Women often fall victim to stereotypes, especially within the working world. But, women right here in the Big Country don't let their gender stop them from anything. Rayetta Dorman, maintenance at the Abilene Zoo says,"The only thing a man can do that i can't do is stand up and pee."
A real go-getter, Dorman adds,"All my life, I grew up on a farm and we couldn't afford to get it done...so we had to do it ourself."
Pamela Goodrich, an expert in auto parts, says it's her sex that pushed her that much harder to be the best.
Goodrich works for O'Reilly's Auto Parts says she didn't always think this would be her field of work, "When I got out of school, I thought about going to beauty college and which I did. I took nine months of it. But I still worked part time for my dad. It just didn't have that same kind of thrill in it."
But they all admit that gaining respect in their fields of work didn't come by easy.
While they feel they've had to overcome several challenges being a female in stereotypical masculine roles. Hartmann, involved in racecar building and distributing, feels being a woman has actually been an advantage.
Dianna Hartmann says,"A lot of the men in this industry; a lot of the racers are very courteous to females."
But she still recognizes that even though in her automotive atmosphere she's safe, outside there's still sexism,"The one thing I really hate is when you ask somebody to look at your car and they're not going to make you as good of a deal as they would if it were my husband."
These Big Country women are all about breaking stereotypes and our role models within our community; demonstrating that their sex doesn't limit them to what profession they can be in.
