CARLSBAD, Calif. — For decades, women in the workforce have been fighting to equal the playing field.
In this Zevely Zone, I visited La Costa Glen Retirement Community in Carlsbad where a group of former flight attendants recall some bumpy skies.
In the 1950s and 60s, many women who wanted to see the world became flight attendants. "I lived in Ohio and I wanted to leave, ha, ha," said 90-year-old Clare Christiansen. In the 50s and 60s, she desperately wanted to fly for Pan Am but faced a problem.
"The height limit was 5'2" to 5'7" and I was 5'10"," said Clare who convinced the company she could reach the overhead baggage. "For a long, I was the world's tallest stewardess I think," said Clare.
Height restrictions were the least of a woman's worries. "The hiring process was quite sexist, to put it mildly," said Jane Ditmar who flew for United Airlines.
Jane told me she was forced to leave her job when she got married.
When I asked her why, she told me, "Good question."
Some flight attendants were also told they were too old to fly at the age of 32. Along with weekly weigh-ins, Carolyn Singer from TWA remembers men treating flight attendants like Playboy Bunnies.
"We had to pass grooming requirements," said Carolyn. "We were like cattle." She was talking about how men lined up to gawk at the women in their uniforms.
Told to look glamorous, 97-year-old Delores Conti from TWA remembers wearing a hat on the side of her head that defied gravity.
"Well, it just fit there evidently, it was engineered properly," said Delores.
Back then, passengers smoked on planes while eating five-course meals until the skies weren't so friendly.
"My passengers were screaming," said Beverley Cannizzaro from Ozark Airlines who remembers landing in the middle of a tornado.
"That was very memorable," said Beverley who somehow kept her cool. "Oh, I did, ha, ha," she laughed.
At La Costa Glen Retirement Community, these women are now the best of friends and reflect on an industry they took to new heights.
"It took me 12 years to get a job in management," said Clare who became part of the solution while working for Pan Am for 30 years. They all stood tall and on their wings, barriers were broken.
"Society has changed," said Delores. "I really commend the women in the profession that helped to make these changes happen, it took a lot of leadership," said Jane. Carolyn then added, "You can be any color, you can be any gender, you can be anything and now the world is open."
The ladies ended the interview with one final announcement. "Thanks for flying on the Zevely Zone," they said. Ten former flight attendants live at La Costa Glen Retirement Community where there gather often to swap stories about their flying days. For more information about La Costa Glen, click here.