Hello ladies, and maybe gentlemen! Welcome to this liminal arena that is dedicated to take us all back to the classy days of the sixties. This blog is inspired by the successful AMC television series "Mad Men" which beautifully portrays the savvy lifestyle of the cigarette-smoking, whiskey-drinking, copy-writing men in the advertising industry in New York.
This blog however, is focused on the women of that era. The show depicts men as the most central and dominant characters in almost all aspects of life. But here, we will explore the vital role of women as they evolved and proved to be worthy of more than just playing house.
But wait, a lot of women today are active housewives, which means that housewives are still relevant in this era of almost-equality and technology. So are we different now, or are we still the same? Is there a limit to our metamorphosis?
The first thing that I will address here is how women back then were only able to go so far with their college degree, because most of the good and powerful jobs were only reserved for men. Jobs like lawyers, doctors, justices, police officers, advertising directors, business owners, and the list goes on. In the show for example, all the important high paying jobs belonged to men such as Don Draper, played by the handsome Jon Hamm, who is the lead character of the show.
Women at that time were expected to be housewives who bare children. That was - and still is - a prime function for females. There were however depictions of female occupations such as secretaries, nurses, psychologists, teachers, unknown painters.... but that was basically it! So I can proudly say that we have come a long way!
I have had the great
pleasure of speaking with Skylar Zwick, the External Communications Director at
the Entertainment Industries Council Inc, and she had some great thoughts on
the challenges and stereotypes that females faced through the
years: "Women, historically, have faced the challenge of balancing
domestic and career opportunities and managing societal expectations. The
challenge exists today, but we, as a society, are better equipped to pursue
both motherhood and employment because of technological advances and historical
shifts that came along with World War II, the 60's, television depiction
influence on popular culture perceptions, and higher education
accessibility."
When asked about
her own success, Skylar added "I am blessed and honored to be a woman,
working in a powerful world where opportunities are endless and where my mind
is challenged daily to expand and succeed. There are, without question,
instances where I feel the same strain as women of decades past, to balance
education, work and family, but I have a support system that pushes me to excel
and adapts with the ever-changing times to enable my continued
success."
Well there you have it, we have come to a time where women excel and succeed in almost every aspect of life. We have come a long way, but the fight still goes on. There still are many obstacles women have to tackle, but maybe in the next hundred years, women will rule the world!
Click on these links below to see some really successful women of today:
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