Going out into the world as a female sales rep of interior surfaces in the early 70s was not what I would call safe or inviting. The industry, at the time, was dominated by males who thought women were to stay home, take care of the children, bake cookies and clean; and of course be ready and happy for the man to come home and smile.
If I wanted my children to have a good education, I was not about to stay in the office and add numbers and do P & L reports; I needed a better paying job and the only way to do it was to become a sales representative; pay depended on sales volume.
First on the agenda was to stop wearing skirts and dresses. Visits to the construction sites were frequent and the ratio was about 99-1 men vs. woman. Wolf whistles, hostile language, flirtation, aggressive behavior and more, was the routine. The phrase “little lady”, “honey” and others were heard more than once from the rank-and-file, along with the construction managers; most of the time the elevators were not operational and had to climb on ladders, knowing the workers were holding it down below. Slacks were the clothing of choice.
Frequently, I organized meetings at the architect’s office and will never forget my first one; it went like this:
Hello, I’m here to see the architect.
Do you have an appointment?
Yes, I am to meet him in about 2 minutes.
Where is your boss?
He’s not coming; I am to meet with the architect about interior products.
OK, I’ll let him know you’re here; however, he may not meet you without your boss.
I’ll wait.
Was the hidden meaning: “because you’re a woman?”
The architect asked for me to come into the office and the first question is: where is your boss? Do you know what you’re talking about? Product Information? Guarantees? Anything at all?
After two hours of questioning, the architect finally was able to relax and trusted me to guide him along the interior surfaces choices for the different locations in the building.
After, this architect called frequently to ask me to stop at an ethnic restaurant, pick up meals for two, come to his office and enjoy a working lunch with him as we both poured over the building plans and selected the appropriate products.
Did I mention he was the principal architect for a chain of Hospitals in Southern California? He was, and we developed a great working relationship through the years; I was able to receive commissions on all sales emanating from these projects.
I figured early in my career, acting and being a professional was not difficult and ignoring the insults, bad language and other male derisions while attending all-male meetings was to my benefit; being a wall flower or using female wiles did not work in this environment.
I was hooked! I loved the building industry and knew if I educated myself and learn more about building projects and how to put the brick and mortar together, I would be even more successful. Next step was to become a member of the construction industry. I did.