Thank you to those who came before…now let’s keep going!
January 25th, 2010 | by Leanne Chase
Last night I spent some time reading an article about the 35th anniversary of the day women reporters were first allowed into a pro-sports locker room. It seems so long ago…35 years…and yet in reality it seems little has changed.
Walk in to a pro sports locker room as a woman and I guarantee you…you are still the story. Maybe not on big games like the all-star game or a championship game. But go in on a regular Tuesday. Just a normal game. But you need to get some work done and have questions that need to be answered.
You will be the story.
There will be jokes, jabs, things you hear and see that you will pretend not to hear and see. Many will be deliberate, some will not be. And you will continue on…and do your job…and sigh. I know…I’ve been there.
So I’m taking some time to reflect and thank Robin Herman today. Because I could not have had the career in sports broadcasting I had without her breaking the barriers. But I’m also taking time to wish that more had changed in 35 years.
As the story indicates it was an interesting time for women and work. As is 2010. Women are at parity with men in the workforce and are earning more degrees than men in college. How far we’ve come…and how far we still have to go.
There is a group of women who’d like to change the world. They are meeting for lunch on Tuesday and I am so excited to be part of it. How do we honor Robin Herman and her kind for breaking down the barriers? By constantly talking about new barriers and continually building doors, windows and holes in those barriers. If you are like me and are thankful for the opportunities others have given…but still need the world of work to change…please consider speaking, blogging, talking and yelling from the highest mountain top about the subject. And in the meantime if you’re heading to, want to head to, thinking about going to BlogHer…you could also vote for these two sessions:
- Lab session: How Can we Use Blogging to Change the Way America Works: Work Life and Blogging
- Will asking about work-life balance stop me from getting the job?
One Comment
Leanne, you’re gonna get me to cry pretty soon.
I find it helps me move forward, when I remember that I am not working alone, and that other women (and men) have worked hard to blaze a trail.
We are thinking on similar lines today– I just finished a post about why women business bloggers don’t call themselves feminists… It’s set to publish tomorrow, while I’m with a group of women plotting to change the world. heh heh heh
cv