Janet Petra Bonnema (November 24, 1938 – May 9, 2008)
was an American
civil engineer and
women's rights
Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...
activist. She was hired as an engineering technician for the
Eisenhower Tunnel
The Eisenhower Tunnel, officially the Eisenhower–Edwin C. Johnson Memorial Tunnel, is a dual-bore, four-lane vehicular tunnel in the western United States, approximately west of Denver, Colorado. The tunnel carries Interstate 70 (I-70) under ...
construction project in
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...
in 1970, but was barred from performing her work inside the tunnel due to the prevailing superstition that women who went underground in tunnels or mines brought bad luck, endangering the male workers. In 1972 she filed a $100,000
class action
A class action, also known as a class-action lawsuit, class suit, or representative action, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of that group. The class actio ...
lawsuit against the
Colorado Department of Highways for
sexual discrimination
Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primari ...
. The state settled the case out of court and she was allowed to enter the tunnel, although she dressed inconspicuously. She became a symbol for equal rights in the workplace. She was posthumously inducted into the
Colorado Women's Hall of Fame
The Colorado Women's Hall of Fame is a non-profit, volunteer organization that recognizes women who have contributed to the history of the U.S. state of Colorado. As of 2020, 170 women have been inducted.
History
There was a short-lived recogniti ...
in 2012.
Early life and education
Janet Petra Bonnema was born in
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
, Colorado, to Peter and Helen Bonnema.
[ She had two sisters. Although she desired to study math and science, her guidance counselors at South High School discouraged her from pursuing these traditionally male-oriented subjects.] She was similarly advised against majoring in engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sy ...
, and instead graduated with a bachelor's degree in history in 1960.[ During her university years, she captained the university ski team.][
]
Early career
After graduation, Bonnema began working as an engineering aide at Boeing
The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and p ...
Aircraft in Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
. She left after two and a half years, seeing men who were less qualified than she receiving higher salaries and promotions. She spent the rest of the 1960s hitchhiking around the world, returning to Denver in 1970 having exhausted her savings.
Eisenhower Tunnel
In November 1970 Bonnema applied to the Colorado Department of Highways (CDOT) for a position as an engineering technician for the Eisenhower Tunnel
The Eisenhower Tunnel, officially the Eisenhower–Edwin C. Johnson Memorial Tunnel, is a dual-bore, four-lane vehicular tunnel in the western United States, approximately west of Denver, Colorado. The tunnel carries Interstate 70 (I-70) under ...
project (then named the Straight Creek Tunnel project).[ She met the qualification criteria, passed the tests, and her application was accepted as being filed by a "Mr. Jamet Bonnema", as the state employer misspelled the name and was under the impression they were hiring a man. When Bonnema called to accept the job but question the salary being offered, she was told that "no women are allowed in the tunnel". Bonnema maintained that she could do the work, and two months later the department created a special engineering technician position for her that was office-based. While Bonnema was tasked with "recording measurements, collecting rock samples, and producing technical drawings" based on data found within the tunnels, her supervisors barred her from entering the tunnel itself due to her gender.] A prevailing superstition, stemming from Welsh miners who came to work in Colorado in the mid-nineteenth century, held that women who descended underground into mines or tunnels would bring bad luck, putting the male workers in danger. This superstition applied to female workers, journalists, and visitors alike.[
In July 1972, capping a year-long investigation, the ]United States Department of Transportation
The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the President of the United States a ...
concluded that barring female workers from the tunnel amounted to sexual discrimination
Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primari ...
. When Bonnema's supervisors still refused to allow her entry, Bonnema filed a $100,000 class action
A class action, also known as a class-action lawsuit, class suit, or representative action, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of that group. The class actio ...
lawsuit against the CDOT, citing Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.[ Before the case was heard, Colorado voters ratified the Equal Rights Amendment and the state opted to settle Bonnema's case out of court for $6,750.
Bonnema was escorted into the tunnel for the first time on November 9, 1972. Sixty-six workers temporarily walked off the job in protest, but only one quit permanently.][ On her second visit to the tunnel on November 14, Bonnema donned coveralls and a ]hard hat
A hard hat is a type of helmet predominantly used in workplace environments such as industrial or construction sites to protect the head from injury due to falling objects, impact with other objects, debris, rain, and electric shock. Suspensio ...
to disguise her identity. This time she and other workers were asked to perform measurements at the top of the tunnel, where Bonnema worked inside a concrete pipe; no one walked out on this visit. Bonnema continued to dress in coveralls during her subsequent work in the tunnel so as not to attract attention.[
]
Later career
Following the completion of the Eisenhower Tunnel, Bonnema pursued graduate studies at the University of Colorado Denver
The University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver) is a public research university in Denver, Colorado. It is part of the University of Colorado system.
History University of Colorado System Anschutz Medical Campus
The University of Colorado creat ...
, earning her M.S. in civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewa ...
.[ In 1990 she moved to ]Okeechobee, Florida
Okeechobee ( ) is a city in south-central Florida and is the county seat of Okeechobee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city's population was 5,254. It is the county seat of Okeechobee County. The Lake Okee ...
, where she worked as a civil engineer for the South Florida Water Management District
The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) is a regional governmental district that oversees water resources from Orlando to the Florida Keys. The mission of the SFWMD is to manage and protect water resources by balancing and improving w ...
until her retirement in 2001.[ She died of ]cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
on May 9, 2008, age 69, in Okeechobee.[
]
Awards and honors
Bonnema was posthumously inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame
The Colorado Women's Hall of Fame is a non-profit, volunteer organization that recognizes women who have contributed to the history of the U.S. state of Colorado. As of 2020, 170 women have been inducted.
History
There was a short-lived recogniti ...
in 2012. In April 2011 Colorado State Senator Nancy Spence paid tribute to Bonnema in a speech on the senate floor.[
]
Personal life
Bonnema challenged gender stereotypes
A gender role, also known as a sex role, is a social role encompassing a range of behaviors and attitudes that are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for a person based on that person's sex. Gender roles are usually cent ...
in her private life as well. She enjoyed skiing, motorcycling, rock climbing, parachuting, piloting, and traveling.[
]
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonnema, Janet
1938 births
2008 deaths
American civil engineers
American women engineers
20th-century American engineers
21st-century American engineers
Engineers from Florida
American women's rights activists
University of Colorado Boulder alumni
University of Colorado Denver alumni
Engineers from Denver
Activists from Denver
People from Okeechobee, Florida
Deaths from cancer in Florida
20th-century American women engineers
21st-century American women engineers
20th-century American women
21st-century American women