Friday, March 7, 1997
By Monica Alvarez
Daily Bruin Contributor
In celebration of Women’s History Month, four female professors
and lecturers give The Bruin an inside view of their respective
careers and accomplishments and share their feelings about women’s
progress.
Paula Cecilia Jackson, an instructor of biology, first became
interested in her field because of environmental conservation
issues. After completing her undergraduate studies in Venezuela,
Jackson came to UCLA for her graduate studies and soon after began
her teaching career.
However, Jackson’s career extends far beyond her lecture room.
She is currently working on a study in which different mechanisms
are analyzed to figure out which ones are used in maintaining a
variety of species. Included in the study is the determination of
the physiology of canopy plants.
"I am particularly excited about this part of the study because,
for the first time, the necessary equipment is available to lift
researchers up to the tops of the trees which have never been
reached before," Jackson said.
Yet, despite her excitement, Jackson still believes that
motherhood is more important than any other career.
"The least-valued work of women is that of rearing other human
beings. Sadly this ‘traditional job’ is seen as less important in
comparison to other work that brings in income."
The day-to-day obstacles of raising children is what Jackson
feels most women of the 20th century struggle with. But for her, it
is a positive challenge.
"There is a conflict with balancing a family and a career which
I love to do. It all comes down to being organized and prioritizing
between my teaching, my research and my child."
Among other things, Jackson has noticed that women with children
seem to fall behind in their careers and productivity more than men
do.
Jackson feels that Women’s History Month is celebrated to
promote an awareness of the importance of the roles women have
played throughout history. She feels these roles are evolving
today, as some women try to shed outdated ones but at the same time
do not have new ones to rely on.
"Women today are in transition. We are not sure which roles to
play because not only are we breaking away from traditional ones,
we are creating new roles at the same time."
Down the road, Jackson hopes society can value all the roles
women have played and will play in the future.
A graduate of Wellesley College, a singer and conductor by
trade, a private voice instructor and a professor, Nicole Baker
brings entertainment to her musicology classes at UCLA and Cal
State Northridge.
Directly after her completion of undergraduate studies, Baker
started a career in journalism with the Beverly Hills Courier and
worked in public relations for five years. Meanwhile, she sang
nonprofessionally around town. Out of her deep love for singing and
musicology, Baker decided to audition for the master of fine arts
program at UCLA. To her great surprise, she was accepted and
decided to go on to receive her master’s degree.
Baker sang with the Los Angeles Master Choral under the guidance
of choral musician Roger Wagner in the early- to mid-’80s. She
credits Wagner for strengthening her love of music and hails him as
an unbelievably talented and most inspiring choral musician she has
known in her life. Along with Wagner, Baker considers UCLA
Professor Marie Gollner a role model and most likely the reason why
she herself has such a love for teaching.
Baker feels that in her profession, the roles of men and women
are considered equal.
"The stereotypes of women not working never occurs to women
musicians. As one of the first female conductors at a nearby
church, I never felt discriminated against or faced any objection
because I was a woman."
Baker also believes that the most important job in this world is
that of raising a child.
"I believe a child should be raised equally by both parents. One
of the reasons why I haven’t had children is that I can’t figure
out how I’m going to do it. This may also be one of the reasons why
I feel such a maternal bond with my students; it means so much to
me whether a student understands what I am teaching or not."
Women’s History Month, Baker believes, is important to point out
to society a sector that has not been highlighted. "Women make such
tremendous contributions to society, but because it is a man’s
world, they have not been explored."
Carole Goldberg-Ambrose felt she shared a familiarity with
American Indians. As a Jewish woman, she relates to the struggle of
keeping one’s own religion and culture while facing outside efforts
to extinguish them. She felt that as a lawyer or legal scholar, she
could make a difference for American Indians and decided to pursue
a career in federal Indian law.
Aside from her classes, which include Introduction to American
Indian Studies, Goldberg-Ambrose is currently working with fellow
professors to organize a working group of tribal officials in
California.
The creation of this new organization will serve as a place
where tribes and the state can come together to solve problems and
participate in co-operative projects. On top of this project,
Goldberg-Ambrose has worked on several books and reports, all
hailed by American Indian tribes.
Goldberg-Ambrose said that when she first started teaching law,
there were no women on the law faculty at Stanford.
"I’ve seen big changes since I’ve graduated from law school in
1971. I feel that I am at an advantage to be at an institution
where changes took place relatively early. For the last 15 years,
the law school dean here has been female."
Jacqueline R. Braitman began her career as many students do
 she knew what field she liked, but did not know where to go
from there. Braitman always had a strong interest in history and
decided to focus her studies on municipal reform.
Braitman became involved in the production of a biography based
on a woman involved in municipal reform. This paper became the
focus of her master’s degree and later her doctorate. This
biography also led Braitman to focus her studies in women’s history
and later led her to receive a major grant to place this
dissertation into manuscript form.
"Biography was not respected in the ’80s, but now it is a
growing field that has snowballed in interest level. It has taken
many years to finally receive recognition in this type of work but
that is what makes it all worth it."
Braitman feels that she is facing struggles now.
"I feel the struggles have come not as being a woman, but as
being a historian." She states that her biggest struggle is having
a family, being a lecturer and trying to keep up her
scholarship.
The roles of women in society happen to be Braitman’s expertise,
lecturing on that subject to her students.
"I think that women are always struggling with triple roles
 being a wife, a mother and a worker. Women’s issues are
men’s issues too. Change is possible, but it is a struggle."
It becomes evident when speaking with Braitman that she is a
woman concerned with the future of her young daughter. As with
thousands of other mothers with children, Braitman is forced to
deal with a constant conflict between her career and her
family.
"I think being a mother is the most noble occupation to have. It
is the most rewarding and sadly it is not appreciated by
society."
When her daughter asked her why we need a Women’s History Month
and why a Men’s History Month does not exist, Braitman answered
that, "People think all history is man’s history, but this month
serves as a reminder to us that women have shaped history too."
GENEVIEVE LIANG/Daily Bruin
Carole Goldberg-Ambrose, Law School professor, works in her
office.GENEVIEVE LIANG/Daily Bruin
Professor of biology Paula Jackson