Women's Forum Oral History Collection Interview Index

Janet Ellen Highman Allen was born in 1935 in Detroit, Michigan. Her father was a car dealer for Pontiac, and the family moved between Michigan, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. She earned a degree in math from Bucknell University. Allen worked as a computer programmer for RCA, MIT, Pioneer, and IBM. She became involved in gender activism and the ERA movement in the mid-1970s when while working for IBM, she wished to find activities to do outside of work. She joined the National Organization for Women (NOW) and Business and Professional Women (BPW). Allen didn’t see the need for the ERA at first, thinking that traditional legislation would be enough, but changed her opinion after attending the ERA march in Washington in 1976 and finding out one of her representatives in Congress did not support the amendment. Allen helped train lobbyists for the amendment on non-confrontational behavior when they spoke to the opposition. Along with her involvement in BPW and NOW, Allen was also a cofounder of Lillian’s List, an organization dedicated to helping get women in elected offices. On September 3, 2015, the mayor of Chapel Hill named the day in Allen’s honor for her 80th birthday.