The Great Stewardess Rebellion
How Women Launched a Workplace Revolution at 30,000 Feet
1 of 1 copy available
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.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
April 19, 2022 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780593589403
- File size: 291263 KB
- Duration: 10:06:47
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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September 1, 2022
Journalist Wulfhart (Off Menu) provides a well-researched account of the fight for gender equality in the jet age and the efforts to revoke discriminatory gender-based requirements for women flight attendants. In the 1960s, weight and age limits, girdle checks, and automatic dismissal for marrying or becoming pregnant were the norm for them, while their male colleagues labored under no such restrictions. In the 1960s, the Fair Labor Standards Board employed a lawyer who took discrimination based on sex seriously. This book focuses on a few big names as women union representatives tackle overt sexism and ridiculous work rules one by one in negotiations and legal cases. Narrator Bonnie Friel provides the perfect tone for this case study of women being underestimated. Her reading gives listeners a sense of the poise and tenacity required to make vast improvements to the system and conveys the narrative's emotional weight without being overly dramatic. VERDICT Wulfhart's book is particularly interesting in this time of renewed interest in union organizing. Recommended for public libraries.--Christa Van Herreweghe
Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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February 14, 2022
Travel writer Wulfhart (Off Menu) delivers a rousing history of how airline stewardesses in the 1960s and ’70s “harness the energy of the women’s movement to make radical change.” At the time, Wulfhart explains, female flight attendants were banned from marrying or getting pregnant and aged out of the job in their early 30s. They also made five times less than pilots, had no retirement benefits, and had strict weight limits. Wulfhart spotlights a trio of women who spearheaded the fight: stewardess Patt Gibbs led the movement to break away from the male-dominated Transport Workers Union and form the independent Association of Professional Flight Attendants; her colleague, Tommie Hutto, helped launch the feminist group Stewardesses for Women’s Rights. Sonia Pressman, a lawyer at the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission, pushed the agency to find that the airlines were in violation of the 1964 Civil Rights Act’s prohibition on sex-based discrimination. Throughout, Wulfhart lucidly contextualizes the stewardesses’ campaign within the larger feminist movement, and shares striking anecdotes of the insults they endured and the dedication it took to reform “the most sexist workplace in America.” The result is an invigorating and inspiring story of women triumphing over discrimination. Agent: Lauren Sharp, Aevitas Creative Management.
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