Barclays Bank DCO – Water Street Head Office – Georgetown – British Guiana – Circa 1950s
In Chapter Eleven of my work in progress, I share my experience of entering a male-dominated workforce at the age of eighteen years. It's the period October 1969 to December 1970. The term "sexual harassment" was not yet in use to describe male sexual overtones and intimidation in the workplace. According to a Wikipedia article, the term was first used in May 1975.
In November 1969, while I entered a new phase in my life as a young woman, hundreds of thousands of protestors took to the streets across America to call for an end to the Vietnam War. In the United Kingdom, John Lennon of The Beatles rock band returned his MBE medal in protest to the British government's support of the war. Richard Nixon's inauguration as President of the United States in January 1970 eventually brought a withdrawal of all US troops in 1973.
On February 23, 1970, Guyana became the first Republic in the Commonwealth Caribbean. The country's official name is the 'Cooperative Republic of Guyana.' Queen Elizabeth II, the Head of the British Commonwealth, entered her eighteenth year on the throne. Later in the year, Sir Edward Heath replaced Harold Wilson as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
On Guyana's radio waves, Peter, Paul and Mary were "Leaving on a Jet Plane." Simon & Garfunkel offered us a "Bridge Over Troubled Waters," while The Beatles urged that we "Let It Be." The Jamaican reggae artist Bob Marley & the Wailers released their first album "Soul Rebels."
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