New Seniors

As an Asian-American, pre-boomer woman starting my career on the East Coast in the late 1950’s, I was saddled with the traditional expectations and stereotypes of the day.   Being a free-thinking, modern, emancipated woman raised many eyebrows and presented a variety of challenges.  However, nothing could break my perseverance no matter how difficult, because I was full of hubris and determination.

Like many women of my generation, I began work in the steno pool of a large corporation.   After moving to the West Coast, I found independence in the financial and commercial real estate world.  I was then able to gain an equal footing in a man’s world, and shed the socially acceptable “ideal” female role.   I had broken through the “Glass Ceiling” before it had a name.

And, as a single mother raising 3 children without family support, I made it work through sheer grit.  My independent career status provided me freedom to bring up a family.  I worked at home if they were sick and was available for my children and their needs.  This was before home offices were commonplace.  In fact, PCs had yet to be invented.

I have no regrets over the sacrifices made, the endless hours of work and the juggling of my schedule in order to be a success as both a mother and as a businesswoman.  During the “traditional constrictive” decades it was unusual for a woman to receive on the job training (OJT) to the same degree as men, even if we had the same educational credentials.  In many ways, the deck was stacked against us, but I never lost faith nor complained – at least not out loud.

I believe that pre-boomer women were the catalysts of liberation, which later rallied our younger sisters to turn this into a public movement.  We set the stage and they performed, but none of us should be satisfied until equal status is achieved for all women and new standards are established for those who follow in our foot steps.  Women of my generation can feel proud of our accomplishments, but there’s still much to be done.

Carol Collier

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