On June 14, 1963 President John F. Kennedy met with the editors of seven major women’s magazines to answer questions about “topics the editors felt of greatest concern to their readers, predominantly women,” as the Associated Press reported.
The editors, however, weren’t predominantly women, or even close. In keeping with the custom of the day, in which women’s magazines were typically run by men and nobody in the industry seems to have thought twice about it, the guest list featured:
- John Mack Carter and Mary Harvey, McCall’s
- Robert Stein, Redbook
- Robert Jones, Family Circle
- Robert Atherton, Cosmopolitan
- Wade Nichols and Ray Robinson, Good Housekeeping
- Robert S. Cramer and Mary Buchanan, Parent’s
- Eileen Tighe, Woman’s Day
In other words, seven men and three women.
The magazines, which were said to reach a collective 34 million readers, planned to publish stories on their interviews with the president in their November issues.
To coincide with the articles, Kennedy released a “Statement by the President to American Women Concerning Their Role in Securing World Peace” on Nov. 1.
“I have been asked how women can best translate their concern into effective participation toward preserving peace. As a first step, there is no substitute for information. While the issues may be complex, they are not beyond the understanding of any intelligent person who takes the time to study them,” he reassured the women of 1963. (You can read the whole statement here.)
On Nov. 20, in a speech to Minneapolis advertisers, editor Stein hailed the Kennedy interview, as well as the recent formation of the American Society of Magazine Editors, as breakthroughs in cooperation among magazines.
“For the first time in history, editors have recognized their common goals and purposes and have gotten together to advance them,” he said.
Kennedy, of course, died two days later in Dallas.
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