A woman in the mine could bring bad luck. That was the general consensus of all those interviewed. However, all of them work with at least one woman. Vic Benco, said that a woman in the mine was unlucky, "the same as a ship." George Monas was blunt that "women brought bad luck." Nick Massini put a humorous spin on the matter and goes a long way in showing that the men have accepted women in the mine. "Its not a superstition its the same as spending the day cleaning out the garage with them."
One belief that has to do with women is that if a miner's headlight went out, then his wife or girlfriend was cheating on him. Vic Benco recorded this folklore as part of his survey.
Both of these beliefs can be found in the Patch/Work Voices works. There is an article in the Special edition of the Brownsville (PA) Telegraph (March 31, 1986) about women in the mine. Both women interviewed said that no major harassment went on and there was no major superstition against them. However, they saw that some of the older miners did hold resentment.