On August 26th, the United States will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 19th constitutional Amendment, which gave women the right to vote.

Efforts on behalf of women’s suffrage—or the right to vote—date back to the 1800s, but the push in the early 1900s really helped bring this amendment to fruition. The 19th amendment was officially adopted on August 26, 1920.

It states:

“The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”

This year, POD Print proudly commemorates 100 years of women’s right to vote. Women everywhere have continued the fight for equality in other arenas, including business. POD Print opened its doors in 1978 with a female co-owner, and we currently have a female operations manager. We talked with them about their careers in the traditionally male-dominated print industry.

Traci, our operations manager, said, “I was in the front office in a pre-press house when I first started in printing. Men would walk in and ask to speak to someone who knew what they were talking about—a man. They didn’t want to talk to a woman in this industry.”

Grace, POD Print’s owner, added, “In the past, I had to really watch what I wore, dressing very conservatively and plain. I still got offensive comments, but I just ignored them. You had to let stuff like that go back then.”

Regarding her path to success, Traci said, “I learned everything I could. I kept my head down and made myself so necessary that when I left on maternity leave, they were calling me all the time. They’d never had a female customer service representative, but when I returned they offered me a promotion to customer service.”

“When Grace would walk around our shop,” Traci said, “she came in as a whirlwind, and when she talked, everyone paid attention. Know what you want and let everyone know, that’s how you succeed. Don’t take no for an answer.”

When asked if they had any fun anecdotes to share, Grace mentioned one story. “A long time ago, once I made a sales presentation and had just bought a very cute new pink suit. During the presentation I thought I was doing great! They were so focused on me! Then when I walked out, I found price tags stapled on each sleeve. Not my finest moment, but I had their full attention!”

They both also shared their pride in being able to proclaim POD Print as a woman-owned business, with a woman in the operations management position as well.

“When I first started, there was definitely a glass ceiling,” Grace, said. “When I would call on a large company, I would pretend to be a sales representative rather than the owner, because many looked down upon a woman-owned business. Now, I can proudly proclaim it.”