display board at my workplace, which helps women find employment.

In doing my research, I found the article Eleven Tips on Getting More Efficiency Out of Women Employees in the July 1943 issue of Transportation Magazine. The article, which was written for male supervisors of women employees during WWII, can be seen in its entirety at Feminist Mormon Housewives. With advice like, “give every girl an adequate number of rest periods during the day,” or ”a girl has more confidence and is more efficient if she can keep her hair tidied, apply fresh lipstick, and wash her hands several times a day,” I couldn’t help but laugh and shake my head!

To many young women, like myself, who are straight out of university, new to the workforce and have high expectations of success, these historical anecdotes are clearly not relevant to our experiences. Of course, times have changed ... haven’t they?

Indeed women have made incredible strides in the demanding workforce of Toronto. Today many women are working and we are educated, motivated and highly skilled. However, women are still not represented in many high-paying leadership roles in the corporate and political world. Women continue to face discrimination in more hidden ways when seeking employment, and we still take on the majority of responsibilities in the home while juggling a demanding full-time career.

So, yes, although women in the workplace still face obstacles, we really have come a long way in the 65 years since Eleven Tips on Getting More Efficiency Out of Women Employees was written. We need to look back to our history and acknowledge how far we’ve come. Take advantage of Women’s History Month by participating in activities in your community.

Katie Didyk
Intake/Outreach Coordinator
Times Change Women’s Employment Service

Most of my family is in one way or another involved in economics or science. There’s a photographer and a journalist somewhere on the family orbit but really nowhere close. My sister is a printmaking artist and I write and take photos. We used to joke that she inherited the artsy-fartsy genes from me because we didn’t think we really had much in common with our parents.

The article Hobbies and Careers are Inherited mentions a study of 2,234 British adults that found that most people inherited an interest in their parents’ hobbies and careers. The article suggests that such findings explain why, for example, Kate Hudson, daughter of Goldie Hawn, is an actress. And, indeed, it’s not so rare that a doctor will sire a doctor or that a young adult will join a family business. But for every rule there is an exception. My parents never really pressured me to do what they did. My sister’s artistic flair as well as my own remained a mystery until we found out that my father used to write for an independent paper and my mom loved to draw as a little girl.

ttyl

Jowita

It starts about mid-August. Suddenly, television commercials and newspaper inserts start advertising notebooks, pencil sharpeners and backpacks, not so subtly announcing that it’s time to go back to school. Then you notice the cool, sharp breath of the next season creeping into the air in the evenings. And you might get a little nostalgic, eyes glazing over as you recall the frantic time looking for the perfect eraser or the binder that will hold a thick stack of papers. Or maybe you’re one of those people who would rather forget that school exists until you absolutely must acknowledge it, the morning before that first bell. Whoever you are, summer playtime is definitely over.

The article Career Transitions Peak Twice a Year discusses research that finds that people usually think of changing their careers in the fall and after the new year. Two types of career changers were identified -- those who embrace change ("questers") and those who like to play safe ("traditionalists").

The fall’s back-to-school aura often makes questers want to re-evaluate their goals and look for change. But, as the author says, "Just because the seasons change, remember the grass isn't always greener on the other side. You might just find that what you have now looks pretty good after all."

ttyl

Jowita