Women At Work: 
Work History of Women in America

White Collar Employment

After the educational resources of universities and training colleges were available, women wasted no time moving into the white collar workforce. Although promotions for women were not readily accessible and men often treated them with a paternalistic attitude, they managed to hold a place of importance in offices and banks.

< The telephone companies often employed women as switchboard attendants and operators. It required a certain degree of training, which the company provided. Later companies such as the Southern New England Telecom offered a variety of actives for their female workers, including a basketball team.

Liberty Loan Office Staff,
Aetna Life Insurance Company,
Main Street
Hartford, 1917
Photo CD: 0533 File: Img0079.pcd

< The women working here might have attended a business college or may have had only high school educations with some training in typing or in secretarial work. The women in this picture account for over half of the office staff, illustrating their presence in the workforce.

Link to other essays in this Journey:

>> Introduction: Women At Work
>> Women on Farms
>> Factories and Unskilled Wage Labor
>> Church and Charities
>> Domestic Service
>> Women as Educators
>> Improved Educational Opportunities for Women
>> Women in War
>> Women in Music, Art, Literature

>> Guideposts
>> Suggestions for further reading