What up with your job?: Susan Bennett
Issue #23
By Amy Schroeder
Published: March 1st, 2005 | 3:30pm
Age: 57
City: Portland, Oregon
Occupation: special investigator
In the late 1960s, you worked for a prominent department store in Palo Alto, California. What was your job?
I started as a salesperson and was promoted to department manager of the juniors’ department.
You worked for the department store for four and a half years, and you ended up filing one of the first equal-pay lawsuits.
I found out by accident that my co-worker — who was the manager of the boys’ department and a man with the same education and background as me — was making more than twice my salary. I went ballistic, called my friend who had just started law school, and we filed a class-action lawsuit. Two or three years later, we settled, and hundreds of women received checks for more than $2,000 because of me. I was very proud. When we did a chart by pay, you could draw a clear line between men and women. All the men, including entry-level salesmen, were on the top of the list.
In 1974, you started working as a flight attendant for a major airline, which you did for 29 years. What was that like?
Being a flight attendant is not a job or a career — it’s a lifestyle. I found a pharmacy in Paris where movie stars purchase powder and makeup, Pharmacie LeClerc. When I would run out of a few things, I’d pick up a trip to Paris. When my daughter attended a semester at NYU in London, I flew to England for three months and laid over in Brighton to be with my girl. She got on a train and met me on the English Channel. For my daughter’s 10th birthday, I took her to Rome and Cairo. I could fly as much or as little as I wanted. It was a great job to have when raising a child. I loved being in the air.
In 1986, you went on strike against the airline for two years in order to get fair pay and benefits. Did other airline employees also go on strike?
Only flight attendants. Other employees stood by us for three days, until they were threatened with loss of job.
While you were on strike, you worked a number of odd jobs, including doing bagel inspections at grocery stores, serving at restaurants, and being a manager at a major financial company. What were those three years like for you?
Fascinating and frightening. I learned a great deal about myself. I had talents that I never knew I had. I became a survivor. I had to raise a child and pay a mortgage without a job. I started working in a restaurant, which was new to me. I decided that if this was what fate had to offer that the least I could do is be the best. I did this for a year. My bagel-inspection job lasted one week. I traveled all over the St. Louis area giving money to employees who pushed bagels. It was hysterical. Then I applied at [the financial institution] as a part-time loan officer selling relocation mortgages over the phone. When the airline recalled me three years later, I was by then a senior sales manager. I didn’t like corporate America, but I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. It was just another lesson.
So the airline then made the requisite changes, and you started working once again as a flight attendant. And then in April 2001, the airline was bought by another major airline company. This resulted in a layoff, and you lost your job. You were unemployed for a year while you applied to work for an investigations firm. The interview process and background check at the firm took six months. They finally told you that you were unqualified. You sent them a letter stating how much you actually were qualified. What did your letter say?
I wrote a two-page letter about my previous work and life experiences and how they had qualified me for the position. I reiterated my interest in the company and the position for which I was applying.
Then what happened?
They called me in and gave me a training date.
You’re not allowed to give specifics about your job duties as a special investigator, but can you tell me how it compares to being a flight attendant?
I am a special investigator at a private firm. The hours are extremely flexible. I can work any hours I want as long as I get the job done. It’s perfect for an ex-flight attendant, who thrives on spontaneity. I like the job because it’s extremely challenging and I consider it to be important work.
What advice do you have for young women who are trying to figure out what they want to do with their lives, careerwise?
Make a list with a line down the middle of the page. On one side list all the things you want in life, and in the other column list the jobs or circumstances that can get it for you. You can have anything you want as long as you know what it is. That’s the key. Then you set a goal and go for it. Just do it and don’t let anything stand in your way. Follow your dreams, live your passions, and go with your heart. Never be discouraged, and never give up.
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