In March, we celebrate women in history, which was also one of my favorite classes in college.
Learning the timeline of how and when we got our right to vote, when we entered the workforce and how we have transformed society by generation is fascinating to me.
In some interviews I recently attended with two Castle View High School interns, we talked to several generations of women on how education has changed throughout history. It was fascinating to listen to a woman raised during the World War II era vs. the millennial now.
Our Silent Generation guest talked about how being proper was much more important than an education. She talked about her dad telling her she was here to get married and have children. She did not attend college. She talked about how much she loved her job at a bank that she had to quit once she became pregnant, noting that even though she was married, women did not show their pregnancies in public.
Then, we talked to her daughter who was told by her parents that they had a savings account that was supposed to go toward her wedding. Instead, her parents agreed to let her go to college. She, being in the baby boomer generation, was the only female in the engineering program.
For the millennial female, there was no other option. Her parents made it clear she would go to college, and she would succeed on her own merits.
For me, there are so many women that I have come to know and respect over the years. It is hard to list all of them.
First, I will list my mom. She did not have a career or go to college, but she raised me and my brothers and quite a few other kids in and around our family. While I just call her mom, many kids around me called her “Step-in-Mom” or “Pattymom.”
I never wanted to be a stay-at-home mom like her. What I truly respect about my mom is that she accepted that I did not want the same path as she and other women in my family.
While she did not completely understand my career ambitions, she supported them. She helped me reach my goals and I respect and appreciate her for doing that for me. She had to wait a long time for grandkids, but I eventually fulfilled that dream for her.
Besides my mom, I must bring up the women I currently work with at Colorado Community Media.
In the media industry, it is no secret that is has been a male-dominated field. Women have steadily worked their way up. At Colorado Community Media, I could not be prouder of the changes that have taken place in 2021 and 2022.
We have Linda Shapley serving as our publisher, bringing decades of experience. We have Lisa Schlichtman serving as our executive editor, bringing decades of experience. We have Kristin Fiore and myself serving as regional editors, bringing decades of experience.
And, we have a slew of young journalists who I cannot brag about enough. In the south, we have Jessica Gibbs and Elliott Wenzler making us proud week after week.
It would take a lot more space to list all the amazing women we have working hard in every department to get the news to you every week but they all deserve praise and adoration.
The women at CCM are strong, dedicated and born leaders and I am proud to call all of them my work family.
(Editor’s Note: Thelma Grimes is the South Metro Editor for Coloroado Community Media. She can be reached at tgrimes@coloradocommunitymedia.com)