It's a Better Time Than Ever to Be a Woman — Just Ask Trainer Jeanette Jenkins

It's a great time to be a woman. While the glass ceiling may not be fully shattered, we've put some serious cracks in it — just ask Jeanette Jenkins, who, at the start of her career 25 years ago, would be hard-pressed to see a single woman on the weight floor at the gym. Jeanette is not only a personal trainer to some of Hollywood's most powerful women (like Alicia Keys and Pink), but she's also the CEO of her own company, Hollywood Trainer. Talk about a strong woman!

"When I first stepped into a weight room 25 years ago, there were no women in that weight room. Two percent of the gym population would be female; girls were only in the aerobics studio. Women would not go out on the weight floor," she told POPSUGAR. "That was the beginning of the Jane Fonda era. If they were a woman working out, they were lifting two-pound weights and doing Jazzercise. There were no female trainers back then!"

It's crazy to think that less than three decades ago, so much was so different for women. Fun (but sad) fact: women couldn't even compete in Olympic marathons until recently. "Thinking back, I was on this panel with the first woman who ever ran a marathon in the Olympics [Joan Benoit Samuelson]," said Jeanette. "We weren't allowed to run that distance! If you can believe it, it wasn't until 1984 when women were even allowed." She expanded on this, saying, "Even at the beginning of my time [as a fitness professional], there was no WNBA, women's professional soccer hadn't started yet . . . so to see so many women in sports, and in health and fitness . . . it's amazing."

We've come a long way, ladies. And although there's more work to do, have hope. "I think it's an incredible time to be a woman because of the fact that society is allowing us to be whatever we want," she said. And that extends far beyond our workouts! "It was really only 100 years ago when we weren't considered citizens . . . when we couldn't vote. Now we're the CEOs of our own companies. A lot of times now, we're in the leadership role mentoring the men."

"I feel like the women who came before us have shattered a lot of ceilings . . . and I know we still have to work hard to get equal pay, but there are so many incredible women, from Hillary Clinton down, who have been carrying the torch for women and for equal rights."

She had an awesome reminder, and gave us some perspective (which made us feel especially grateful). "As American women, we are so lucky," she said. "There are still several countries where women are not allowed or encouraged to exercise, to work out, to play sports! We're still fighting for women to play sports! We're fighting for women to even be recognized . . . there are still countries where women aren't allowed to vote. It's an incredible time to be an American woman, and we still have a lot of work to do to help bring equal rights to women around the rest of the world. We can't forget that. We have to keep leading the way so that the rest of the world will follow suit."