Women as police officers, professional psychics, chemical engineers and math professors are atypical occupations. These are some of the jobs that were discussed at the “Women in Non-Traditional Fields” discussion on Thursday afternoon.

The discussion was one of the events being held as a part of Women’s Week. The panel of women started by telling their backgrounds and the hurdles they have leaped to get where they are now.

Su Walker, a professional psychic who owns Inner Business, shared how hard it is to be taken seriously because she has a very non-traditional job.

“I kind of get hit twice. Not only am I a woman, but some people don’t take what I do to heart,” Walker said.

“Although Iowa will only clarify my position as an entertainer, I do also do a lot of serious work.”

Janet Peterson talked about her profession as an ISU math professor.

“A lot of people don’t think being a mathematician is very glamourous,” Peterson said.

There are more women in the math field now than there were when Peterson was starting out. “When I was trying to get one of my jobs, the employer told me that he needed ‘to have another woman working for us so we have a certain number of women working here.'”

Carole Heath also talked about trying to make it in the engineering field.

“I have heard things like, ‘the only reason she got this job was because she is a woman,’ but, of course, they never say this to your face.

“I sometimes hear people talking about it behind my back,” Heath said.

She said today there are many more women in her field.

Shaun Phipps, an officer with the Ames Police Department, talked about some of the problems she has had with getting her job.

“I was told that I wasn’t strong enough, big enough and I did not have the right personality to do this job,” Phipps said.