Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, February 24, 1991                   TAG: 9102240210
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER MUNICIPAL WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

MUNICIPAL JOBS SLIGHT WOMEN/ FEMALE WORKERS HARD TO RECRUIT

Women make up 44 percent of the labor force in the metropolitan area but hold only 29 percent of municipal jobs.

Black women fare better than white women; they make up 5 percent of the labor pool, but hold 7 percent of city jobs. White women make up 39 percent of the labor pool but have only 22 percent of municipal jobs.

Public attention has been focused recently on the small number of black officers in the city Police Department. But the report presented to City Council last week indicates that several municipal departments have few, if any, female employees.

Although women fare better than blacks on the 244-member police force - there are 13 female police officers, but only nine blacks - none of the city's 245 Fire Department employees is female, for instance.

Personnel Manager Kenneth Cronin said the city would like to have more female employees but finds that because of the nature of many jobs, it's difficult to recruit them.

"We are a fairly labor-intensive organization, with jobs in refuse collection, utility lines repair, sewage treatment plant, building, street maintenance and similar areas - jobs that have traditionally been held by men," Cronin said.

The city has tried to recruit women for most of these jobs, he said, but it has not been successful in many cases. Women hold only 11 percent of the jobs in the maintenance and services category.

Men traditionally also have held most jobs in police, fire and other public-safety departments, but that is beginning to change, Cronin said.

"We really want to hire some women firefighters," he said, but few apply. He blames the firefighters' work schedule, which makes it less attractive to female applicants.

The city wants more female employees, but "we've got to be realistic about different types of jobs," he said.

"Certainly, as an organization we want to be representative" of the labor force, Cronin said.

In the past year, 38 percent of the new employees hired were women, and women received 32 percent of the promotions. Women hold 95 percent of the clerical and office jobs for the city but only 13 percent of the top administrative and management jobs.

Cronin said the city has hired women for several management jobs in recent years. These include a personnel training coordinator, an emergency services coordinator, a risk manager and a library director.

"We are on the right track in this area. We are making moves in the right direction," he said.