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How powerful women outsmart conventional fashion design
When women first started flooding into professional workplaces in the 80’s, they faced a dilemma — what to wear? High fashion didn’t look professional. Female versions of men’s suits just seemed silly. Dresses could be too revealing, and often didn’t convey power. Weird compromises ensued. And you know what? We’re still agonizing about women’s looks.
Women’s assumption of powerful positions — historically recent
Perhaps a little context. It wasn’t until 1974 when the Equal Credit Opportunity Act was passed which, for the first time, allowed women to obtain credit cards independently from their husbands. Astonishingly, it took until 1981 when a famous court case settled that a husband could not dispose of jointly held property without the agreement of his wife (that isn’t that long ago, folks!). Women’s financial freedom grew. Legal protections became available to them, such as laws that prevented mortgage discrimination against young married couples on the premise that the wife would stay home if she became pregnant. With financial independence (and other advances, such as the ability to plan childbearing), women began to assume positions of some power.
Paula Hawkins, in 1980, became the first woman elected to the Senate without following her husband or…
