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The 1950s. No one had said or written the phrase women’s liberation movement … yet. Stewardess and union leader Dusty Roads challenged and led the fight to eliminate American Airlines employment policies firing stewardesses at thirty-two and banning marriage. And the infamous girdle checks and weigh-ins. The airlines wanted stewardesses to be perpetually young, single, and attractive to entice traveling businessmen to buy tickets. They also knew firing them was an economic decision, allowing significant savings on benefits and no concern for retirement payouts. The same rules did not apply to male stewards. She was incensed and vowed to fight the policies.

Hired before the new age policy, she was “grandmothered” from it and not affected. She felt she had nothing to lose by fighting for her younger colleagues because it was the right thing to do.

Dusty became a visual and vocal presence in Washington, DC, as one of the first female lobbyists in 1958. She befriended congressional representatives, Senators, congressional aides, and even Vice Presidents and Presidents. She helped write a bill to overturn the age policy, but it was ridiculed by the all-male committee as “The Old Broads Bill” and failed. That’s when she knew she wasn’t just fighting the airline industry; she was fighting national gender discrimination.

She became the most influential voice in her union, and her story captures the essence of her pivotal role in shaping a more inclusive and equal society. Her persistence laid the groundwork for Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. In 1965, Dusty brought the first discrimination complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission when it opened its doors.

The book is based on extensive interviews by author Elaine Rock with Dusty Roads prior to her death in 2023, along with the insights of the men and women in Washington, DC. who knew her, of her, and her work.