"Without Billie Jean King I don't know if any of us female athletes would be here." ~ Serena Williams Today is International Women's Day, and in the United States March is Women's History Month. Each year during this month, the National Women's History Project (NWHP) honors women in history with a theme, and this year it's … Continue reading Women’s History Month: Thank you, Billie Jean King
"Fashions fade, style is eternal." —Yves Saint Laurent With the trend toward dressing down at work continuing, it is important for women to remember that the power suit is still a thing. The Suit - The Great Equalizer The struggle for equality in the workplace is ongoing; but to make progress in all fields women … Continue reading The Power Suit – It’s Still A Thing
“The casting couch? There's only one of us
who ever made it to stardom without it,
and that was Bette Davis.”
~ Attributed to Claudette Colbert in 1935
"I'll never be that girl."
~ Rosanna Arquette
The New York Times, October 10, 2017
Another powerful businessman in the entertainment industry has toppled from his pedestal in disgrace over accusations of sexual misconduct from a plethora of women in the entertainment industry, some very well known and powerful in their own rights. Harvey Weinstein joins the parade of entertainment moguls who have been accused of long-term sexual harassment of and/or assaults on women. Former Fox News titans Bill O'Reilly and the now-deceased Roger Ailes lost their high-flying jobs earlier this year over similar charges, and were followed out the door by Fox Co-President Bill Shine, who it was felt did not do enough to stop the harassment. We've also watched the long-playing saga of Bill Cosby being accused of and prosecuted for sexual harassment and assault; his trial ended in a mistrial but apparently another one has been scheduled to begin next spring. And now The New York Times reports that two more highly-placed men are facing sexual misconduct allegations; one is an Oscar-nominated screenwriter.
Throughout modern history women who ventured out into public have run the risk of having to hold it in, either because there were no facilities or not enough facilities for women, creating endless lines. Some years ago at my company's annual employee bash, I was waiting with my colleagues and other guests in a very, very long line to … Continue reading The Line to the Women’s Room – From Then To Now
"When you've worked hard, and done well, and walked through that doorway of opportunity, you do not slam it shut behind you. You reach back." ~ Michelle Obama "It's not what you know, it's who you know," so goes the old adage that might well have originated with the "good old boys club" that grew out … Continue reading Where Is the Good Old Gals Club?
"I do not demand equal pay for any women save those who do equal work in value. Scorn to be coddled by your employers; make them understand that you are in their service as workers, not as women." ~ Susan B. Anthony, ca 1868 We sought justice because equal pay for equal work is an … Continue reading Women’s History Month – The Long, Long Road to Equal Pay – in 2152
"The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off." Attributed to Gloria Steinem In 1972, when I was a twenty-something single woman working in the book publishing industry, I became a charter subscriber to Ms., the groundbreaking magazine founded by Gloria Steinem and Letty Cottin Pogrebin. Not being a well-to-do suburban … Continue reading Women’s History Month – Gloria Steinem – Trailblazer Extraordinaire
"The time has passed when a woman should be placed in a position and kept there only while someone else is being groomed for the job." ~ Hattie Wyatt Caraway, the first woman elected (in a landslide) on November 8, 1932 to serve a full term as a United States Senator (Note: This year's National … Continue reading Women’s History Month – Trailblazer Hattie Caraway
“Women who accuse men, particularly powerful men, of harassment
are often confronted with the reality of the men’s sense
that they are more important than women, as a group.”
― Anita Hill, Speaking Truth to Power
Twenty-five years ago, Anita Hill, a distinguished Yale Law School graduate and Washington D.C. attorney, accused a powerful man, Judge Clarence Thomas, who had just been nominated by President George H.W. Bush to the Supreme Court of the United States, of sexual harassment when she reported to him a decade earlier at both the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The accusation reportedly was made privately and dismissed; but a leak to the media prompted Ms. Hill to be called to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee's confirmation hearing.
