She successfully fought the industry-wide practice that fired stewardesses once they reached the age of 32, citing gender discrimination when compared to male pilots.
Roads pushed for the Airline Stewards and Stewardesses Association (ALSSA) union to fight this rule on the grounds of gender discrimination.
[6] Roads continued the fight into the 1960s and regularly lobbied politicians and celebrities during flights, including then-Vice President Richard Nixon.
[7] After the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Roads joined with other flight attendants to file the first anti-discrimination complaint in the United States.
[6] In 2017, Roads was honored as a "Trailblazing Woman in Labor and Business" by the National Women's History Project for her work fighting gender discrimination within the airline industry.