What Glass Ceiling?

Never underestimate what you can do in life
Patricia Evans 1927-2022

Newnham’s colourful bird’s-eye descriptions of Sydney’s city streets create tantalising images. We ‘see’ Patricia arrive to brief company board members wearing her smart two-piece and heels (she had done some modelling in her twenties, so she knew how to enter a room), carrying ledgers, pencils, and paper in hand, confident of her skills. One gets the sense that Patricia is undeterred by the social norms of the times, entering this male-dominated field expecting full access.
What Glass Ceiling? is a ‘must-read’ for daughters of today’s generation as they evaluate how to ‘do it all.' They would learn a great deal about one woman’s unintended leadership shaping a fulfilling career just ‘by doing’ at a time when it was often exclaimed: “Ladies, just don’t do that!”
Karen Kentwell, writer

I have just finished reading What Glass Ceiling?. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. What a mammoth task you took on and accomplished, Suzanne. All that research and details. I was very impressed. I could relate to so much of your mother's story. The settings, the history etc. You should be very proud. A great read and a lovely tribute to your mother.
Judy Turner, author

What Glass Ceiling?
Patricia Julianne Evans (nee Morris)
a memoir

In 2021, for BORAL's 75th anniversary 93-year-old Patricia Evans/Morris is featured on the promotional poster which was given to all Boral employees; on 8th March Patricia was recognised for International Women's Day; and in May she was guest speaker for their Women's Leadership Group. On the day of her online talk a number of women and men employees gathered to hear this inspiring remarkable woman speak of her experiences and memories pioneering executive roles for women in the company.

The story of Patricia Evans' memories of life: how her determination and independence developed, to gaining her certification as a Federal Accountant in 1948 and entering the male-dominated executive world. In 1949 21-year-old Patricia Morris was the first female accountant employed by Bitumen and Oil Refineries (Australia) Limited (BORAL).
In 1956 married and a mother, Patricia achieved certification as a Chartered Secretary at a time when lifting of the Australian Marriage Bar to married women working in many areas of employment was still a decade away. In 1968, Patricia secured the first of many family-friendly workplace inclusions in her employment contracts.

Throughout her life Patricia has been recognised as an inspiration to others to achieve their goals.

“ Suzanne, your memoir took me on a trip down memory lane. First, Palings when I was young was a building that I frequented from time to time. I was a boarder at Loreto and often times we were allowed to have a movie at the school. We had to collect the reels from Palings where we hired the reels and return them when we finished. Also used to purchase sheet music from there on occasions. Miss Tess Sculley taught us ball-room dancing at school, she was quite elderly [in the 1950s]. The other connection I had with Palings was our next door neighbour had a studio at Palings where he used to teach elocution and speech therapy. His wife was a Maths teacher at Fort St Public School. I remember the lift in the building had a chain in the corner by which you had to start the lift on its upward journey - very frightening I recall riding in that lift. I frequented some of the haunts you speak of in the Memoir. Mark Foys and Anthony Horderns, I remember the tree and the slogan while I live I grow and a drawing in green of the tree was on the front of all their delivery trucks. The Olympic pool, Luna Park and many other land marks came to mind while reading the Memoir What Glass Ceiling?
Verona