How ‘Mad Men’ Addressed 21st Century Gender Parity in a 1960s Workplace

As the popular series “Mad Men” draws to a close, Working Mother magazine reveals how the creator, Matthew Weiner, used the show to address 21st century workplace equality in a show about the 1960s.

Weiner decided to have a character be a divorced, working mother, which was somewhat unusual for the time period. More unusual is that he had “Joan Holloway” start as a secretary and work her way up the corporate ladder to become a partner, something he said, Joan never would have anticipated in that era. He considers this character a “pioneer.”

Weiner said part of the reason he did the show was to show that the 1960s female employees “held the door open” for others to follow on the way to parity in the workplace.

And speaking of parity, Weiner said he did not write characters to male and female stereotypes, nor did he give characters “gender-specific behavior.” Perhaps that is what makes this show unique.

And Weiner walks his talk. When January Jones, who plays character Betty Draper, became pregnant, Weiner made sure writers wrote ahead so scenes could be filmed out of order, and Jones could have a maternity leave, which her character probably could not have had in those circumstances.