Consumer Critique: Breaking Down the Walls

Disclosure: I received complimentary products to facilitate this post. All opinions are my own.

If you enjoy stories about ground-breaking women, you'll be very interested in Breaking Down the Walls by Norma Yaeger. The book details her struggles to make it in a world dominated by men, as a female insurance agent and later a stockbroker, the first female trader on the floor of the NYSE. She constantly ran up against discrimination from colleagues, family members, and acquaintances, without solid support from very many. Yet she worked hard with integrity to earn the respect she deserved, and went a long way towards bringing equality to women in the workplace everywhere. 

My favorite scenes from the book were the scene where she was asked how she wanted to be paid (apparently there was no "female pay scale" except the secretaries) and when the NYSE was reluctant to let her on because there were no "women's lounges." There are parts of the book that are hard to read because of her struggles, and parts of the book that are still things women struggle with today. Overall it's a great look at a strong female pioneer.