“Women are often taught to not only be small, but to make everyone else comfortable first. So having the knowledge that it is okay to feel uncomfortable and make others feel uncomfortable if my voice is not being heard,” event host Vanessa Crispin-Peralta said on the challenge of not having her voice feel heard in the workplace.
As women’s history month comes to a close, Erin Murphy the director of special events at LBCC and Vanessa Crispin-Peralta, a history professor who specializes in women’s history at LBCC, hosted the virtual event Workplace Challenges: Then vs Now.
The event had four women panelists, Jane Templin a retired electrictrician, Melissa Infusino the LBCC director of workforce development, Daisy Gonzalas who is the lead organizer of the garment workers center and workers rights organization and Ana de los Rios, a garment worker. All these women shared their unique experiences working in different fields.
“The challenge I faced was to not get worn down by it. Women want to be under the radar and not create waves,and that is one of the things that I have regretted. Once I began to make waves, I began to advance in my field. Women have to learn to fight for it.” shared Templin when looking back at her time working as an electrician.
Templin continued, “I would get so excited telling and showing people the work that I did, and they would look shocked that I was able to accomplish something that was considered a man’s job.”
Infusino also shared her experiences, “What was happening was I was being spoken over, I was being mansplained, I was being interrupted, my ideas were being taken from me and being used by someone else without credit, I was being passed over for things. I was being treated unfairly and I was led to believe I was being sensitive and overreacting.”
Rios then shared, “Do not let anyone intimidate you.” when it comes to standing up for yourself towards a supervisor. “It is one of the hardest things to overcome.”
Rios had also shared her experiences working in the garment industry, “For a 60 hour work week I would get paid about $300. I have also been fired for taking time off to take my children to the doctor.”
Gonzales now works with Rios to pass the Garment Worker Protection Act. This would eliminate the piece rate system that the workers are being paid under, and create a multilateral accountability.
To help these women pass this protection act, sign the petition linked below:
https://garmentworkercenter.ourpowerbase.net/civicrm/petition/sign?sid=2
One of the biggest changes that these women wanted to see in the near future is pay equity.
Crispin-Peralta said,“Pay equity you know and not just literally dollars you know seeing equal pay for equal work that’s obviously really important but honoring women’s work”
Despite all of the challenges these women have faced, they remain hopeful for the future.
“I have hope that this generation will make waves in improving the workforce.” said Crispin-Peralta.