Throughout the ’60s, American youth culture was the driving force that transformed the nation. Boys sporting Davy Crockett paraphernalia and girls holding hula hoop competitions grew up to lead debates and protests at college campuses, in hopes of leaving behind a bolder legacy than their conservative predecessors. G-rated crooners took a backseat to tripped-out rockers. And, assassinations and riots created a climate of chaos and political unrest that far outdid any James Dean “rebel-without-a-cause” attitude of the ’50s.
Meanwhile, women’s issues were making their own headlines. Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act passed, prohibiting employment discrimination on the basis of sex, in addition to race, religion and national origin. As a result, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was established to investigate discrimination complaints—50,000 sex discrimination complaints were received during the Commission’s first five years, alone. In response to the Commission’s failure to sufficiently investigate these documented complaints, Betty Friedan, author of The Feminine Mystique, and her peers organized the National Organization for Women. More and more women soon went from homemakers to moneymakers—or both if they desired.
In retrospect, second-wave feminism, and its foremothers, saved the print industry—from remaining an exclusive “good old boy’s club,” that is. Proof is in the various industry trade shows. Today, it is more common than not to see women manning (no pun intended) exhibitors’ booths or greeting colleagues throughout the exhibit hall.
However, not too long ago, there was a time when women need not apply. Before the EEOC intervened in 1968 to rule the act illegal, help-wanted ads in newspapers segregated jobs through the listings: “Help wanted – women” vs. “Help wanted – men.” While it was an overdue victory for women, it took far more than high-heeled shoes and a business suit for them to get a foot in the door. It took intelligence. It took perseverance. It took guts.
Industry veteran Deanna Day—currently the senior product manager of the custom resale group that includes Discount Labels, New Albany, Ind., and Lancer Label and DealerLabel, both located in Omaha, Neb.—can attest.
Although armed with a B.A. in English and psychology, Day began her career in 1978 as an accounts receivable clerk for the now defunct Adams Business Forms. “At that time, clerical positions were the only ones offered to women,” she recalled. “I had to beg for the opportunity to become a customer service representative at Adams. It was the only ‘career track’ position in the company and was populated exclusively by men. They used every excuse in the book they could think of to exclude me from the job, but I had a college degree and that was the published requirement for the job.”
And so, Day worked at becoming an expert at whatever aspect of the business was applicable to her role. This included researching information about buyers, end-users, products and pricing.
At times, her efforts didn’t always meet with the desired results since her associates weren’t accustomed to interacting with female players on the team. Her male colleagues were often less than cordial to Day, a harsh reminder of her inferior status as a woman. Nevertheless, Day’s determination eventually paid off as she became the first female in the company to assume a customer service representative position. She would later move up to estimator and then, division manager. The company, however, offered Day a raise of only $10 per week—considerably less than her male counterparts received.
Tammy Stottler, CEO, president and co-owner of Glenwood, Minnesota-based American Diversity Business Solutions (ADBS), shared a different experience. The printing industry had some time to understand and implement the idea of staffing female employees, even though female sales associates were still lacking. During the mid-’80s, Stottler interned for American Solutions for Business (ASB), also headquartered in Glenwood, Minn., where she found a mentor in established sales associate Rose Shorma.
A year after Stottler received her B.S. in marketing, she became a sales associate for ASB, where she was instructed to build a thriving sales territory with no existing business. “It was very challenging since I was commission-based, but [ASB] had a draw program, which is an advance against future commissions, at the time, and encouraged me the whole way,” she said. “Maybe it was my age, but it didn’t really bother me that I was entering a male-dominated industry. I was doing what I liked and that was enough for me.”
Stottler moved on from ASB to head ADBS in 2004. Founded in 1992, ADBS—formerly known as American Minority Business Forms—is a certified Woman Business Enterprise. This certification mandates 51 percent of the company to be owned, operated and controlled by women. In 2007, ADBS reported independent annual sales of just over $13 million, according to Stottler, and ranked within the Top 25 of Print Professional’s Top 100 Distributors list.
Francine Limon, sales associate, is just one member of the ADBS staff. Her motto for success involves persistence, personal confidence and enthusiasm—three qualities that assisted her when she began her career in the industry more than 12 years ago. Limon had a passion for sales, and an important male mentor in her life told her she wouldn’t succeed. Determined to prove him wrong, she sent out resumes until she landed a sales job in web printing.
“That job was given to me by a wonderful woman named Diane Adamson. My first 90 days of employment consisted of 100 cold calls a day, every day. I learned the industry from the ground up—from sales to production to plant tours,” she noted. “I owe so much to that one woman who believed in me and gave me a break.”
Limon went on to say that she did encounter instances where her gender became an issue. She found herself being cheated out of accounts or blamed for problems on jobs when one of her male peers was actually at fault. “The funny thing is that these men [thought] they were very progressive and pro-women. If one of their daughters were treated as I was by them, they would be very angry,” she surmised.
But often, success is the best revenge. After being told she would never sell any accounts due to the company’s high prices, old machinery and poor management, Limon landed a major account within her first 60 days of employment.
Battle of the Sexes?
Day believes the current marketplace is definitely more open to women in a professional role, but warned that prejudice remains. To get ahead, Day sharpened her public speaking skills. She continued, “Another important skill is the ability to see the big picture and identify the real problem [and its] solution.”
It is important to Stottler to get her name out, especially when her role is often mistakenly presumed. At vendor shows, some people assume she is an executive’s secretary or assistant instead of a sales associate or manager. “When I’ve walked a trade show with my husband, Shaun, who actually hasn’t been in the industry as long as I have, people would make eye contact with him and ask him questions about his business. I felt like I was invisible,” she commented. “I’ve learned to let people know who I am and what I do by introducing myself and handing them a business card before they can make any assumptions.”
When asked if she thought women needed to work harder than men to achieve, Stottler replied, “[We] need to work smarter, using our strengths to make a difference. Women have strong organizational skills, are detail-oriented, good listeners, creative and seem to be solution-oriented.”
Limon shared Stottler’s viewpoint on working smart. “I, for one, am on an e-mail [team that] people [can contact for] help [requiring] different areas of expertise. I help all I can with creative promotional ideas.”
With sales, in particular, sometimes the gender line can be blurred. Today, people are buying from people, regardless of gender, Stottler said. Jennifer Smith, another sales associate at ADBS, mentioned, “I do find myself proving my competence or worth, but I feel that’s what … selling is—proving to customers, as well as peers, that you do know what you are talking about.” Stottler added, “It’s important for everyone—male or female—to know their own shortcomings and find ways to deal with them.”
Coincidentally, three out of the four women said they didn’t feel they lost sales as a result of gender. In addition, they didn’t personally find many salary discrepancies between men and women since a lot of the sales positions are commission-based and thus, talent wins over.
A Woman’s Work is Never Done
Although the industry’s direction is in flux due to the slowing economy, recent and new female college graduates shouldn’t let this deter them from joining the printing industry. Stottler observed that during a recession, people will stop selling before the customers quit buying. Her company is using the rapid growth of technology, in particular, to its advantage. “Online shopping is just one of the new solutions our female sales associates are offering their clients. Like many women, they consider themselves natural shoppers and they look at selling online catalogs/stores as an exciting, new opportunity—one that they understand and can offer to others as a time-saving convenience.”
To make sure young women of future generations follow their creative and strong lead, industry veterans were asked to offer some sound advice. Stottler noted, “It will take approximately three years to build a territory, so ‘plan your work and work your plan’ and set goals each year.” She cautioned women against settling for entry-level positions, as well. In fact, she wants to see more women in management positions and on industry boards. “I believe it’s important for women to mentor the upcoming generations and to encourage them in the industry,” Stottler suggested.
Limon added, “There is still so much more for us all to do in this and all industries. … Do whatever job you are doing the best you can. … Always do the right thing even if no one else will ever find out the difference.”
Yet, perhaps Day summed it up completely. “Twenty years ago, I would not have allowed myself to admit that there were limitations to what a woman could or could not do. But, in looking back, it is amazing just how much things truly have changed in the business world. ... Love what you do, become the expert, look for the big picture and work hard,” she said. In other words, let them hear you roar.
- Companies:
- DealerLabel
- Discount Labels
- Lancer Label