Ridder Embodies “Renaissance Women”

On Sept. 29, the Women’s and Gender Studies Program and Chellis House, sponsored a talk with former journalist Marie Ridder titled “The Making of a Renaissance Woman.” Ridder came to Chellis House as part of the “Lunchtime Lecture” series.

“The Chellis House lunchtime lecture series provides an intimate framework where audience members can interact with speakers on a very direct level,” said Karin Hanta, director of Chellis House. “Marie Ridder’s talk was designed to stimulate intergenerational dialogue and provide a window into how a professional journalist and political activist achieved success during a time in which the glass ceiling was pressing down very hard on women.”

A renaissance woman is a woman who has acquired profound knowledge or proficiency in more than one field, and Marie Ridder certainly fits this description. Ridder was formerly a Washington correspondent for the Ridder and Knight Ridder newspapers as well as a Washington editor for Vogue, Mademoiselle and Glamour magazines. She was also deputy to the national director of Project Head Start and now serves on the Executive Committee of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Ridder is retired from her journalism career, but remains involved in politics as a current member of the Word Wildlife Fund Council, the American Farmland Trust Council, and the Brookings Institute Council.

In her talk, Marie Ridder shared how she always knew she wanted to be a journalist. In 1938, at the age of 12, Ridder became a copygirl for the English newspaper her grandfather owned in Japan, and from that point forward, Ridder was on the path to becoming an accomplished journalist.

“It never occurred to me to do anything else,” Ridder said.

Even as a senior in high school, Ridder was offered the position of reporter for her local newspaper. As a student at Bryn Mawr College, Ridder was the editor of the campus newspaper and also wrote a column for the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. Ridder attributed many of her accomplishments to luck and circumstance.

“These opportunities wouldn’t have occurred if there wasn’t a war going on, causing a shortage of men,” Ridder said. “You have to understand how devoid of bodies these people were.”

Students were struck by Ridder’s attention to her particular circumstances.

“[This point of the talk] made me think about how much each of our lives are subject to the particular circumstances we find ourselves in at any given moment, and how much effect external events can have even on the lives of individual people,” said Sarah Cohen ’12.

Ridder’s friend Wendy Morgan, an activist who has worked with Planned Parenthood, would not let Ridder be too modest about her achievements.

“With or without a war, [Ridder] is audacious, and she is always looking for an opportunity to get out there and do something great,” said Morgan.

Ridder described the dynamics of the news industry and how although newsrooms are a place where women have successfully advanced, women still face many challenges.

“So much of my luck came with wartime, but there still existed a glass ceiling,” said Ridder.  Ridder spoke of women she knew who deserved to be lead editorss, but who were kept as staff writers while the positions were instead given to men.

Ridder also spoke about her involvement with environmental issues and her current projects, such a protecting a parcel of wilderness by the Potomac River, testifying against the reopening of old power plants in the Ohio Valley that will affect the health of the nearby national park and the Smoky Mountains and working to preserve the last pristine beach in the Chesapeake Bay Area, which is an important piece of land for migratory birds.

Students responded positively to the stories Ridder told.

“I thought Marie Ridder’s talk was really interesting — it was great to hear from a woman who covered such important stories and went on to have such an impact through her work with Head Start,” said Sarah Harris ’11. “She was certainly a trailblazer and really set a precedent for women wanting to do serious journalism.”

The diversity of Ridder’s pursuits also proved impressive.

“I was most impressed by what an accomplished and varied career Marie Ridder pursued throughout her life,” said Cohen ’12. “It seemed that she was interested in so many activities and found a way to enact meaningful change in a variety of different areas she was passionate about.”

When asked to give advice to aspiring journalists, Ridder emphasized real world experience over continued schooling.

“I personally believe ‘doing’ is more important than going to more school,” said Ridder.  “And don’t be afraid to enter at the bottom. We all did.”

She was also honest in saying that the newspaper business is in bad shape and that serious journalism may be in trouble. However, Ridder did acknowledge that she sees a future in small papers, which seem to be in economic ascendance.

Despite this discouraging point about the future of print communications, students left motivated by Ridder’s talk.

“She is clearly a women who has lived a life full of adventure, and it was inspiring to meet someone who has accomplished so much in her life and still isn’t slowing down,” said Cohen ’12.  “She’s someone who was never afraid of a challenge or having to work hard to get what she wanted, an admirable trait that I believe applies to us, as the younger generation just beginning to venture out into the real world to pursue our own passions and dreams.”