Posted on: Sunday, March 24, 2002

Women making mark in society

Associated Press

Back when political analyst Dee Dee Myers was in grade school, her teacher asked her and her class to draw what they wanted to be when they grew up. Myers thought then that she could be only a nurse, nun or teacher.

This is just one example of how the women in Linda Ellerbee's new TV special, "When I Was a Girl," felt their choices for the future were limited. The show, scheduled to air March 31 on the WE: Women's Entertainment network, will feature successful women such as actresses Candice Bergen and Edie Falco, and athlete Lisa Leslie.

Researchers have found that many girls start to lose their zeal around the age of 11, just as they enter junior high school. It is at this critical age, they say, that girls need to be reminded of their potential to succeed.

Ellerbee says that although things are better for girls now than they were 20 years ago, there is still a long way to go. While laws have been cleaned up to give girls access to areas such as sports, education and finance, Ellerbee says she thinks changing society's mind is going to be a longer and slower process. "It's a more insidious struggle now," she says.