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Fox describes the
experience of being part of Rollins’ honors course on the atomic bomb
(Play
Audio)
Fox: During the conference of the atom bomb and world government,
which had outstanding people participating – I.I. Robbie, one of the
great nuclear scientists, and William Laurence, the science editor of
the New York Times, William Douglas, the supreme court justice, and
Corliss Lamont, of the World Federalist, and James Carey, head of the
United Electrical Union, and other really important people were at that
conference. The United Press reporter, for some reason, had to go back
home, and I guess I was recommended, so I took over as the stringer for
the United Press. And here I was, probably seventeen years old at the
time, and it was certainly a great honor, and great experience and I
think I did a good job.
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Fox describes the meeting
NOW officers held with the producers of Sesame Street (Play
Audio)
Fox:
In about 1972 probably, NOW officers were saying we’ve got to something
about Sesame Street. It doesn’t have any women role models. The only
woman in it is a housewife in an apron, and all the role models are men
– almost all the puppets are men. So I arranged for a meeting between
Joan Ganz Cooney, and the other leaders of Sesame Street with the
leaders of NOW and helped them arrive at some understandings that would
lead to more inspiring roles for women.
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Alli: What has been your biggest challenge in your career?
(Play
Audio)
Fox:
Well, there’s been so many (laughs). The biggest challenge I would say
is sex discrimination every step of the way. I remember once the
president of our agency said to me, “Well Muriel, you’re wonderful, we
love you.” As a matter of fact, I had been made vice-president. I was
the youngest vice-president at Buyer. But he said, “You know, you’ve
gone as far as you can go, because senior management of these giant
corporations we’ve worked with – senior management can’t relate to a
woman. So it really took NOW to change the whole climate – the business
climate as well as the social climate – to make it possible for the
senior management to relate to women.
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Fox describes
her involvement with the Equal Rights movement
(Play
Audio)
Fox: We marched in
Washington to extend the deadline for ratifying the ERA. And this
picture – I was wearing my – we were all wearing white because the
suffragists wore white – and I was wearing my daughter’s white
graduation dress, which was very pretty. And I was ahead of the line,
and I grabbed this young girl, which I think was seven years old, the
daughter of Lynn Chaffin, a very important lawyer in the women’s
movement, and I said, “Come on Brooke, let’s head the parade.” As a
matter of fact, this medallion was made from that march, and it shows a
woman in white dress – me – and Brooke – the little girl – leading the
parade. So, I’m proud to wear that.
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Zhang: Forty-years
after founding NOW. So what is your view of women’s movement and what
would be your advice to young women like Jennifer and Alia, when they
are going to start their career?
(Play
Audio)
Fox:
Well first of all, I would have to say we have to continue the movement.
There’s a lot of work to be done, and it’s very satisfying when you get
results, when you get something done. Don’t think the work has already
been done. Many of the doors has already been open, but there are still
a lot of closed doors and its very exciting if you can help other women
through those doors and as I did, I ended up, helping myself. So, it
really – it works that way so that I would certainly say get involved in
the women’s movement. And, also, don’t think that you can’t have it all.
You know people say oh well you can’t have a family if you want a
career. That’s not true. You know I had a family, and a career, and the
satisfaction with working with NOW.
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