Friday, May 2, 2003 | 5:05 a.m.
CARSON CITY -- For every stride women continue to make in state politics, there seems to always be a step back.
On Thursday lawmakers were asked to recognize that women, particularly black women, don't earn the same as their male counterparts for the same jobs and the same level of expertise.
And while women handily chair committees, and in the case of Assembly Majority Leader Barbara Buckley, manage an entire house of the Legislature, the state capital is still an old boys' network.
For every Buckley there is a female lobbyist, legislative aide or, as recently has come to light, a young intern put in the awkward position of having to prove herself on merit in a place where just a handful of men rule the day.
In 2001, one young lobbyist rejected a lawmaker's propositions only to find a letter written to her boss claiming she was not "cooperating" with the particular assemblyman.
Another woman claims she was fired when she suggested filing a complaint of sexual harassment against a lawmaker.
This year two interns have complained that Assemblyman Mark Manendo, D-Las Vegas, has said things about them and acted inappropriately in their presence.
One is 23, the other 24. Manendo is 36 and the chairman of the Government Affairs Committee, through which every local municipality's legislation must go.
Men control both of the taxation and budget committees, both of the commerce committees governing business practice, and both of the judiciary committees which reign over everything from crimes to gaming regulation.
Female legislators say they have made tremendous strides, opening a dialogue into the oft-ignored social issues of child welfare, domestic violence, women's health and senior prescriptions.
But while female lawmakers can talk big on most days, they are still to an extent little sisters to the fraternity brothers hatching compromises on the golf course, at the poker table and, occasionally, at the gym.
When push comes to shove on June 2 and the deals are being cut in the rush to adjournment, the back rooms will have the top three or four male lobbyists chatting with only the male leaders of each house, and possibly even Mr. Governor.
So imagine being not only a woman, but being more than a decade younger than someone who could control the future of your legislation and, quite possibly as a result, your future.
Interns are particularly eager to prove themselves. Most of them are still in -- or are fresh out of -- school and laying the groundwork for jobs and potential public service of their own.
Changing the environment that helps breed intolerable behavior must come from the top. And while women are close, they are still a step under the men who can effect the change.
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