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From Suffrage to the Senate America's Political Women: An Encyclopedia of Leaders, Causes & Issues

Bravo, Ellen (b. 1944)

Ellen Bravo served as executive director of 9to5, National Association of Working Women, from 1993 to 2004. In 1982, she and several other women had formed the Milwaukee chapter of 9to5. She became an advocate for flexible work schedules and family leave laws and gained regional and national attention as a spokesperson for workers’ rights.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Ellen Bravo earned her bachelor’s degree from Cornell University in 1968, studied at Cambridge University in England and McGill University in Canada, and earned her master’s degree in 1971. She taught women’s studies at several colleges. By 1981, Bravo was married, had two sons, and was working full-time. Her realization of the difficulties of simultaneously managing a home, a family, and a job led her to pursue a life of activism and join 9to5.

In 1992, Bravo co-authored The 9to5 Guide to Combating Sexual Harassment: Candid Advice from 9to5, the National Association of Working Women. The authors explained: “[Sexual harassment] is an exercise of power belonging in the same category of sexual behavior that includes assault and rape.”

In 1995, Bravo wrote The Job/Family Challenge: Not for Women Only, a guide for managing a job and parenthood that explains worker’s rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act, offers suggestions for finding quality child care, and includes strategies for convincing employers to implement policies sympathetic to families.

Since leaving 9to5, Bravo has directed Family Values @ Work Consortium, which advocates for policies that provide paid sick days and paid family leave.

See also: Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993; 9to5, National Association of Working Women; Sexual Harassment

References: “About Ellen,” http://www.ellenbravo.com/about_ellen.htm (accessed July 28, 2012); H. W. Wilson, Current Biography Yearbook, 1997 (1997); Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, August 31, 2004.

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
"Bravo, Ellen (b. 1944)." From Suffrage to the Senate America's Political Women: An Encyclopedia of Leaders, Causes & Issues, edited by Suzanne O’Dea, Salem Press, 2019. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=Suffrage3e_0111.
APA 7th
Bravo, Ellen (b. 1944). From Suffrage to the Senate America's Political Women: An Encyclopedia of Leaders, Causes & Issues, In S. O’Dea (Ed.), Salem Press, 2019. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=Suffrage3e_0111.
CMOS 17th
"Bravo, Ellen (b. 1944)." From Suffrage to the Senate America's Political Women: An Encyclopedia of Leaders, Causes & Issues, Edited by Suzanne O’Dea. Salem Press, 2019. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=Suffrage3e_0111.