I rewatched the movie “9 to 5” last weekend in honor of Dolly Parton. When it was originally released, I was a freshman in high school, and I went to see it on my first date with a boy who was a couple years older than me and had his license. That was a big deal in my house, and it was not comfortable for my parents. It was a step toward my independence as a young woman. In the middle of the movie the power went out in the theater, so we had to sit outside waiting while they fixed it. I have to say that I was so enthralled with the boy and too young to fully appreciate the message that I did not remember much about the movie, except my perception that the woman “won” at the end.
Rewatching it in 2026 I realize how much I have taken the efforts of trailblazing women for granted in my life and career. The characters in that movie, played by Jane Fonda, Dolly Parton and Lily Tomlin were smart and hardworking and entirely at the mercy of their tyrannical male boss. It was their job to make him look good and he treated them with no respect at all. I was not in the workforce in 1980. At that age I did not have any big career plans, but I expected to go to college and get a job when I graduated, not go to school to find a husband. I heard my mother and aunts talk about Ms. Magazine and the efforts of advocates like Gloria Steinem.
This was all shaping the national conversation about women in the workforce and influencing my future in ways that I had no way of appreciating as a young teen. My mother shared her experiences about discrimination in even considering going to college, and then when she did there were limited career choices available to her. As an adult she was not able to have a credit card in her own name. She told me that she felt this limited her options and was supportive of the changes that were occurring. I definitely did not appreciate how important all of this would be to my future.
By 1988, when I entered the workforce, I did not worry about being taken seriously. I assumed I would be, and I felt I was. I never felt limited in my options. I chose to study engineering and math and had female professors and deans as role models. There were no obvious signs that I was doing anything extraordinary.
The reality is that twenty years earlier less than 1% of undergraduate engineering students at US universities were women. By the time I graduated it was around 15%. In 2026 it was just over 26% (including my niece, yeah Erin!).
That was the gift that Gloria Steinem gave me. A woman she never met but dedicated her life to advocating for. It was because of her efforts to use her voice and change the rhetoric around the role of women in society that I had the luxury of taking my opportunities and independence for granted. Her work enabled me to focus on being my best and letting my results speak for themselves. Yes, there were lots of places where this playing field was not even, especially when I became a mother. And there still are. But it never entered my mind that I could not be independent. The agency I have to live life on my terms was enabled by Ms. Steinem, Dolly Parton and others. Strong independent women who controlled their own destiny.
What this demonstrates to me is that when young people are made to feel that something is possible, they will be empowered to make choices that benefit not only themselves but also the workforce and the country as a whole. The data about the benefits of diversity to company performance overwhelmingly supports that. The best way to prevent “groupthink” is to include people with different perspectives and experiences.
That said, there is a lot more to do. Even with 26% of engineering graduates being women, data from the Society of Women Engineers shows that retention remains an issue. Only 15% of working engineers are women due to mid-career drop offs. As a consulting engineer, I know all too well the sacrifices you make at home to succeed at work. And the representation of Black and Hispanic women graduating with engineering degrees this year is 1% and 3% respectively according to alltogether.swe.org. This limits our potential as a country, and as humankind in addressing the myriad challenges that face us.
When companies and universities backtrack on programs that promote diversity they are doing more than making a political statement… they are hurting the future of the US economy and quality of life here and globally. I do not see this as a partisan or political issue. This world is changing at lightning speed, and we need every curious mind to allow us to navigate this to at least maintain the quality of life we have.
So, thank you Gloria and Dolly for leading by example and using your voices and talents to demonstrate how great the world can be when women have equal rights. It is now up to those of us who benefited from their efforts to create opportunities for these next generations to shine
.