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In 1945, Ada Brown became the founder and first President of the earliest recognized flight attendant union, the Air Line Stewardess Association (ALSA). In 1947, Ada, at the age of 30, was let go from both her job and her position of the ALSA because she decided to marry. During a time when women could be dismissed from their jobs as flight attendants if they became pregnant, got married, or turned 36, the ALSA fought for women's rights to work. The ALSA helped to change the working conditions for female flight attendant professionals: American flight attendants are no longer bound by strict regulations monitoring their marital status, family status, or age. The ALSA exists now as the Association of Flight Attendants – CWA. Image: Photograph of Ada J. Brown, 1940. Gift of Georgia Nielsen. 2004.044.002
This image was posted on January 13, 2021.