ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, April 22, 1997 TAG: 9704220098
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: WHAT'S ON YOUR MIND?
SOURCE: RAY REED
Q: Why does Roanoke's city seal on business licenses show a blindfolded woman with a sword? I get the blindfold part from Justice, but why the sword?
H.L., Roanoke
A: The real question is, how did you notice the sword among the locomotive, train, industrial cogwheel, smokestacks and buildings?
In front of this collection, Justice sits blindfolded, holding a balance scale and, oh yes, the sword.
Believe it or not, this 1906 seal survived a serious effort in 1975-76 to replace it.
The sword isn't overly significant. It's pointed down, touching the ground in a peaceful but alert manner.
Justice is much like the Virginia state seal, with a female warrior holding a spear, point down.
The sword is a common attribute of Justice figures everywhere, and it can be overshadowed by the blindfold and scales.
Unequal pay for women
Q: When the Equal Rights Amendment was proposed again recently, Sen. Edward Kennedy said women earn only 76 cents for each dollar earned by men.
Does that figure of 76 cents compare equal jobs, or jobs of different rank and labor supply? G.G., Christiansburg
A: That figure covers all wages and salaries - from child-care workers to nuclear engineers, from Virginia to California.
The 76-cent figure is consistent with those reported by the U.S. Census Bureau (71cents) and the Department of Labor (75cents).
It's a cold statistic, tilted perhaps by mindsets that jobs traditionally held by women pay less - but that's a simplistic view.
The General Assembly ordered a study of pay equity in state jobs last winter. It's being done by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission.
Virginia's study gets its energy from one reported statistic: Women in Virginia earn a median of $19,000, while men earn $27,500. The statistic comes from the Institute for Women's Policy Research.
The audit commission is taking a detailed look at Virginia's 14,000 job classifications to see how much men and women are paid. It's considering experience, education and seniority - none of which were addressed in the overall study.
So many factors go into pay fairness that even a spokeswoman for the National Committee on Pay Equity, a Washington lobby group, concedes there are almost as many reasons as there are inequities.
Is there a glass ceiling? You bet. Women managers in some companies are paid less than men managers at the same rank or level.
Why? Maybe because men job-hunt more, negotiating a higher salary when they change jobs. Or maybe it's because men get jobs related to producing the company's product, while women are likely to be in support jobs - human resources or accounting departments, perhaps.
Maybe women take jobs that have traditionally been held by women and, over the years, these jobs became devalued within the company.
The 76-cent figure is too consistent to be ignored but complicated enough to inspire several book-length explanations.
Have a question about something that might affect other people, too? Something you've come across and wondered about? Maybe we can find the answer. Call us at 981-3118. Or, e-mail RAYR@Roanoke.com
LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: Roanoke City logo.by CNB