Queenagers in (Self) Love

.

My cohort of female workers, now referred to as Queenagers, endured an era of deep unfairness and company-fostered competition. We may not have been able to bust the glass ceiling, but we left our fingerprints all over it.

I only know what it was like in radio. We competed for jobs as sidekicks, traffic girls, newscasters, and midday hosts where the music kept flowing and personality was delivered in small bites between songs. Early on, those positions were rare and they paid much less than the “men’s jobs.”

Slowly, women got into management and eventually, women hosted all shows including mornings – at some stations. There are still broadcasting jobs for which a woman would never be considered. Is it like that in other business sectors? Please let me know in the comments.

And thank your friendly, neighbourhood Queenager for hanging in there and paving that road, no matter the industry or vocation. And let’s be clear, without male advocates who saw the wisdom of promoting the best person for a job, it would have taken much longer. So, yay for those men!

Officially, a Queenager is a woman in middle age and beyond. She’s part of the first generation to enter the male-dominated workforce en masse. Now she’s all out of F***S and claiming ownership to the wisdom she’s gained. She’s getting more comfortable in her own skin (despite the NEW bullshit of menopause). She’s refusing to be invisible in a world that considers 40 an age where women are 40 and men are just stepping into their prime.

Womano A Womano

But Lisa, you ask, are you exaggerating the “fostering of competition” between women by those in power? Aren’t you just ramping up the rhetoric to spice up your little anecdotes? Surely, many women in radio have done very well and you are making all of this up!

No, sir, I am not, and I’m offended that you would suggest such a thing! Yes, many women have done extremely well. Better than most of the men. But that’s a more recent development. I’m talking about earlier days. My radio career began in 1982. I didn’t see real change until the late 90s.

Because there were limited, specific jobs open to women, females in radio naturally competed – even at the same station. Men could flow freely anywhere they wanted. Women had limits to their aspirations and their salaries. A well-known ex-radio host in Toronto was the first to break through the women’s salary cap at a major company. Women had a cap. Men did not. We cheered when she broke through.

In some ways, we were our own worst enemies. We wanted to be in the industry so badly that we took these terms and grit our teeth. We ate a lot of bullshit through the years because we were women. Many years ago before it was illegal, I was told to my face that I was the only staff member not getting a raise, because I was a woman. Seriously. When I say we ate bullshit, I’m not kidding.

Dues Paid in Full

Now, here we are, Queenagers. I understand that not every woman likes that term. Maybe you don’t want to be a Queenager, but I’ll happily wear the tiara. There is still crap in radio and in every job, for anyone working anywhere – nothing is perfect. Racism, culture clashes – so many factors can lead to unfairness for some. All I know is what it was like to be a woman in a male-dominated industry that I absolutely loved. And I’ll take that tiara now, thank you. It’s good to be Queen.