Were there scenes related to how women were viewed or treated during the era that surprised you? What aspects of a woman’s life have changed in the years since Barbie hit the shelves, and how, do you feel, Barbie has reflected these changes?
Having grown up during that time period it did not surprise me about the treatment of women. Many things have changed in the intervening years and certainly through the eighties and nineties. I think Barbie has changed with the times. I very much saw Barbie as a role model of what someone could do when they grew up.
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I was aware of discrimination- but only recently became aware that women could not sign checks or obtain credit without a man’s signature. It was barbaric.
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Yes, I was aware of the discrimination of women in the work force and marketplace. I knew about banking restrictions. My mother was different from my friends’ moms because she worked. I remember when she opened a charge card in her own name!
I am aware there is still discrimination/prejudice in the world for women and certainly for minorities. My daughter is in college, in a field that only has 4% females. She has been told by male professors that she must be in the wrong class. Ugh!
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That’s shocking! I’m stunned to hear that that would happen in this day & age. Do you mind if I ask what field?
Frankly, it just doesn’t seem to have changed all that much. Both my adult daughters, in two different career areas, have faced significant sexism as well as sexual harassment. And tho HR departments exist, they haven’t seemed to care all that much.
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@ kim.kovacs
She is in aeronautics. She is not going for the pilot route, but instead will work for the airlines in setting the flight routes and has a minor in airport management. The flight routes are set by airlines, the air traffic control works once the plane takes off and is a federal job. I never knew they were separate functions.
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How fascinating, @Dee_Driscole! I had no idea! It sounds like such an important career, and I’m glad she had the opportunity to pursue it. Very cool.
@kim.kovacs Thanks, I hope she stays with it, but with college, things can change! Next time you take a flight, notice the pilots are all men. Again less than 4% of US pilots are women.
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I grew up in that era, so it didn’t surprise me at all. Things have changed, but not drastically. There is still discrimination against women in the workplace. Women are also treated differently in financial discussion when they are with a man at places like banks and investment firms.
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I was in Human Resources for over 30 years and I can attest to the fact that HR departments do care, do investigate, and do fire people over sexual harassment, mistreatment of employees, and other sexism. Often the victims report the information but witnesses don’t come forward because they don’t want to “get involved.” It then becomes a game of he says/she says. Believe me …I could tell you stories! I think corporations and HR in particular are working hard to support their employees with complaints.
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I knew there was discrimination, but reading about it so intimately was disappointing. For instance I did not realize that women needed a co-signer on loans. I was also frustrated with how the men treated Ruth when she went to the meeting at the gentleman’s club and they did not allow women to even use the elevator. We have come far with equal opportunities, but there is so much more room for improvement even today.
My mom worked when I was growing up so I always knew that women could work and just maybe get promoted. But I’ll never forget trying to get my first credit card and being turned down unless my husband signed the forms. I think that some things have changed over the years – women are CEOs and have broken through that glass ceiling in many ways. But I think that women are still viewed as ‘less than’ by many men.