1970 US Government Memo Says Women Can Wear Pant Suits to Work and Only 45 Years Later, and Hillary Clinton is Running for President!

When I read a blurb on Twitter this weekend about a 1970s memo from the Personnel Office of the US Government sanctioning the wearing of pantsuits to work by women, I thought, "Could it have been that recently?"

But, of course, it could.  And while I wasn't in the workforce in 1970, I was alive and I can remember just how many restrictions were placed on women at that time.  The old Virginia Slims ad comes to mind, "You've Come a Long Way Baby."  Liberating us while telling us to kill ourselves by smoking cigarettes.  Sort of an oxymoron, I'd say.

If there's one thing that "Mad Men" has brought back into the forefront (besides really cool chip and dip sets, I still have yet to find one that I like) it's the reminder that while we have "a long way to go," we have come a long way from the days when we weren't allowed to wear pants to work.

Or, have we?  Hillary Clinton sure gets chided enough about her power-suits.  So much so that she makes me want to vote for her based on the fact that she irritates so many men.

Seriously, though, some of us remember when men were paid more than women for the same job.

Wait a minute - that hasn't changed really, has it?

"A Window Opens" by Elisabeth Egan

Review Coming Soon

"A Window Opens" by Elisabeth Egan

"Happy Labor Day" - Sisters Are Doing It for Themselves!

You may be off today, like me, taking advantage of a three-day weekend.  In my case, I'm nursing a cold. Nonetheless, I'm grateful to have the day to get better and not have to use sick leave or PTO.

Which brings us to Labor Day.  

The strides that have been made, the steps we still need to take to make working in America, fair and just for all.  We've come a long way since the late 1800s when the first Labor Day holiday was celebrated in America, but there's much to be done.  

Women, by far, while still earning less than men on an average are doing jobs that back then we could only dream we would see being held by women.  Even the role of the secretary has evolved.  Yes, I said that. 

Wherever you labor, whether you're a 9 to 5'er, shift-worker, blue collar, pink collar, white collar or no collar, I hope you're having a fantastic day.