The Fight for Women’s Rights

Join Ann Curry as two women search for friends and colleagues who forged a path for equal rights. One of the first female commercial pilots wants to thank her mentor, and an advocate hopes to find the woman who inspired her to join a movement.

Former flight attendant, Lynn Rippelmeyer, tells of her passion for flying in the 1970s that propelled her ambition to become one of the first female commercial pilots in the USA.

Activist Zoe Nicholson describes her desire for equality between the sexes that drove her to take part in a 37-day hunger fast in 1982, in a campaign for women to be part of the US Constitution in the Equal Rights Amendment or ERA.

Former flight attendant Lynn Rippelmeyer describes the combination of sheer determination and luck that gave her the chance to become to a commercial pilot in the 1970s, at a time when many believed women were incapable of the job.

Pioneering female pilot Lynn Rippelmeyer delves into the Illinois Department of Transportation records to try to track down the female captain who inspired her own historic aviation career.