Women in Athens County Survey question 2
If you were a man, do you think you would be pursuing a different career path?
October 13, 2008
“I'm very pleased that many more men are making nursing a career; it's challenging and rewarding work which I believe I would've chosen even if I'd been a man.”
–Shawn Morris, 54, a retired registered nurse from Athens
“I doubt that if I were a man that I would pursue a different career path. I am 19 years old. I do not know what I would like to do in life. I thought, for a while, that I would like to work with horses. It seemed like a good call, until a turn in circumstances showed me otherwise. Now, I'm floating through life just trying to make it by from one paycheck to the next. I don't think it would be any different were I a man.”
–Caitlin Seida, 19, an artist from Nelsonville
“I don't know, because its hard to imagine what I would be like if I were a man.”
–Niki Morris, 36, a non-profit program manager from Stewart
“No, whatever it is I end up doing will be the same as if I were a man.”
–Molly Smith, 18, a freshman at OU, from Athens
“What a strange question to me. If I were a man, I would be so stressed out right now. With all the troubles that are facing so many, I am supposed to be the ‘bread winner.’ I'm not sure what career path would be the most efficient, maybe a CEO in a big company. I'd be able to make loads of money, take everyone’s 401ks, have lots of houses real cheap that folks can't afford any more, and have a few banks under my belt. Oh, also, have the government bail me out and let me keep what I have ripped off. A different career path than what? Are there career paths out there for folks to make a decent living at that they don't have to worry about losing to someone without a ‘green card,’ or their job being sent to another country? I could go on and on about this question, no beginning and no end.”
–Barbara Six, 57, business co-owner from Athens
“Why would I think about being a man? I had a very fulfilling career as a teacher. I don't remember ever in my life thinking of any other career — or wanting to be a man, either!”
–Jody Stickel, 55, a retired teacher from Athens
“No, I think passion is passion, no matter what gender you are.”
–Emily Figliomeni, 18, a freshman at OU, from Toledo
“I would definitely be in a different job right now. I put my career on hold for several years to be a stay-at-home mom because it was important to me to be with my kids in their early years. My husband and I made some tough financial choices over the years to make that possible. I am getting my career back on track now that my youngest is in kindergarten, and I don't regret for a minute the decisions I've made.”
–Mary Della Harmison, 35, an administrative assistant for a financial and marketing director from Athens
“No. I am in a man's profession. Early in my career, I felt the difference in the way I was treated by male attorneys. Some called me ‘dear’ and wanted to deal only with my male partner. I really felt I had been accepted one day when an attorney and I were talking about television from our childhood and he said ‘Remember when we were little boys.…’ He had looked past my gender.”
–Lisa Eliason, 54, attorney and chief Athens city prosecutor, from Athens
“If I were a man, I think I would probably be pursuing my same career path, which is promoting health and wellness. Living a healthy lifestyle has always been a part of who I am. I was influenced by my parents, and the environment in which I grew up. If I were a man, I would have grown up with that same atmosphere, so I think I would still have the views that I do today on health and wellness.”
–Clare Conway, an OU sophomore from North Olmsted, Ohio
“Yes and no. I have been in college for eight years now, and I have planned to earn my doctorate and become a professor since about 2003. My Ph.D. research focuses on teen girls, their media and their culture; and if I were a man, I think I would probably be researching different materials, mostly because of the stigma of being a 26-year-old man studying teen girls. I don't think this would look good on paper.”
–Tiffany Teofilo, 26, an OU Ph.D. student and senior accountant, from Athens
“No, I really like the work that I do and the experiences that come along with it. I was formerly the director of the Fur Peace Ranch for 10-plus years.”
–Ginger Gagne', 44, executive assistant for the president of an IT company, from Athens
“If I were a man, I probably would have stuck with my initial college major of chemical engineering. The reason being that the environment and culture of engineering is geared more towards males.”
–Catia Carter, 25, an administrative assistant at a local medical firm., from Athens
“Probably. I suspect I would have received different advising when I was a junior in high school. I was very strong in math and science, and valedictorian, but when I indicated that I would pursue French and political science, no one except my great Aunt Fran even suggested I might consider medicine or engineering. Perhaps, with a little more encouragement, I might have at least considered these options.”
–Cynthia Holliday, an OU university lecturer and administrator from Athens
“Most definitely. When I was growing up, my parents were very conservative in their beliefs. My sisters and I were steered toward more ‘woman dominated’ fields.”
–Laurie Gribble-McKnight, 36, a social worker from Athens
“No. The career path I chose has more to do with my world view and my interests in creativity than my gender.”
–Frances Gander, an acupuncturist and tai chi instructor from Athens
“Probably not, unless I lived in a different part of the country. I would in the future like to teach English to teenagers in Costa Rica and also possibly work with an NGO such as Heifer International, which helps people in developing countries with food security by giving them animals such as goats and chickens, and teaches them how to care for the animals.”
–Linda Hiller, 53, a house builder and rental manager from Athens
“I come from parents who were both teachers, and I also was in education before pursuing my new career. So one career change is exhausting enough; I can't imagine another path, much less another gender!”
–Cheri Johnson, 56, a psychotherapist from Athens
“No. I feel I would still be interested in the same fields. If I were a man, when people find out I work for the Sheriff’s Office, they would guess at saying I work in the office; they would then guess at saying I am a deputy on the road when I work. The first thing that people ask me when they find out I am associated with the sheriff’s office, is, you must work in the office as a secretary or a dispatcher or something, right? Just because of my appearance, and being a female, they never suspect that I am in a cruiser working the road and carrying a gun, heaven forbid.”
–Sherrie Norman, 40, a deputy sheriff, mall manager and retail manager from Athens
“Yes. Our society still expects that the mom stay home with children. There are dads who stay home and do a great job, but it's still unusual. My husband stayed home with our daughter for her first seven months while I worked full-time. If I were a man, I would be working full-time instead of being at home with my kids.”
–Heidi Wilhelm, 39, a mom and birthing instructor from Athens
“No, my career follows my interest. Usually, we learn too late to follow a hobby to really be happy!”
–Laura Jordan, 52, a karaoke DJ from Albany
“No, I have wanted to be a speech-language pathologist since high school. I had written in my high school yearbook that I was going to be an instructor at a university and I am doing just that. I do not have any regrets concerning my career choice.”
–Janice M. Wright, 54, a clinical supervisor from Athens
“No, every public television station in the country has an educational outreach department. Many men are employed in this position.”
–Suzanne Borchard, 56, a children’s outreach coordinator from Athens
“I do not feel that a person's sex should have anything to do with their career path. Both genders can complete any task that they set their mind to.”
–Tabitha Bond, 38, a business owner from Coolville
“Definitely. There is a goodly amount of reverse sexism regarding men in my profession. I know my father is an RN and his dream was to be an OB nurse and that was made impossible for him.”
–Brandi Mullins, 34, a LPN from Athens
“Not necessarily. If you are happy with what you are doing, stay with it.”
–Sandy Griffin, 67, retired, from New Marshfield
“I think if I were a man I would go into engineering or something like designing houses and buildings. You have to be good at science and math for that type of job, and usually males are better at those subjects. So maybe if I were a man, I would be better at those, but I’m not, so I will just enjoy being an English teacher!”
–Angela Haas,21, an OU senior from Marion, Ohio
“Most likely. As a man, I would feel pressure to be the family provider and as a result feel obligated to put my career, not my kids, first. I am lucky that I have a choice on whether to pursue a career or stay home with my kids.”
–Diane Scharer, 36, a stay-at-home mom from Athens
“No. The most important thing to me is not status, money or my career path; it is instead having a position that I feel fulfilled doing and that makes a difference in the world. I do feel like I would have some added pressures to make more money and be the breadwinner than I currently do as a woman.”
–Amanda Sharrai, 31, a non-profit program specialist from Athens
“It would be easy to say, ‘yes, definitely — I'd be in NYC writing musicals or would already have my first book published,’ but I really hope I'd still be doing what I am now if I was a man: working a day job that lets me pursue creative passions on the side. I honestly don't want a higher-paying career; time to enjoy life and those I love is more important. I don't have children yet, but I definitely feel a ‘pull and push’ toward starting a family vs. pursuing other time-and-heart-consuming goals.”
–Becca J.R. Lachman, 28, interim assistant director at OU, freelance writer and composer from Athens
“No, I wouldn't be pursuing a different career path if I was a male. Traditionally, more men work in outdoor leadership roles, although my classes were about half and half. I'm a non-traditional student who's worked in an office environment forever. I finally decided to get a degree and certifications in an area in which I really want to work. Whether I was pursuing a career in a male-dominated field or not, I didn't really care.”
–Suzanne Fisher, 35, a recent ecotourism graduate of Hocking College, from Nelsonville
“Maybe, but it would still be in a field where I would help kids, elderly and the sick. It would always have to do with the needy and ill also.”
–Billie Byers, 49, former junk separator, cashier, home-health aide, wife, mother and homemaker from New Marshfield
“If I were a man, I do not think that I would be pursuing a different career path. Although it is the stereotype that men do have better opportunities than women to become doctors, lawyers, etc., and although I do agree with this to an extent, I do not think that I personally would be pursuing another career path.”
–Stefanie Dimofski, 18, an OU freshman from Gahanna, Ohio
“Probably. I would have had a different perspective and outlook in high school, and may have been more interested in pursuing something different.”
–Betsy Gosnell, 42, in professional development, from Amesville
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