Believe It or Not: The Challenges Facing One Professional Woman a Half Century Ago

By Nina Gruen, Golden Gate - San Francisco LAI member.

In 1963, a woman accepting a paid position—even a teaching position in a university engineering department—is thought to bring shame on her family. An upper middle-class wife was supposed to be supported, if not by her husband, then by her family. .

But Claude Gruen, husband of author Nina Jaffe Gruen, sees her as a partner professional..

Facing 160 disrespectful male students in a department with no full-time female faculty members is just the beginning of Nina’s foray into an exclusively male professional world—and she learned a lot about how to be taken seriously.

With great humor and wit, Nina shares her experiences as a fearless pioneer, determined to fulfill her intellectual potential as a real estate and marketing consultant.

Whether she’s hiding in the ladies’ room because it’s official policy to not hire women professionals, or taken aback when told, “That was an intelligent comment…for a woman,” Nina’s tales from the battlefield serve as a vivid reminder of how much has changed since the “good old days” of the 1960s and ‘70s.

You can find the book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Believe-Not-Challenges-Professional-Century/dp/1519417519/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452017359&sr=8-1&keywords=Nina%20Gruen%20Believe%20it%20or%20not

 

 

KeyNotes

KeyNotes is the online publication of Lambda Alpha International and contains articles written by the members, chronicles chapter activities and successes, and celebrates member awards and accomplishments. Posts are distributed to the global membership and published within LAI’s social-media network. KeyNotes are submitted by LAI members. Many submissions reflect the author’s professional opinions and views on relevant issues concerning the organizational mission and purpose of LAI. LAI, as an organization, does not take a position on KeyNote submissions, and supports providing an open forum of ideas forwarded for thoughtful consideration. Submissions should not be construed as LAI endorsements.” Check out the latest articles today!

Current articles  |  Article archive

Article Submission Guidelines

Sponsors