Alameda woman investigates male-dominated industries

Donna Milgram of IWITTS, the Institute for Women in Trades, Technology & Science, takes a very hands-on approach to ensuring that women achieve parity in male-dominated industries. Two weeks ago, for example, the founder and executive director of the Bay Area-based national nonprofit organization dedicated to integrating women into traditionally male-dominated occupations attended the International Association of Police Chiefs Conference in Toronto.

While she was there, she took the opportunity to try on some standard-issue riot gear. Not surprisingly, none of it fit the 5-foot-4-inch Alameda resident.

"A major part of the problem when you deal with women's issues in male-dominated fields such as law enforcement, is that there are no women at the head of the table making decisions," Milgram says. "Consequently, you have uniforms that aren't tailored with women in mind.

"Also, about one-third of female police officers have hands that are too small to effectively use the standard police pistol. And that's a major problem, of course."

Another arena that Milgram believes suffers from the lack of female decision-makers is the auto industry. If more women were consulted in the auto industry's design process, she argues, then deploying air bags wouldn't present such a huge risk for smaller women and children.

The East Bay transplant (Milgram moved from the East Coast two years ago) has an activist past. Raised in a Conservative household in Quincy, Mass., she was elected to student body offices throughout high school and college. Although she was involved in a number of causes, ranging from divesting money from South Africa to racism and class issues, women's rights have always been at the forefront of her concerns.

A decade ago, the 41-year-old hosted a panel discussion on violence against Jewish women at Reform Congregation Adath Israel in Washington, D.C. The conference was part of the district's rape awareness week, and Milgram said some of the attendees approached her after the conference and thanked her for broaching a subject that received little recognition.

"The issue of domestic violence is doubly shameful in the Jewish community, because there's a belief that Jewish men wouldn't do something like that," says Milgram. "One of the results of the panel was that the city's Jewish Family and Children's Service center adopted policy changes concerning domestic violence and gave their counselors extended training in that area."

Milgram says that IWITTS' attempts to effect change through training for educators and employers, assessment of workplace environments, and by impacting federal and local policies.

Prior to forming IWITTS, Milgram, who is currently participating in the Jewish Community Relations Council's Young Leadership Program, spent a year on Capitol Hill in the office of Rep. Connie Morella (D-Md.). There, she developed two bills on non-traditional employment: the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations Act was signed into law in 1992, and the Commission on the Advancement of Women and Minorities in Science, Engineering and Technology Development Act was made law in 1998.

Milgram is an ardent believer in changing the work paradigm from the ground level up. For example, in the technology field, she finds fault with academic instruction.

"Many male instructors are more concerned with the size and speeds of computers than with the actual application of the technology, which is what women are more concerned with," says Milgram, adding that the discrepancy can cause many would-be female tech experts to lose interest. Milgram also sees a disparity in how men and women are weaned on technology, noting that computer games often provide an entrée into the high-tech and computer industry.

Since many of the video games are often violent and combative, traits that Milgram feels are antithetical to women's personalities and interests, many young girls simply decide to look elsewhere for careers. And when women do decide to enter "aggressive" industries such as law enforcement, they can encounter other obstacles.

"Sexual harassment in high-danger fields such as law enforcement and fire fighting have such different concerns than office employees," says Milgram. "The old way of thinking was that women were either secretaries or mid-level executives. There have been very few standards put in place for fighting harassment in occupations that deal with danger.

"That's the kind of thinking that has to change."