It is 2013 and we are still talking about equal rights
Women’s Equality Day is coming up on the 26th of August and we have come a long way baby, or so I thought. It wasn’t until my staff started doing some research for our up-coming sale and press release that I realized the Equal Rights Act for Women has yet to be ratified. I wonder how many other women know that?
I do know that I was lucky to be born in this important time in women’s history. I was just the right age at the right time to see, in our national news, all the changes happening for women.
As I was graduating from High School my mother, speaking from her generation’s perspective, asked me, “What did I want to be: a secretary, nurse, or school teacher?”
I was shocked! Limitations had never occurred to me and I didn’t want to be any of those things. I had tried volunteering as a Candy Striper and thought it to be gross. Being the youngest in our family I had no experience with young children and had no desire to learn. And last, book work I found tedious.
Thank goodness for the women like Barbara Walters, Gloria Stein, and Hillary Clinton who opened the doors to equal rights for other women.
I started Arkansas Flag and Banner in 1975 during our countries Bicentennial. It was a boon year for the flag business. During this time there were sales quotas mandated by the Federal Government requiring the Good Ole Boys archetype to do business with women. Arkansas Flag and Banner and many other women entrepreneurs benefited greatly from this program. It was much like breaking through the Glass Ceiling of today.
I know the populous doesn’t approve of quotas (me included) but sometimes they are necessary for positive change.
Kerry McCoy is founder and president of FlagandBanner.com and owner of historic Taborian Hall where the famous Dreamland Ballroom resides. She is also publisher of Brave Magazine. If you would like to interview Kerry or have her speak at your event contact tammie@flagandbanner.com.
