"9 To 5" - Part Two Of An Industry Survey About Women in Fleet

The February issue of AUTOMOTIVE FLEET has caused quite a stir within the fleet administration industry, pointing out the apparent disparity in pay between male and female fleet administrators with the same responsibilities.

After the February issue went to press, we received a number of late replies to our questionnaire and on the following pages we'll take a look at some of the comments excerpted from these survey forms. One thing was for certain: the trend of women feeling discriminated against did not change, and from the information on the forms received, it appears they have every right to feel that way.

We also received a few letters which went into greater detail concerning the feelings of particular women in the industry. These letters were signed and we present them in the first part of this article.

The first letter is from Audrey Patterson of Caldwell and Associates Insurance in Hawthorne, California.

"I think you very well may find inequities between male and female employees in the automotive fleet industry. However, you may also find these inequities relate directly to the employee's efficiency and competency. I cannot personally speak for women in the position of a fleet administrator, but as sales manager for a broker, I can assure you that if a woman is paid on a commission basis, her income is directly commensurate to her capability."

Sandra Dey did not mention her company name, but the Stamford, Connecticut resident wrote as follows:

"I owe my career advancement to a very intelligent and experienced fleet manager who had the foresight to drop dead at the age of 40 and leave me with the management of a fleet of over 500 vehicles with a mix of 75 percent vans and 25 percent cars. To this day, I still thank him for the opportunity to move in!! I handled the fleet alone for about seven months (with the aid only of a secretary) and then management nicely hired an outside male to 'help us out.' The fleet manager's position had been offered to me at a salary approximately $8000 below what the deceased manager was making, and although he indeed had several years of experience over me, having worked with him for three to four years offered me the opportunity to absorb a great deal of expertise. The newly hired fleet manager (although bright in his own ways) couldn't cut the mustard in management's eyes: the company relocated and he was not asked to move. In turn I was invited to accept a two-year contract in the new headquarters as the assistant fleet manager, and a younger outside male fleet manager was brought in. Seeing the light, I quickly bailed out as did our two secretaries, leaving the young blood with 800 vehicles, a nice salary, and no staff. And so it goes!"

Marilyn Leach, equipment administrator for the Dowell Division of Dow Chemical in Houston, Texas, had this to offer:

"Indeed there do seem to be a great many inequities in the fleet management area of responsibility within the corporate structure. One man comes to mind whose total job consisted of managing 375 cars, and a woman who handled a fleet of 2500 vehicles by herself. The extent of their responsibilities had to vary considerably!

"It is pretty obvious I am a woman fleet administrator but I like my job and I'm interested in participating in any constructive manner possible. I'm also realistic enough to know that a questionnaire will not alter the resistance women will continue to encounter in this and other career situations."

Susan Stupak-Egizio, fleet operations administrator for A.B. Dick Company in Chicago, responded with:

"I feel that most women take their salary compensation a bit too seriously. Meaning that they immediately 'cry wolf (discrimination) before taking into consideration why they feel grieved. This means analyzing one's self-image, specifically their personal motivations and goals.

"If more women spent time on their personal inventory including their present qualifications and honestly communicated these with their manager, both parties would then be able to develop an awareness and better understanding of each other's position.

"It is my personal opinion that a person's attitude, man or woman, reflects extensively in their approach to conflict situations which is also reflection of their professionalism.

"I'm not trying to shine a spotlight, but I was taught at an early age how important a personal assessment of yourself is and how to effectively communicate these priorities in a professional way to management. Therefore, management is aware of what my goals and expectations are and we can work together effectively to satisfy both our needs."

Marianne Olah, fleet buyer for Washington, D.C.-based Southern Rail­ way System, wrote:

"The lady is entitled, to at least the same compensation her predecessor received. Today's state-of-the-art requires an awareness of an excessive and extremely complex range of government regulations pertaining to the automotive industry, as well as the end user. What was valid 20 years ago is simply no longer applicable in an era of greater need for energy conservation.

"The use of on-board computers in some of today's vehicles requires a different approach to vehicle maintenance. Improved tires with a far greater economic life, as well as a complicated range of motor oils with various additives, are just two items that require a thorough knowledge of today's technology and its successful application in order to result in cost savings for any fleet.

"If a lady can successfully cope with the recent changes in our gasoline economy and the far more complex type of vehicles that are being marketed today, and if her practices result in cost savings to her employer, then she should receive if not a greater, than at least the same amount of compensation her predecessor enjoyed."

Finally, a letter signed "one of many" contained these comments'.

"Few industries have reached equal pay for equal work. Business is still male-dominated; no matter what the title, women make less money.

"Women did not travel in our company until six years ago when I was sent to a division with problems. It sent a shock wave through the company; now it is accepted as normal. Our pay has become a bitter, more difficult negotiation issue each year. Management's conversation now tends towards 'if they all walk together' as our staff becomes wiser.

"The executives consider such a threat blackmail. We consider it equal pay and to avoid a discrimination suit which we have warned them about for several years. It may not help some of us, but it may pave the way for equal pay for those coming up through the ranks."

Those were the signed and/or lengthy responses we received. A number of forms contained short, concise and usually unsigned remarks from women administrators in the field. Their comments included:

"Males seem to have more help without asking for it. If I were a male, I would probably have a manager title and my own secretary. I receive little title recognition and the benefits associated with it.

"Company does not place the emphasis it deserves on the fleet administrator; therefore, would probably not pay a male more than my­ self."

And:

"I cannot say definitely whether I would be paid more or less if I were a male. My company has not had a fleet administrator before myself. I don't know if a male would be paid more, but I don't think a male would take this heavy a job! I just wish the fleet was all I had to concern myself about."

A woman who listed job descriptions added over a period of time to her title had this to say:

"I was not financially compensated for these additional duties and not promoted to a higher position as a result of the additional responsibility. Instead they were simply added to my job description. This is not the case when men assume additional responsibility within the company."

A woman seemed resigned to conditions, stating:

"This is a fact of life, that a male will have a higher salary than a female in the same position. I feel I pay more attention to detail than a male in the same position. I take my job and responsibilities much more seriously than my immediate supervisor."

Of all the dozens of responses we received from women, perhaps this one best summed up the entire feeling of those who took the time to answer:

"I was a secretary for the previous male fleet administrator. His rating in our company system was 155 points. When I took over, after his retirement, the points were reduced to 124. He did not have a college degree; neither do I. We still have the same number of vehicles, but I am doing more work because of increases in the price of automobiles and changes in gasoline prices. Clear picture of discrimination if I ever saw one. My problem is, I really like the work."