1998!!!! Heavens. And there are people (at least in my country) who want us to go back to that. It's actually a strong movement in the U.S.

I admire your courage insisting on your rights.

Thank you, but what was my choice? Accept in perpetuity a reduced wage, reduced position? That's what it was. It was a job that described limited function and prohibited promotion potential. What I am happy about is this: that job no longer existed after my threat. Every woman hired after me was given the full job description and promotion potential. Same thing with the classes. They fought me on that. But after I crossed that barrier, every woman after me was afforded the opportunity to attend the promotion-oriented class.

Returning to your blog, and your boiler man demanding a husband's signature: I'll go you one better. When I was about to have my second child I told the doctor I wanted my tubes tied. I'd had two caesarean sections and so I told her, while you're in there tie my tubes. She refused to do that unless my husband signed off on it!!! No time to sue, so I had to concede--concede autonomy over my body to my husband. You can't die on every hill.

Thanks for the feedback. I enjoyed that story. It was validating :)