It was a nice variation on what has become a ritual for area businesses ”“ the Fairfield County 40 Under 40 awards ”“ when emcee and Channel 7 meteorologist Bill Evans expanded on what each award recipient wished to be remembered for, when looking back on their careers and community contributions.
It was clear that some are already there, well in advance of their 40th birthday ”“ the rest will doubtless achieve their goals, which almost to a person focused on their contributions to people”™s lives rather than any professional or corporate bottom line.
It was a nice variation on an annual event ”“ and one enhanced by the keynote delivered by Donna De Varona, the Olympic gold medalist in swimming and broadcaster.
De Varona adroitly weaved together the story of finding and then excelling in swimming, with the upstream fight to win Title IX, which opened doors for women not just in sports but, as it turned out, in so many other walks of life.
As the Title IX Blog online at http://Title-ix.blogspot.com eloquently put it on the anniversary:
“This omnibus legislation contained many provisions of political and social significance, including a major appropriation for higher education and student loans, money to improve education for Native Americans, and most controversially, a provision postponing the implementation of court orders related to racial desegregation. There was so much going on in the Education Amendments Act of 1972 that coverage of its passage in The New York Times devoted only a small paragraph near the end to a provision of the act that prohibits sex discrimination in educational institutions that receive federal funds, Title IX.
“Yet despite receiving little recognition at the time, Title IX is the provision with the most enduring effect on American education (the provision delaying desegregation orders was effectively overturned in court later that year). In fact, given Title IX”™s small stature, its humble origins, and all that it has overcome and accomplished since then, we celebrate this month as the anniversary of ”˜the little statute that could.”™”
De Varona was front and center among those puffing “I think I can,” and trying to push, pull and coax Title IX over the hill. As she glanced at this year”™s 40 Under 40 awardees, the parallel must have been obvious between the 40th anniversary of Title IX and the age-marker by which the Fairfield County Business Journal recognizes the area”™s young business leaders ”“ so many of them women, both among the winners and those otherwise nominated by their companies (and yes, it was a total coincidence that 40 percent of this year”™s winners are women).
If you are nearer retirement age than 40, you”™ve lived the fractious debate the glass ceiling engendered, whichever side of the pane you were on. If you are right around that age, the odds are good you grew up in a dual-income family, perhaps even with a career-minded mom who may or may not have told her war stories around the kitchen table. If you are nearer 20 than 40, in some ways you might be wondering what all the fuss is about. If pay disparities and outright discrimination still exist (if the first concept could be said to be separate from the second), so too exist more levers than ever to bring equilibrium to the workplace.
Donna De Varona described entering the Olympic stadium in Rome, with the U.S. woman”™s team marching in descending order according to their height, right down to the then-diminutive De Varona; on her heels the towering Walt Bellamy, starting center for the U.S. men”™s basketball team. Noting that De Varona was struggling to see the spectacle, Bellamy gave her a boost on his shoulders.
It is easy, isn”™t it, to forget all those who have given us a boost toward a better society? For one night, we all got a vivid reminder to keep the big picture constantly before us as we strive in our careers, communities and lives ”“ from 40 extraordinary people who shared their biggest goals, and a onetime 13-year-old who left plenty of change in her wake.
