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I’m Eloise Gore and I’m Associate Bureau Chief in the Media Bureau here at the FCC.
I’ve only, only been at the FCC for a little over 13 years, but I’ve been in the government
as a regulatory attorney since I got out of law school, which was in 1979. And I actually
started as an intern in 1978, which was a very long time ago. And I’ve been in a lot
of different parts of the government.
Most recently I was very involved with the digital television transition.
In those years in the middle, late seventies, the government was one of the places that
women could go, because the government was much more accepting of women, as attorneys,
as other kinds of professionals, than the private sector was. And so it wa s a very
very good place. So it would frequently be the case that those of us who were in the
government would be in negotiations with outside law firms, and they would be all these men
in suits, and we would be the only ones that had women. And it was interesting to watch
the evolution over time as you started to see women and faces of color on the other
side of the table, because it started out that the only diversity you would see was
on our side of the table, the government side. And it finally worked into the private sector,
so that was a very interesting thing to see. So when I think about Women’s History Month,
I think about that kind of history that I lived, and I also think about the generation
of women that came before me and the half generation before me, because they were the
real pioneers, they were the pioneers when they came into the government, and there weren’t
any women in government.
It was an interesting dynamic because at that time we still had some, well let me just call
them Neanderthals on the government side too, who were like, “well what are these girls
doing here?” So you had a little bit of that. I can remember a few people I won’t
name, who probably aren’t around anymore, who were that way. But for the most part it
was very supportive, and the people on the other side would start oout thinking like,
“there, there little girl – not to worry” – and then of course we kept surprising
them, because we were pretty good. So, it was difficult, but it was challenging, and
it was in a good way.
There were some women, particularly from the earlier generations of women in government
who I think felt, understandably so, that hey had to be like men. And that was hard,
maybe that was different from their personality, or maybe it was exactly their personality,
but they felt like, well I can’t be the way I really want to be, because if I don’t
show that I’m tough then people won’t take me seriously, or won’t follow what
I’m doing. I think now there is a greater opportunity for women to be themselves, and
if they feel like being nurturing, or softer, or more patient then they can be without being
considering too soft or unable to lead. I’ve certainly seen a lot of women in very significant
roles here who have just been remarkable leaders.
But I must not that we have not had a woman as chairman of the federal trade –er- the
Federal Communications Commission. We have had several women for the FTC where I used
to be, but it’s still something ahead of us here at the FCC and I think it’s getting
I’ve been very fortunate and I have not really had any problems throughout my whole
30 plus year career that I would attribute to being a woman. One of the things that I
see that I think is very good is women who want to have families, who want to have children,
are very supported, particularly by the government. Again, that was something the government did
first, to allow women to go and be a mother and have day care, so that they could come
back and have their children near them, and work part time, job share. The women that
I admire the most are the women who are able to have that balance with the family. I chose
not to have children, but, I respect childrearing as really the most important job, and so when
I see women who are able to have a wonderful, close, consistent relationship with their
children, and also be very effective here, particularly as managers, truthfully I don’t
know how they do it, but I’m filled with admiration.
The other thing that’s been most interesting to see is the role of men as fathers and paternity
leave. So that the women can come back to work and the men can stay home with the children.
And that’s a very supportive kind of thing.
My immediate past boss, Monica Desai, who was the head of the Media Bureau during the
DTV transition, and she is really the exemplar of the kind of woman who can juggle having
not only children, but two rather young children, and she took care of them and she also worked
24 hours a day as far as I could tell. So she was doing everything. She managed to pack
48 hours in a 24 hour day. I don’t know how she did it. And she remained calm, and
nice and pleasant and supportive to us and to her staff, and so I have to say that I
admire her. And of course I admire my mother. My mom is just amazing, she’s 90 now, she’s
better on the computer than I qam. She’s very active in volunteer work. She worked
with my father in an advertising agency the whole time I was grow9ing up. She’s very
creative and very adaptable – drives a sports car in New York City and she’s a phenomenal
woman. So you have to just think about her, she’s just great, so that’s my mom, Gerry
Gore.
What I’m proud of is that I never felt like there was anything that I couldn’t do because
I was a girl, a lady, a woman. You know, I always felt like everything was possible.
And I think it’s very good to be able to convey that, and I really do see that with
the women, the young women and the older women around me.
I think that the government has been good for women, and women have been good for the
government.