Carole De Saram

Carole De Saram (born February 27, 1939) is an American feminist and women's rights activist. She is the former president of the New York chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW). She was an advocate for women's equality through intersectionality with economics.

Early life and education De Saram was born on February 27, 1939, in Queens, New York. She attended Grover Cleveland High School in Queens.

Career Wall Street After earning her bachelor's degree, De Saram moved to Tribeca to work as a computer analyst at Chemical Bank, and was later appointed as the bank's Assistant Vice President

Women's movement De Saram's first protest occurred in 1964, when she sent a full-page letter to Procter & Gamble stating disapproval of an advertisement for Tide and that she would try another brand. In response, she received a full-page letter reply and the company pulled the ad.

In 1971, De Saram and other members of NOW New York engaged in a zap action when they snuck into the American Stock Exchange, under the guise of a garden club. Once admitted, she and her protest partners held up a banner reading "Woman Power," where each letter matched the size of the balcony windows. They yelled "We can't bear any more bull!" The Stock Exchange essentially shut down, as the brokers stopped their work to boo the protestors. De Saram and her protest partners had previously arranged for a van to drive around Wall Street calling out "Women have taken over Wall Street!" As the protesters left the Stock Exchanged, they marched to the Treasury steps. As a result, many gathered to see the protestors. Upon seeing this, the bank president shut the doors and made all women line up in order to close accounts. De Saram and female protestors held banners outside the bank which was caught on film and used in a movie. As a result of NOW's pressure, Citibank changed their terminology around women and actively campaigned directly to women. De Saram helped form the Tribeca Community Association (for which she also served as vice president) as well as the Committee for the Washington Market Historic District.

Personal life De Saram is married to Raymond Erickson, a musician and scholar. She has two children, Lisa and Douglas.