We still have glass ceilings to shatter

We’re making progress.

By Sabrina Hornung

sabrina@hpr1.com

Yay Kamala! It is such a relief to see a candidate for POTUS who is actually capable of doing the job and preserving our representative democracy. And, of course, she’s female and endorsed by Hillary Clinton, the best-qualified presidential candidate of the century so far.

But after cruising social media for the last few weeks, it’s quite apparent that our nation has an extremely unhealthy attitude toward not only women, but women in leadership. Misogyny isn’t a cute look and frankly it’s embarrassing to see these bass awkward comments on social media threads. It’s 2024; we know better and we can do better. Disparaging words and comments ring loudest in the ears of the most impressionable, especially young girls and women — I assure you, they can hear you. Young boys can hear them too, and it’s only human nature to “monkey see and monkey do.”

So, monkeys…Do better.

Seeing women run for office and seek out leadership positions is inspiring. For too long, we’ve been perceived as caregivers and docile homemakers.

We are beyond the era of separate spheres, of demure, soft-spoken women. We’re in an era of leadership transition. We need fresh ideas, perspectives and voices. Not only is it important for women to out and vote, it’s important to get civilly engaged and to get involved like our lives depend on it. And with the elimination of Roe v. Wade in 2022, women’s lives really do depend on it.

Lucy Stone, a 19th century feminist, suffragist and abolitionist once said, "I believe that the influence of woman will save the country before every other power."

Yes, it’s important that we all become civically engaged, but I want to address the ladies. We’ve come a long way, and we still have a long way to go and a lot of glass ceilings to shatter. Here’s a brief history of our past plights that we might take for granted.

Did you know that the Equal Pay Act, a law amending the Fair Labor Standards Act, which protects against gender based wage discrimination, has only been around since 1963? In 2024, 61 years later, women still make 84 cents to the dollar that men make.

According to Forbes, women were finally given the right to have their own bank account in 1974 courtesy of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. Though women were granted the right to open a bank account in the 1960s, a number of banks wouldn’t do so without a husband’s signature, meaning the husband had immediate access and/or control over his wife’s finances. Single women? They were often turned away.

According to federalreservehistory.org, the First Bank of the United States opened its doors in Philadelphia in 1791. And in 231 years of American banking history, women have only been allowed to have their own bank accounts for 50 years.

On a social level, did you know that women weren’t even allowed to sit at a bar in a number of cities until 1969? According to the Washington secretary of state’s blog, it was only legalized after a challenge 55 years ago. (It also mentioned that they could be served but had to be at a table.)

These are only a handful of obstacles women have overcome. And not all women had the privilege of voting once the 19th amendment was in place.

A little insight into voting history in the U.S.

Voting in America started in 1788-1789. At that point each state regulated their own voting laws, but the general consensus was that only white, male landowners were allowed the privilege to vote. Many states dropped the property ownership requirement in the 1800s. In 1870, Black men were granted the right to vote.

Women started speaking out about the right to vote as early as the 1840s, but weren’t able to vote across the country until 1920. Why? Because the men believed that women weren’t capable of independent thought, wouldn’t vote responsibly and were “childlike.” The first state that allowed women the vote was Wyoming when it became a state in 1890. In fact, they could vote when it was still a territory starting 1870.

Even after the 19th amendment was passed not all women had the right to vote. In fact not all men did either. Indigenous people weren’t allowed to vote until 1924, thanks to the Indian Citizenship Act, which granted Native people both citizenship and the right to vote. According to the Oregon secretary of state, “It was not until 1943 and the passage of the Magnuson Act that Chinese immigrants could begin naturalizing as U.S. citizens. Truly broad access to American citizenship and voting rights was not available to Asians and Asian Americans until the Immigration and Nationality Acts of 1952 and 1965.”

Rest easy Jeff Fonder

At press time we found out that we lost our dear friend Jeff Fonder. He was a fixture in the downtown community, behind the bar at Dempsey’s and was a multiple time HPR Best Bartender winner when we had our Best of the Best campaigns. Fonder was a legend among men and a friend to many, and we’re not quite sure if he ever met a stranger. It wasn’t uncharacteristic of him to stop what he was doing and lean in for a hug. He radiated love, was loved in return and will be greatly missed. We love ya, bud.