I just recently finished Mad Women: The Other Side of Madison Avenue in the ’60s and Beyond. What a whirlwind of the feminist movement! Although they didn’t know it at the time, these women set the stage for all other women who wanted to work to get out there and be something. Of course, albeit, by sacrificing either your health or your family in the process.
After having read Lean-In, by Sheryl Sandberg, and comparing it to what Jane Maas had to go through, I can see that there’s been SOOOO much progress being made, in terms of HR policies, not staying at home mommy-guilt, and just general advancement of women as leaders. Thank goodness!
It was a really fun ride to read. Learning about how Jane got into the business (how most women got into the business, actually) how they started to climb the corporate ladder, how they started realizing that “having it all” didn’t actually exist because it was the women allowing the men to get there, but the men had know clue as to how to help the women (well, except for Jane’s husband, he was awesome). The stories she has about the drinking, the smoking, the sexing, and the relationships she had with mentors and colleagues really brought the era to life for me. I really liked how she interviewed people in the ’90s about their experiences and how they were very open about sharing their stories. Jane was really at the right place at the right time and it’s great that she was able to take advantage of it.
I actually got to meet Jane a few years ago, which is how I got my hands on the book. She was the guest speaker at our local American Advertising Federation Chapter. She walked through a couple of the stories in the book and was an all around great speaker. Before the event she was wandering around the networking area chatting everyone up. In my book I had her sign, she wrote to me “For Patti, My fellow Mad Woman, and fellow believer that outdoor is the most demanding medium of all… and the most rewarding. Best to you, Jane.”
Cutest retired copywriter ever, don’t you agree?
Patti is still learning 