Democracy, Women, Transportation and Business

By Kathleen Gidney
Copyright Feb.24, 2012

Women’s progress has been slow. It has taken some time to establish the milestones of progress that have been the recognition of women as humans and not property, the establishment that women have the right to participate in our government’s process and won- not “were given”- the right to vote, and the retraction of the law that said women could be beaten with a stick. The “glass ceiling” is being cracked. Or is it?
Many of our industries, in this democracy, are male-dominated. It is rather like the social clubs that were the bastions of the men-only edict, and which excluded and bitterly opposed the inclusion of women. Although these “social clubs” are getting fewer, as women attempt to pry open the barriers to women, industries-and entire industries- are still male-dominated, and in a variety of different ways attempt to shut the door on females. The exclusion and dominance is systemic, even in employment practices that paid men more than women for doing the same work, and even the current manipulation of industries to subordinate women .
The transportation industry is one of those. At one time, yes in Canada, women weren’t supposed to drive! This was one of the taboos in this supposedly progressive and democratic society. Men die earlier than women, and I’ve encountered more than my share of age-ing widows who were kept dependant and in the house, until the man got home to drive. The age-ing widows were absolutely stranded when their male partners, the vehicle drivers, died. The women were still hostage to the social construct that women shouldn’t drive and only males could.
It was the same with finances. Only the males were supposed to know and participate in the financial matters of the household, do the taxes and the paperwork, etc, etc. When the males died, not only were the women stranded in their houses, they had no idea (because of this “custom”) how to fill out forms, pay bills, do taxes, insurance and much more. On top of losing their husband, they had now to deal with, at often an advanced age, all these matters.
I have digressed, in a way. Back to the transportation industry. Who, in our society, drove trucks, buses and taxis? Men. Now more women are driving-another milestone in equality-but is it? More women are driving, but how many are owners? Do they own their own taxis? Trucks? Buses? Companies? Some. Few enough.
Women have been mired in the child care ghetto for centuries. Family child-rearing was one thing: since they weren’t “allowed” to work outside of the house, weren’t allowed to look into or participate in the financial matters of the household, weren’t allowed to drive, they weren’t independent. Women didn’t have their own money. Sometimes the man gave them an allowance, or some money to have as their own, but not as a rule. Women alone were to look after the children. When women “were allowed” to work outside of the house, the only appropriate employment was as a nurse, teacher, or again, the childcare ghetto, where the wages were minimal and the employment benefits either sparse or non existent.
Women have made great gains, improving this scenario, with good and higher paying government and corporate jobs, but always hitting the glass ceiling. Still, this seems to be changing, with more and more positions being gained by women in the upper levels.
But wait. What’s happening in our society? If you’ve read the previous posts in my blog, you may have some idea.
Many women have recently climbed out of the childcare ghetto by starting and owning their own businesses. They alone control it. They do the finances. They effect the service. They produce the good (or product). They direct the functions of the organization. They make their own money, their own salary. And they have overcome the glass ceiling. In this way, they have been able to make it for themselves. And there’s no one above them.
In the way also, they have climbed out of the ghetto and into the middle class.
More and more women are occupying the middle class, now. Many people in the middle class are women small business owners.
But what’s happening now? Are we getting a different kind of glass ceiling? It seems true that our democracy is changing. Free enterprise is intimately tied with democracy. Free enterprise now seems to mean the corporate domination of free enterprise, and, I’d say, the corporate- or CEO- and upper level gov’t official domination of our government and its policy. There’s not many at the top, now, but there are many at the bottom, and *we are losing the middle* class. Women having be increasingly getting into small business, and coming to occupy a major portion of it; and small business owners form a major portion of our middle class.
Just when women are getting out from under, the middle class, which has been our step up, is being diminished. In fact is about to vanish. There already is, now, a few people at the top (see the Moyers and Company documentary on PBS), and there will be and are now, a great many in the lower class. Gone will be our advances.
Our government, instead of being the twin pinnacles of freedom and free enterprise, is becoming the peak of the few, and the masses of poor being supported by subsidized –or state- programs or services. Being on these *does not mean you are going to be rich*. You will be poor, and on subsidized programs or services from which you cannot get out from under. Look at those countries where everything is state-run. Is the general populace rich? Or poor?
When I entered the transportation industry, it was male run. I was the only female shuttle company owner. I may still be the only female shuttle company owner. There may be female shuttle company drivers, but they aren’t an owner, or are not the sole proprietor of that business. Do the guys take kindly to my being here? Maybe, maybe not.
When there is a male president of a wheelchair transportation service who wants to subjugate his desired area of Empire to his subsidized transportation, who do you think it will put out of a free enterprise, democracy supporter, business? A female small business owner, who hopes to make it to the middle class. (He, of course, is already there, if you know his background). Does he take it kindly that I oppose his goals?
Does the municipal or town council, which are male-dominated oppose his goals? Or are his goals and theirs, one and the same. ?? Most of the males on councils are already upper to middle class. And governments-ours- are becoming more socialist.
Many are, as I’ve said in my previous posts, sucked into this agenda by thinking “a subsidized service?” “A subsidized program?” “yay, I’m in! I’ll save money”. Think again. You only *think* you’ll save money. But you’ll not be able to get out of being poor.
You won’t be able to afford to live in your house, because your taxes will be that high because they have to pay for those programs and services. And you’ll say “but at least it’s your money”. You’re right. It’s your money. And you still won’t be able to live in your house. How does subsidized housing sound, for you to go to? Subsidized food, through Feed Nova Scotia? It’s a feed-subsidized program through the government. Hope you like food banks. Maybe they’ll plunk you into the red army, if you object. You’ll have a job, poor pay again, but at least they’ll feed you….something….you may not be sure exactly what it is, but…LOL.
I agree with the subsidization and government running of our basic utilities. I believe in the government subsidizing a small business to provide a service that it doesn’t normally do, or normally wouldn’t be able to afford to do at a lower than cost rate, for special needs people or/and the poor. I believe in the government putting money into organizations that directly deal with poor and know who they are. And helping those poor people with coupons to get their needs met through local small businesses. These local small businesses also spend the money in the community and …the money goes ‘round.
And of course these are my ideas from where I stand as a woman, and a small business owner, and someone who believes in democracy. That’s how I want to live. And work! And I want to make it out of the ranks of the poor and into the middle class. Isn’t that what democracy was supposed to be all about? That no matter what your background, no matter who you were (what sex?), in our free countries we were supposed to be able to make something of ourselves….
Whatever has happened to our country called Canada, the True North Strong and Free?
And where will women be, in it?

There’s a survey going around about Community Transit. It asks questions to lead you to the answer they want. Think about it. Think hard. Voice your opinion.

Kathleen Gidney