Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton Honored as Women's Equality Trailblazers
by Tabby Biddle
(L) to ((R): ERA advocates Darcy Totten, Tabby Biddle, Elisa Parker, Alicia Ontiveros at the ERA Coalition Forward's Women's Equality Trailblazer Awards and Hollywood Premiere of "Still Working 9 to 5." Photo by Chad Connor.
Last night, I had the opportunity to attend an amazing women’s equality event in Hollywood hosted by the ERA Coalition. There was so much positive energy there despite the challenges we are still facing toward women’s equality.
The event was the Hollywood premiere of the award-winning film “Still Working 9 to 5,” by filmmakers Camille Hardman and Gary Lane. It was also an evening to honor women’s equality trailblazers Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton. What a special night!
“Still Working 9 to 5” is a feature-length documentary that reunites the original cast of the 1980 blockbuster comedy “9 to 5” — starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton, Dabney Coleman, Allison Janney, and Rita Moreno — and explores the ongoing pursuit for women's rights in the workplace.
It reflects on the important legacy of the original “9 to 5” film, and advocates for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA).
If you need a quick recap of “9 to 5”: The film follows three female office employees who live out their fantasies of getting even with their sexist boss played by the late Dabney Coleman.
What I didn’t know before last week’s event was that “9 to 5” was inspired by an actual organizing campaign of women office workers, started in Boston in 1972, called 9to5.
It was founded by office workers Karen Nussbaum and Ellen Cassedy to respond to the wave of women joining the workforce in the 1960s and 70s, many into secretarial jobs under conditions of gender discrimination and sexual harassment.
These women were tired of low pay, training men to be their supervisors, getting fired for being pregnant, having limited mobility to be promoted, daily indignities and disrespect, and sexual harassment. And so they organized for improved working conditions for women. Sound familiar?
As a feminist and gender equity activist, Jane Fonda got involved with the 9to5 organization and their plight and wanted to see these women and their stories represented on the big screen. She didn’t think an outright feminist film would get them to the theater. Instead, she thought a comedy would do that. And so, the pop comedy film we know today as “9 to 5” was born.
The ERA Coalition Forward event took place at the Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner Cultural Arts Center in Los Angeles. Jane and Lily were so loving, fun, and funny together. It’s a friendship that has been alive for over 40 years. Photo: ERA Coalition.
““We’re still having this same conversation about equal pay. There’ve been incremental improvements, but it’s hard for a whole stratum of society to give up its power and its expectations.
And if it expects the women in the office to make the coffee, then it stays that way until somebody throws the pot on the floor, and kicks it, and makes a big fuss about it.”
”
Dolly Parton attended the ERA Coalition Forward event by video. That’s Jane and Lily listening to her in the seats below. I love seeing how the friendship between these three women has grown through the decades. Photo: Tabby Biddle.
It has been 101 years since the Equal Rights Amendment was first introduced to Congress, and it has yet to be published in the U.S. Constitution. The ERA Coalition, who works with more than 300 state, federal, and grassroots partners to advance the cause of women’s equality in the United States, is on a mission to get it published.
The ERA is a very simple amendment putting protection for women and other marginalized genders directly into the United States Constitution. The entire text of the proposed amendment is:
Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.
It’s that simple.
If you’re curious to see where your elected officials stand on the Equal Rights Amendment, check out this ERA Coalition Equality Tool.
With some of my sisters from the 50 Women Can Change the World in Media & Entertainment initiative that I co-led with Elisa Parker, currently working with the ERA Coalition. (L) to (R): ERA Advocates Alicia Ontiveros, Rachel Feldman, Ellen Snortland, Nathalie Seaver, and Tabby Biddle.
The filmmakers of “Still Working 9 to 5,” are planning a social impact campaign to advance women’s equality and advocate for the publication of the ERA leading up to a wide release of their film in the Fall. So, there’s a lot of energy around this right now!
Add to this, it was recently announced that Jennifer Aniston is looking to produce a reimagining of “9 to 5” with her producing partner Kristin Hahn under their Echo Films label. Stay tuned.
Thanks for giving this blog a read. Together, we rise. In sisterhood, we thrive. ❤️
About Tabby
My life’s work is dedicated to empowering and elevating the voices of women changemakers. I help women find their voice and amplify it as writers, public speakers, and thought leaders—not tethered to the old ways of patriarchy, but in a new paradigm of feminine leadership. Curious about working together? Get in touch.