Women in the Workplace
This month, the Center for Women’s Studies and the Mitchell-West Center for Social Inclusion want to highlight some of the women throughout history that have paved the way for workplace safety, equality, and equity through their work and persistence in breaking boundaries.
There is a long, complicated history of women in the workplace, but over the last 100 years or so, women have been seen at the forefront of activism and advocacy for worker’s rights, workplace equality, and diversity and inclusion in the workforce. From only being allowed to work in the home and taking care of children to working in factories full of hazards with locked doors, women have seen a lot in relation to the workplace and have been advocating for better conditions and pay for hundreds of years.
In such a short amount of time, we have gone from women being homemakers exclusively, to seeing the first woman become the Vice President of the United States, and are steadily on the way to someday seeing the first woman become President. Let these women and their stories motivate you in your own work and inspire you to become an advocate like they have been before you.
Inspiring Women in the Workplace
Addie Wyatt, born March 8, 1924, in Brookhaven, Mississippi, was a leader in the U.S. Labor Movement and a Civil rights Activist. She is the first African-American woman elected as an international vice president of a major labor union, the Amalgamated Meat Cutters Union. Her work helped to improve the working conditions and pay rate for meat cutters across the U.S. In 1975, along with Barbara Jordan, she was the first African-American woman named as Time magazine’s Person of the Year.
Hattie Canty, born June 10, 1933, in a rural town named St. Stephens, Alabama, is to this day, considered one of the greatest strike leaders in United States history. She was working in the culinary industry in Las Vega, Nevada, and when the workers of the industry decided it was time to protest against the unfair labor conditions within the industry, Canty took up the leading position and led the longest labor strike in U.S. history, lasting six and a half years.
May Chen, born in 1948 in Boston, Massachusetts, is a labor organizer and advocate for immigrant workers. She was an integral part of the 1982 garment workers strike in New York City, and a leader of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. Chen helped to advocate for better pay and working conditions for women and immigrants in the garment industry in New York City and worldwide.
Indra Nooyi, born October 28, 1955, in Madras, India, is an Indian-American business executive who was the chairman and CEO of PepsiCO from 2006-2018. She has consistently been ranked by Forbes among the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women, most recently being ranked number 11 in 2017. She was the first Indian-American woman to become the CEO of PepsiCO. Nooyi currently serves on the board for Amazon, as well as the International Cricket Council, a passion she has held since her youth.
Ursula Burns, born September 20, 1958, in New York City, is a businesswoman most known for being the first Black woman CEO of a Fortune 500 company, serving as CEO of Xerox from 2009 to 2016. Forbes rated her as the 22nd most powerful woman in the world in 2017. She was also a leader of the STEM program of the President’s Export Council from 2015-2016.
Kamala Harris, born October 20, 1964, in Oakland, California, is an American politician and attorney, who is currently serving as the 49th Vice President of the United States. She is the first female vice president, and highest ranking female official in U.S. history. Harris is also the first African-American and first Asian-American vice president. She uses her position to advocate for healthcare reform, legalization and decriminalization of cannabis on a federal level, the DREAM act, a ban on assault weapons, and progressive tax reform.
Zooey Zephyr, born August 29, 1988, in Billings, Montana, is an American politician serving as a representative of Missoula in the 100th district in the Montana House of Representatives. She has also spent some time working as a university administrator, working to bring diversity, equity, and inclusion to the University of Montana campus. She is the first openly transponder person to be elected to the state legislature in Montana, where she advocates for LGBTQ+ rights, especially focusing on gender-affirming medical and surgical care for transponder people in her state. Despite backlash this year from other representatives who have taken measures to silence her during debates and discussions of bills, she continues to fight back against anti-LGBTQ+ bills.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, (aka AOC), was born October 13, 1989, in New York City. She is an American politician and activist, currently serving as the representative for New York’s 14th congressional district. Taking office at age 29, she became the youngest woman to ever serve in Congress. She uses her position to advocate for workplace democracy through support of unions, Medicare for all, tuition-free public college, a federal jobs guarantee, a Green New Deal, and abolishing ICE.
These women, and many more, have helped to pave the way for future generations through dedication to their fields, advocacy, and diversity within the workplace. Many of these women also came from disadvantaged backgrounds, and their lived experiences shape their advocacy for better workplace conditions.