‘91: Peaks, Valleys and Pits for Businesswomen

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. And it’ll get better or worse, depending on how you look at it.

The experience of businesswomen in Orange County in 1991 was a little like the county itself: part spreading city and part canyons and coyotes. Part yachting and part Mickey Mouse. It all depends on where you’re standing when you take a look.

Barbara Baldwin is standing in the shoes of president of the South County chapter of the Older Women’s League.

“The past year, as far as employment goes, has been dismal,” she said. “A tremendous number of women lost jobs, and it’s very difficult to get hired again when you’re over 40, over 50.”

Women who worked as secretaries and in other clerical jobs have had an especially hard time finding work at the same pay, said Baldwin, an accountant. Employers are opting to pay entry-level wages and hiring people with lower skills.

But she also finds a bright side to 1991 for working women: Federal legislation was passed giving most workers the right to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid family or medical leave per year. And Senate Bill 36, the universal health care bill, is making its way through Senate subcommittees.

Orange County Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder’s view of 1991 for businesswomen is rosier. “More and more, women are becoming aware of investment opportunities, that’s No. 1,” she said. “More and more, they’re assuming executive positions and, as entrepreneurs, are starting businesses at a higher rate than men.”

Female executives from the local automotive and banking industries had opposing takes on the year in review.

“We’ve made progress over the years, but I haven’t seen a whole lot recently,” said Anne McInnis, vice president and banking officer for Newport Beach-based Northern Trust of California. She notes that after the merger of Security Pacific Bank and Bank of America, only a small percentage of newly appointed executive vice presidents were women. And one of those female executive vice presidents is in charge of human resources, a field where female managers are fairly common.

On a more positive note, McInnis said, Northern Trust and other financial institutions in Orange County and across the country began offering financial planning seminars in 1991 that were designed specifically for women.

At one local automotive company, 1991 was a better year for women, said Jan Thompson, vice president of marketing for Mazda Motor of America in Irvine, the Japanese car maker’s U.S. importer. Of 14 managers in her department, seven are women, compared to only four or five at this time last year.

Although in many other industries women have made major inroads in marketing departments, that has not necessarily been the case in the auto industry.

“We have a marketing department that reflects the industry now, but it wasn’t anything I set out to do intentionally,” Thompson said. “We just hired the best available person when we had an opening. It was a natural evolution.”

Career counselor Ann Coil says these difficult economic times will present new opportunities for women as well as men. Coil, principal of Ann Coil Associates in Orange, said many of her clients are afraid of losing their jobs in layoffs. She helps counsel them on ways to show their employers how much they are worth.

One female aerospace executive, Coil said, saved her company almost $100,000 by renegotiating agreements with vendors and by finding an alternative to buying new computer equipment.

“This economy gives women a chance to show they can help their organizations cut costs and increase productivity,” Coil said. “Companies weren’t as ready to listen to women (on these issues) a year ago, because competition wasn’t so fierce. A lot of success stories have begun during down times.”

Judith Rosener, a management professor at UC Irvine, fears the opposite consequence for women in a down economy. She said President Bush and Republican presidential candidate Patrick Buchanan are beginning to blame various groups for the state of the U.S. economy.

“They are seeking a scapegoat,” Rosener said. “I think with men out of work, we’re going to start hearing, ‘Why are women taking our jobs?’ Especially the middle- and high-level (female) managers are going to be buffeted by this.”

Gloria Zigner, who heads a Costa Mesa public relations agency, said opening an office this year in a new city, San Francisco, has shown her how much women are willing to help each other in business.

“Women are helping women more than ever before,” she said. “For a long time, there were not too many women who could open the doors for each other, because they were trying to open them themselves.”

She said women are making the right introductions for her, and, “access, in my business, is everything.”

Nanette Pattee Francini agrees that people are working together more, but she does not think that is gender-specific. She is the founder of Sports Club Co., owner and operator of the Sports Club Irvine.

“There are hurdles for everyone in business until things turn around,” she said. “For the next year, we’re all in the same boat. Nobody has the time to worry about whether they’re male or female.”