By JANE LaTOUR

Part I of “Women at Work” looked at the challenges women overcame as they took on traditionally “male” jobs and started collecting “man-sized” salaries. Part II offers some strategies for women who are interested in exploring new ground.

Be willing to be first: Equal employment opportunity depends on women who are willing to walk through the open doors. In 1973, when the Brooklyn College printing plant needed an Office Appliance Operator, Adrian Holland was ready. She applied and has been there ever since. “I love the smell of the ink and getting my hands on the presses,” she says. A member of College Assistants Local 384, she feels comfortable as the only female in the print shop. “I like my co-workers,” she said. “You just have to be willing to stand your ground.”

Be prepared: Motor Vehicle Operators Local 983 member Eldica Rose was able to move up from directing traffic to inspecting construction sites as a Traffic Enforcement Agent IV, because she took the civil service test. Now she and partner Mireille Pierre-Charles patrol for hazardous and costly violations. “Compliance work can be stressful and great at the same time,” she said.

Take advantage of educational opportunities: Adrian Holland gets the training she needs to keep pace with changing technology. “Brooklyn College will always send you to school,” she noted. Recently, she and co-workers took a course at New York City Technical College. Many jobs offer training, and other opportunities are available, such as free courses at the Mechanics Institute in Manhattan.

Find mentors: Civil Service Technical Guild Local 375 retiree Eleanor Eastman went to work for the city’s General Services Laboratory in 1950 as its first female Assistant Chemist and its third African American employee. Her key to survival was experienced workers who “were interested in me and shared their knowledge,” she said.

Move on up: DC 37 Attorney Audrey Browne said “talented women are able to advance further in the public sector than in the private sector because more opportunities are available to them, but we still need to see more women moving into middle and upper management.”

Highway Repairer Patricia Chever, a member of Laborers Local 376, said that there are quite a few women in administration in the Transportation Dept. “They are willing to take a chance on women. They’ve started a new training program with a female instructor. In certain yards, they’ve given the women an opportunity to learn all the equipment.”

Union support: A local union going to bat for equality can be a mighty force. New York Zoological Society Local 1501 President Anthony Bigone believes, “Women have to be equal. I was the first person to get a woman in as Assistant Maintainer to drive the carts. They never had a woman do that. I asked: ‘Why not?’ ”

Organize for change: Local 375’s Women’s Organizing Committee provides a good example of how getting together can make a difference. As females in a predominantly male local, the women were almost invisible.

At first, Ms. Eastman and a small nucleus of women met informally. Then they organized the committee, conducted a survey — showing that women made up 12% of the local — and encouraged women to run for union office. Judy Disla was one of the activists. “The union recognized that we were a force. It was an example of what women could accomplish when we worked together,” she said.

Learn from experience: Women like these paved the way. But statistics show that women are still too rare in “nontraditional” jobs. “The job is great and so is the money,” said Pat Chever. “But the sad thing is, I’m the only woman there.” The work of making equal employment opportunity a reality belongs to all women. Part III will look at the fight for equal pay.