Women at Work in the 1950’s More women were in the workforce in 1952 than
there were during the war
The typical woman worker was no longer young and single
She was over 35 and married
Between 1940 and 1960 the number of working mothers quadrupled
Men generally earned twice as much as women
Women were still viewed as supplemental workers
Gendered job classification was part of every level of the economy
Gendered Job Classification
75% of women were relegated to female only jobs
Gendered job classification was part of every level of the economy
Women were least likely to get jobs that involved travel, risk, high profits, machinery, and negotiations
And the most important they were denied positions of power
Women’s Reduced Expectations
In 1950 women's average earnings or 65% of men's
By 1960 they fell to less than 60%
Few saw anything wrong with the dual pay system
Because…women didn't “need” to earn as much money as men
Many businesses placed salary caps on women
Women were expected to be better educated than men for lesser Jobs
Diminished Respect Middle aged women with grown children were called
girls in the office
Every Moment they received oversight
"If you got it from your desk you were told to sit down. If you looked around, you were told not to talk. If you went to the ladies room too many times, they tell you.”
It was generally assumed that management was always male
Expendable Office Workers
Efficiency expert's advised companies to standardize jobs in the 1950s
This effectively made office work much like factory work
Computer automation made women's work more routine
All of this standardization allowed for companies to easily replace their office women’s workforce
The expendability of women office workers further diminished their ability to negotiate and advance
PERSONAL Secretaries
Personal Secretaries were often expected to do just as much personal work and company work
That meant getting coffee, dusting his desk, reminding him of appointments, balancing his checkbook, shopping for Christmas gifts, remembering his children's birthdays
Sexual harassment and exploitation of secretaries was widespread
Workplace Sex Appeal
Employment agencies used secret code systems to rate female applicants based on their appearance and style
Often times an older woman's experience counted for less than a younger woman's attractiveness
Looking good and seeming available to male patrons was often the key to success in the service industry
In 1962 a poll said that 28% of businesses acknowledged that they considered sex appeal a qualification for some jobs
The airline industry became notorious for hiring for sex appeal
Stewardesses
Stewardesses were required by airlines to be single, young, thin and pretty
Airline executives said they had to appeal to businessmen, the primary airline customers.
Most airlines terminated or grounded their flight attendants if they got married or once the women reached age 32 or age 35.
"We'd go through a whole week of make-up and poise. They make you feel like you've never been out in public. They showed you how to smoke a cigarette, how to look at a man's eyes.”
Double Shifts & Family Life
It was a given that women workers were expected to continue the domestic work as well
Before and after factory or office hours they cooked, cleaned, shopped, and took care of children
Women were told by experts, their husbands, and their employers that their most important role was that of a wife and mother
Within working class family dynamics often times the husbands only way to assert authority was over his wives and children
In many blue color homes men had the exclusive right to make any and all important decisions
Career Women
Married women doctors, lawyers, college teachers, journalists, and social workers usually sought personal fulfillment in their work
They challenged the idea that family life offered every woman all the fulfillment she would need
American society had no room for women who wanted to combine the role of wife/mother and career
These professional women could expect little or no help from their employers, coworkers, husbands, or even friends and relatives
In job interviews they were asked to explain how they would care for their children
Career Women were often accused of demeaning their husbands by earning their own income