"I refuse to accept age limits when it comes to my wardrobe or anyone else's. Yes, I am eligible for AARP, but I do not want to look like the accepted and prescribed cultural version of an older woman — the mythical old witch who lives in a shoe."

Her eye is on the future, one that has gender parity. One of the reasons Pearson is so hopeful is her 13-year-old daughter, Eloise. Her daughter explained to her mother recently that on the school playground, some boys in her class made a rude comment. “And these girls turned around and roared,” Pearson says. And then they went to their teacher to propose a student-led conference with the theme, “Objectifying Women and Believing in Feminism.” The future is bright in part because of this next generation, she says. Because the bias, discrimination and invisibility of women in the workplace have gone on long enough.