American Experience presents a virtual PAST FORWARD conversation exploring the relationship between women’s demeanor, appearance, and fashion choices and their opportunities for advancement in workplaces built by and for men. This conversation is inspired in part by our new film Fly With Me.
Panelists will discuss the ways in which women are made to toe the line between authority and “femininity” in the ways they present themselves at work. They will also explore the historical origins of these pressures, and the different forms they take depending on the race and class of the women involved. The panel will look at the enduring impact social biases have on the opportunities available to working women, and will reflect on how female-led workplaces have challenged these norms, exploring the work that remains to be done going forward.
Panelists:
Allison Elias is an Assistant Professor of Business Administration at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. Professor Elias teaches courses about communication and negotiation, and her research investigates historical and contemporary issues of gender and diversity in occupations and organizations. She has provided commentary regarding gender issues at work to media outlets such as NPR’s Marketplace, and her research on women in business schools has been featured in Quartz.com and Poets & Quants.
Ann Hood is the author of over a dozen novels, including the bestsellers The Knitting Circle, The Obituary Writer, and Somewhere Off the Coast of Maine. She has also written several memoirs, including the bestsellers Fly Girl, about her experiences as a TWA flight attendant in the 1970s and 80s, and Comfort: A Journey Through Grief, which was named one of the top ten books of 2008 by Entertainment Weekly. Her latest novel, The Stolen Child, will be released on May 7th.
The conversation will be moderated by Monica Muñoz Martinez. Professor Martinez is an award-winning author, educator, public historian, and active participant in developing solutions that address racial injustice. A national authority on the history of race, Martinez is an Associate Professor of History at the University of Texas at Austin. Her research specializes in histories of racial violence, policing on the US-Mexico border, Latinx history, women and gender studies, public humanities, digital humanities, and restorative justice.
This event will be livestreamed on our Facebook and YouTube pages.
Photo credit for event art: United Airlines.
