Just a Girl - Growing Up Female and Ambitious

An insider's story of unrelenting sexual harassment and sexism from the 1950s to the 2010s as a young woman scratching her way up in a male-dominated world, from farm laborer to PhD scientist to corporate executive-and a call to action for those who wish to become champions for others.

About the author

Lucinda Jackson, scientist and corporate executive, spent eight years in academia and more than forty years with Fortune 500 Companies. After growing up on the West Coast, she received her PhD at Southern Illinois University and continued in science throughout her career, speaking worldwide on environmental topics, and serving on boards of academic, non-profit, and industry organizations. Dr. Jackson has published peer-reviewed articles, patents, and book chapters and is working on a book series about freedom after a career-dominated life. After Peace Corps volunteerism in Palau and teaching science in Mexico, Dr. Jackson and her husband returned recently to their home near San Francisco. They have three male-liberated sons who are scattered around the globe.

Summary

An insider's story of unrelenting sexual harassment and sexism from the 1950s to the 2010s as a young woman scratching her way up in a male-dominated world, from farm laborer to PhD scientist to corporate executive-and a call to action for those who wish to become champions for others.

Foreword

PROLOGUE

AS I RAN MY FINGERS OVER THE SHINY GOLD TUBES OF lipsticks, I didn’t think much about the man at the other end of the display counter. I noticed him, as he seemed out of place among all the girls and women in the makeup section of Cornet’s, our favorite five-and-dime store. But he was an older man, dad-like, probably just looking for some- thing nice for his daughter or his wife.

I hummed and fidgeted, ecstatic just to be there at the mall. My sister, Deborah, three years older than my nine years, and I had gone there with friends. It was a big deal, because my mother had never let us go shopping on our own before. In my favorite turquoise-and-green matching Bermuda shorts-and-top outfit, clutching a stained white purse with a chipped chain handle, I felt so sophisticated. I had found the purse in a garbage can in a public bathroom—probably somebody had stolen the contents and dumped it there—but I didn’t care. I strutted a little and snapped my fingers a few times when I wore it slung over my shoulder, jazzed, since my mother wouldn’t let me buy a purse yet because she said I was too young. As we filed into Cornet’s, I was especially thrilled that we were going in to look at makeup, because, of course, I didn’t wear any.

My sister and friends drifted down the aisle, and I was alone looking at the treasure trove—mascara, rouge, compacts, red lipsticks. Then I felt a poke in my side, peered down, and saw a huge purple sausage jutting out of the father-man’s dark pants and butting up against me. My mind raced: How did he move down the aisle and end up next to me? Where did he come from? Is this a penis? I’d seen my brother’s penis in the bathtub, but it never looked scary and threatening like this. I froze. Poke, poke—he jabbed me again. And again.

What’s happening? What’s this nice man doing? Why’s he doing this? My blood iced up in my veins. Panic rushed through my body. Away from my friends, I realized I was his target, the deer separated from the herd.

I gasped, survival mode kicking in, and bolted down the aisle and out into the mall. My stomach swirled, ready to throw up. Why had he chosen me? What was wrong with me? Why would someone do that to me?

I found my sister and friends and fell sobbing into their arms. My baby blue-framed glasses fogged up with tears as I choked out my story.

“How horrible for you!” they said. “What should we do? Ick, ick! Let’s get out of here!” We slunk out of the mall and held on to our secret.

I feel ill talking about it even now, after almost sixty years; that betrayal, such a brief act, ruined my childhood foray. What I didn’t realize then was that I’d been sexually harassed for the first time.


Additional text

“Debut author Jackson recounts incidents of sexual harassment, revealing the generational wounds that the #MeToo movement seeks to heal. . . . An unflinching memoir that offers vital American history.”

—Kirkus Reviews

“As a Silicon Valley refugee myself, I deeply understand how challenging it is to be an ambitious woman in a male-dominated field (and world). Kudos to Jackson for capturing these challenges with spirit and hope. A must-read for all women who have ever bumped into the glass ceiling and broken through. Highly recommended!”

—Stephanie Chandler, author and CEO of the Nonfiction Authors Association



“This powerful memoir will help other women, in spite of anti-female adversity, overcome pain, self-blame, and shame. It will be especially beneficial to vulnerable young women as they try to make their way in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).”

—Beverly Engel, LMFT, best-selling author of I’m Saying No! Standing up Against Sexual Assault, Sexual Harassment, and Sexual Pressure



“This is a critical book that all corporations should study in order to evolve their companies into a place where women want to work. Lucinda Jackson tells it like it is, and her takeaways and review of legal precedents are relevant to all women and men who work in corporations. Her chronology of the past seven decades teaches us how women are silenced by men and by their own pain, and how difficult it is to break through social and legal barriers to realize their professional and personal dreams. We have a long way to go, but Jackson tells us how we can get there."

—Silvia Garrigo, Global Vice President, Millicom International



“In the riveting Just a Girl: Growing up Female and Ambitious, Dr. Lucinda Jackson vividly describes how she surmounted harassment, discrimination, and dirty tricks on America’s farms and at top corporations to become a respected scientist and corporate leader. But rather than focusing on victimhood, she forges powerful recommendations for how women can overcome sexism and pursue successful careers in science. Readers of this book will be inspired to redouble society’s efforts to create a more fair and equitable culture for both women and men.”

—Cheryl Karpowicz, Senior Vice President, Ecology and Environment, Inc.

“Lucinda Jackson attains shero status as she chronicles her triumph over sexual harassment that is ever present as air. A corporate scientist and academic, Jackson compellingly weaves her personal story with society’s awakening and progress toward addressing this scourge.”

—Andrea Jarrell, author of I'm the One Who Got Away: A Memoir

“Just a Girl needed to be written. It reads like a memoir and keeps the reader captivated; however, it is for all professional women, especially those who have worked in corporate America and lived through the sexual harassment, double standard, and pain of having to mold themselves into a male version of themselves. This book doesn’t leave you angry or feeling hopeless. Instead, it offers solutions for how women can learn to stand in their authentic selves, have a stronger voice, and raise boys to be more conscious and compassionate.”

—Kaya Singer, author of Wiser and Wilder: A Soulful Path for Visionary Women Entrepreneurs

“Jackson’s frank, to-the-point writing style, peppered with humor and expletives in just the right places is a total joy to imbibe—and [her] bravery in speaking the truth is astounding. . . . Sharing hope, she offers grounded, practical tools to actually move the needle.”

—Mary Brooks, founder of M2-One

Product details

• Authors: Lucinda Jackson
• Publisher: Ingram Publishers Services
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 08.10.2019
• EAN: 9781631526626
• ISBN: 978-1-63152-662-6
• No. of pages: 280
• Subjects: Fiction > Narrative literature > Letters, diaries; Social sciences, law, business > Sociology > Sociological theories; SOCIAL SCIENCE / Sexual Abuse & Harassment, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Women in Business