and over for a couple of days. Thank goodness, with the counseling that we have at Metrolink, it goes away. Though you never completely forget because every time you go by that spot, you remember it, but it’s not our fault… we can't go left or right, we go forward. The gates are down, and unfortunately there are people that choose to do stupid or sad things.
Ceres: What’s your take on women working in public transportation?
Kathy: It’s wonderful! I wish more women would do it, but I know it's predominantly an all-male industry, and starting out in '94, it was even more so, back then. Now, it’s 2015, little by little, there are more women in the transportation business, but I guess there’s still some hesitation from women to even apply, to try. At Metrolink, at the top of my head, we are maybe six or seven women engineers. On the Amtrak's side, there's more, but that’s not that many at all.
Ceres: How many males?
Kathy: At Metrolink, I think we have almost 300.
Ceres: Why so few women?
Kathy: Maybe because that’s the way, growing up, girls were taught. You never see a woman train engineer in movies. When you’re a little girl, they ask you, “What you wanna be? A nurse, a teacher?” And with the boys, “A policeman, an engineer, train driver, bus driver,” something like that.
Ceres: How is your work relationship with male coworkers?
Kathy: Here, there’re my brothers. We are family. We work together, we do spend many hours working together, and now it's equal. They treat me like a treat them, with respect and camaraderie. I have love for my fellow coworkers. It's good!
Ceres: What is the most difficult thing about your job?
Kathy: I have to go back to the fatalities, any accidents. It is something that we wish would not happen, but obviously accidents happen whether it be some trespassers, vehicles, or unfortunately, train vs. train.
Ceres: Any disadvantage or discrimination as a woman?
Kathy: Like I said, I've been doing that for almost 22 years, so I think I've proven myself, but I do remember starting out in 1994 with the freight railroad, it was tough. The older generation or the guys that had been around for a while—we called them the “Old Heads” [Laughter]—they used to treat me and the few other women, or any young punk for that matter, like we couldn't do it. So, we had to prove that we were able, that we were just as good as they were, and that there was no difference. But, I think we've evolved enough now to say that once you’ve proven yourself that you can do the job, and do it well, that's it! But back then, it was different.
"They treat me like a treat them, with respect and camaraderie. I have love for my fellow coworkers."
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15 - Ceres Magazine - Winter 2016