GLENDALE, Mo. — 8-year-old Zoe Pinaire was about to start a day of learning, but little did she know, she was about to teach a lesson herself.
As she was walking to her Glendale school last May, she came across a ‘Men Working’ sign.
“MEN working? Not fair,” she thought. So, the young girl got to work going directly to Glendale City Hall.
Dear Mr. Wilcox,
When I was walking to school, I saw this sign that said ‘Men Working’ and I thought women should be treated fairly.
From,
Zoe Pinaire
When the mayor of Glendale received Zoe’s snail mail, he acted quickly, contacting the external construction crew working for Missouri American Water.
The construction crew took Zoe’s letter up the chain of command. It was really getting some attention now – making it in the hands of Missouri American Water Director of Engineering, Rebecca Losli.
Rebecca said, “I thought that for years, frankly, as a female in engineering. I’ve often wondered, why do we have so many gender specific signs in the utility industry?”
Missouri American Water says they already made the switch for their own team but will now urge all contractors they hire to do jobs to use gender neutral signs, as well.
That means out with the old ‘Men Working’ signs, and in with the new ‘Utility Work Ahead’ signs.
But the story doesn’t end there. This little letter from this little girl kept making its way up the big old ladder – all the way to Missouri American Water’s president, who also happens to be a woman, Debbie Dewey. She loved the story and was so supportive of eliminating all gender specific signs. It has also been elevated to the corporate level.
So, in the future, if you don’t notice anymore ‘Men Working’ signs, you can think of 8-year-old Zoe Pinaire from Glendale, Missouri who picked up a pencil and decided she could be the one to erase them.
Sometimes, the things you don’t see are because of someone who decided to make a difference.