🕐Obtain The Great Stewardess Rebellion: How Women Launched a Workplace Revolution at 30,000 Feet by Nell McShane Wulfhart (Author)
The Great Stewardess Rebellion: How Women Launched a Workplace Revolution at 30,000 Feet by Nell McShane Wulfhart (Author)
The empowering true story of a group of spirited stewardesses who “stood up to huge corporations and won, creating momentous change for all working women.” (Gloria Steinem, co-founder of Ms. magazine ) It was the Golden Age of Travel, and everyone wanted in. As flying boomed in the 1960s, women from across the United States applied for jobs as stewardesses. They were drawn to the promise of glamorous jet-setting, the chance to see the world, and an alternative to traditional occupations like homemaking, nursing, and teaching. But as the number of “stews” grew, so did their suspicion that the job was not as picture-perfect as the ads would have them believe. “Sky girls” had to adhere to strict weight limits at all times; gain a few extra pounds and they’d be suspended from work. They couldn’t marry or have children; their makeup, hair, and teeth had to be just so. Girdles were mandatory while stewardesses were on the clock. And, most important, stewardesses had to resign at 32. Eventually the stewardesses began to push back and it’s thanks to their trailblazing efforts in part that working women have gotten closer to workplace equality today. Nell McShane Wulfhart crafts a rousing narrative of female empowerment, the paradigm-shifting ’60s and ’70s, the labor movement, and the cadre of gutsy women who fought for their rights—and won. Read more
One of the best books I have read this year. Even in our current, imperfect, age, it is hard to believe the way stewardesses were regarded by both public and airlines back in the 60s. Their employment conditions back then are laid out with great clarity in the book. According to their employers, their prime role was to provide titillation to the (almost exclusively male) frequent fliers. Marriage, pregnancy and exceeding quite absurdly restrictive weight limits as was exceeding an age limit - typically 32 - were grounds for termination. What really capitivates me about this thoroughly credible account of their prolonged efforts to overturn this image is the way their employers and - to a lesser extent - their passengers thought that the prevailing sexualised image was justifiable and failed to understand why the stewardesses rebelled. Not only were the employers trying to justify the unjustifiable, but also they were completely blind as to why the stewardesses were rebelling. A most gripping read.
Publisher -> Doubleday (April 19, 2022) Language -> English Hardcover -> 320 pages ISBN-10 -> 0385546459 ISBN-13 -> 978-0385546454 Item Weight -> 1.4 pounds Dimensions -> 6.56 x 1.25 x 9.53 inches Best Sellers Rank: #10,444 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #23 in Aviation (Books) #29 in Women & Business (Books) #31 in Feminist Theory (Books)
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