Women and Leadership: Progress and Roadblocks

Abstract

Women were hopeful in the 1960s and 1970s as federal legislation favoring women came into place and the opening of new opportunities seemed imminent. We believe it is essential that more women occupy leadership positions, and it has been one of the major forces driving our work. Workplaces of the past, and many in the present, still do not do all they can to support women’s advancement. When Sherry started her professional career, there were many barriers. In the early 1960s, she was offered a salary 20 percent less than a man would be offered for the same position and was told that it was easier to hire women so they are paid less. It was perfectly legal since the equal pay act was not in effect at the time. And in a subsequent conversation at the university where she was pursuing a graduate degree with a generous fellowship, she was also told that said university would never hire a woman in the very department where she was a degree candidate. There was no Title IX to prevent such a conversation or such a reality.