JKC

Jill Ker Conway’s story of triumph and achievement was an extraordinary one to hear, and particularly amazing given the time her achievements took place in. Throughout the 1960’s and 1970’s in the US, Conway earned several high degrees from Harvard and took on numerous jobs as a leader, unusual for a woman at the time. Her job as Head of School at Smith College was particularly amazing as she was the first female head and became a leader for many, including those who did not want to see her lead. While Conway’s story of triumph in a time when success in education and work was challenging for women was extraordinary, I couldn’t help but think of my own grandmother on a smaller scale. She too was an ambitious and working woman in the 60’s and 70’s. Earning a bachelor’s, two master’s and a doctorate degree, she pursued education despite the many people in her life, including her own family, who willed her to stay at home like the other women in her family had been raised to. One piece of Conway’s story stuck out in particular to me. After graduating in the top of her class from the University of Sydney in 1958, she applied for a job at the Australian Foreign Service. Despite seemingly having the qualifications for the job, she did not get it. However, two of her male classmates were accepted. While it’s impossible to know exactly how the decisions were made, it seems very likely that the employer’s did not want a woman in their workplace. This story echoed one which involves my grandmother in Ohio in 1972, close in time with Conway’s story. My grandmother applied for a position as a superintendent along with a couple other men. All of them sat in a room waiting for their turn to be interviewed. While each man got an hour, my grandmother was given just 10 minutes before being dismissed and told she was not what they were looking for, despite her many degrees and job experience as a teacher and principal. My grandmother very much suspected she was being discriminated against because of her sex, and even went to court, hiring a female lawyer of course. They faced an all male jury, and ultimately the case was thrown out, but my grandmother’s fight against what wasn’t right still inspires me immensely when I recall it. Conway as well as my grandmother are both examples of women who defined what was expected of them for their time, but are far from the only women who did so. While it was becoming a bit more accepted for women to attend college and work, especially during wartimes when employees were needed, the main expectation for women was still to remain at home, have children, and tend to the family and house. Many people, other women included, resisted breaking out of this house wife role and didn’t believe a woman belonged anywhere or else or was capable of doing other things, things that only men did before. Women like Conway began to pave the way for women in this new way by proving that women could go to school, work jobs, and be leaders successfully and effectively. She wasn’t the first or last, but she was one of many important women who began to chip away at the long standing role expectations for women.