The Good Girls Revolt

June 11, 2012
Feminist history at its best, Povich evokes, with clear-eyed affection and a keen sense of history the heady atmosphere of “Swinging Sixties”-era Newsweek: a real-life Mad Men with a social conscience and sense of mission. In 1970, when Newsweek’s editors, who prided themselves on their progressive views (pro–civil rights, anti–Vietnam War), determined that the women’s movement merited a cover story, it didn’t occur to them that Newsweek’s caste system, which relegated women to dead-end jobs as researchers. was a civil rights violation. An unpleasant surprise awaited them when, on June 16, 1970—the same day Newsweek’s “Women in Revolt” issue hit the newsstands—46 female Newsweek employees, Povich among them, filed an EEOC complaint charging Newsweek with systematic discrimination in hiring and promotion. The transformation of Povich—who subsequently became Newsweek’s first female senior editor—and her colleagues from polite, deferential girls to women of courage forms the heart of this lively, engaging book. Their successful lawsuit paved the way for similar suits at the New York Times, NBC, and others, expanding opportunities for women journalists while underscoring how attitudes are often more resistant to change than laws. Forty years later, women are discovering for themselves that the fight for equal rights is not over.

July 1, 2012
Firsthand account of the female Newsweek employees who sued their employer in 1970 for sex discrimination. Journalist Povich began her career in the mid-'60s at the magazine's Paris bureau as a secretary, photo researcher, telex operator and occasional reporter. In 1975, she became the first female senior editor in the magazine's history. Here, she chronicles the five-year legal battle that she and the women of Newsweek waged against the company, laying the groundwork for women's advancement at the publication and in other careers in the areas of journalism, law and society. The Newsweek case was also the first female class-action suit filed in the United States. The women were a cohort of educated well-mannered "good girls" of the '40s and '50s, raised to be apolitical and accept the status quo in the workplace and society. But Povich and her co-workers found themselves stymied professionally and personally by the male-dominated work environment at Newsweek. Today it may be difficult to comprehend, but when the case was filed, there were few professional women in the United States. "Until around 1970," writes Povich, "women comprised fewer than 10 percent of students in medical school, 4 percent of law school students, and only 3 percent of business school students." The author describes the women's initial trepidation, followed by a feeling of empowerment. By standing up for what they believed they were entitled to, some flourished while others fell prey to a hostile work environment. As one of the plaintiffs said, "A lot of women were prepared socially and emotionally for it, but for those of us who were traditional women, you couldn't switch off overnight just because we won a lawsuit." Povich's in-depth research, narrative skills and eyewitness observations provide an entertaining and edifying look at a pivotal event in women's history.

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September 1, 2012

Social and business history meet in Povich's personal account of the discrimination complaint filed against Newsweek by 46 of its female employees in 1970. One of that group's organizers, Povich, who went on to become the first woman senior editor in Newsweek's history, and describes the freewheeling office culture of 1960s-era Newsweek. She relates her efforts to judge who might be friendly to their cause, organize the female employees secretly, and find legal representation to help win concessions from the magazine's editors and management. The eventual lawsuit cited sexual harassment and lack of advancement opportunities for female employees (many of whom had the same education and qualifications as their male counterparts), and its success paved the way for other women (particularly in the media) to "revolt." VERDICT Povich sometimes overstates the suit's historic importance, but her storytelling is compelling and she ably makes the case for the debt still owed to all 46 Newsweek women for their willingness to "take off the white gloves." Quickly paced social history for media, feminism, and history buffs.--Sarah Statz Cords, Reader's Advisor Online, Middleton, WI

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