By Sammi Bray
In 1956, Betsy Wade became the first woman to edit news copy at The New York Times. She also was the first woman to lead the NewsGuild (then known as the Newspaper Guild of New York), a national journalism union. Yesterday, Wade passed away at the age of 91, after battling colon cancer. Wade was a champion for women in the world of journalism. When she entered the field, women were severely underrepresented, underpaid, and often tasked only with articles on fashion or cooking. Before joining The New York Times in 1956, Wade was fired from her reporting job at The New York Herald Tribune when she became pregnant. Her talent and skills quickly became essential to the success of many New York Times articles, fighting against attempts to keep her work confined to “articles for women.” Wade continued to pave the way for women, shattering many glass ceilings at The Times, including being the first women to edit articles by foreign correspondents, the first deputy chief of the foreign copy desk, and the first chief of the foreign copy desk. Her success was not accepted by all, as Wade often was subjected to sexist comments. In 1974, Wade, along with six others, filed a lawsuit against The Times for discrimination on the basis of sex. The women argued that their salaries were far less than their male counterparts, there were no women in top corporate positions, on the editorial board, or national correspondents. After four years of legal battles, The Times promised to hire more female employees. Wade’s dedication to the respect of others and equality, as well her accomplishments are admirable. In her lifetime, she reflected the St. Paul core values of character, excellence, and service, making her an excellent role model for all of our school’s aspiring writers. Comments are closed.
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