How Far Women Have Come

Hilary Swift / NYTimes

Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Gloria Steinhem

Fairygodboss
Fairygodboss
As a site for women, by women, we're busy on a daily basis celebrating "ordinary" women who we believe are extraordinary in their accomplishments and achievements. Simply surviving — much less thriving — in the workplace, managing families and our other responsibilities can feel like a heroic effort.
As a result, sometimes we don't focus on the many inspiring, celebrity women out there setting great examples and doing important things. Today, we focus on 3 well-known women: Ruth Bader GinsbergGloria Steinem and Reese Witherspoon.
Ginsberg and Steinem are in their 80's and have spent their lives fighting for women's rights and equality, both at home and in the workplace. Their lovely interview this weekend reminds us just how much progress women have made -- and what we shouldn't take for granted.

In a quite different world, we were moved by Witherspoon's speech at last week's Glamour's Woman of the Year event. She talked about why she built Pacific Standard Films, her production company whose mission is to tell stories about women. Taking a risk on women is something we can relate to, and she made us laugh too:

"I dread reading scripts that have no women involved in their creation because inevitably I get to that part where the girl turns to the guy, and she says, "What do we do now?!" Do you know any woman in any crisis situation who has absolutely no idea what to do? I mean, don't they tell people in crisis, even children, "If you're in trouble, talk to a woman." It's so ridiculous that a woman wouldn't know what to do."
We loved that. Happy reading!


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