Home About Jean

Celebrating Women's Equality Day

August 26, Women's Equality Day, always raises mixed feelings for me. I can join in the spirit of celebration over how far women have come from the days when my graduate school professor announced in class that if the political science department ever hired a woman, he would leave. When I was told I could not change my name from my married name to my "maiden" name; when flight attendants were all women who had passed an "attractiveness" test; and domestic workers had no rights to fair pay nor protection from assault and sexual harassment. And, of course, I remain grateful to Rep. Bella Abzug (D-NY), who almost single-handedly pushed the creation of "Women's Equality Day" through Congress in 1971.

You can read the full post at Wellesley's Women Change World blog