JKC

Jill Ker Conway was a working woman in an age where women were expected to get married and have children as opposed to getting a job to support herself. This expectation inhibited her as she applied for jobs and was turned down for being too pretty, because the expectation of her employers was that she would get married and have children. They expected her to leave work to have babies, even though she was unable to have kids biologically. She defied the odds and became a strong female leader in education, and became a powerful role model for her female students.

I think the expectation that women don’t work and strictly are mothers has greatly decreased since this time because of second wave feminism. After WWII, women refused to leave their jobs when the men returned from Europe and the Pacific, giving some families two income households, which was new and gave families a new sense of financial security. I think young girls growing up in that time saw their mothers with jobs and just expected to work and were met with extensive criticism because of their gender. Though, through years of persistence women have made so much progress in the workforce.

 Growing up, I was always told that I would go to college and get a good job. My parents never expected me to be a wife or a mother without being able to support myself first. It’s strange to think of a time where that wasn’t the case for young girls. Since the 60’s we’ve made progress to the point where for many girls, getting a job is the expectation for their lives, but workplace discrimination is still a prevalent issue. While far less common, and illegal, women still face sexual harassment, and other discrimination based off of gender. I read a case last year where a woman sued for wrongful termination because her boss fired for “being too pretty,” and he “wasn’t sure what he might do.”

Blatant discrimination is still very common in the workplace, but far less aggressive than it was in the past. I am very thankful for the improvement that has already happened and I can’t way to see all the improvement that continues to happen as I get older.