Women in the Workplace

Agriculture is a centuries-long practiced way of life, and Hagley’s collections include information on the farming of crops, livestock, timber, and dairy.

Wawa, Inc., now known primarily for their hoagies, has its origins in the dairy industry, dating back to 1902. The Wood-Randolph family papers include personal correspondence from the family who would go on to establish the Wawa Dairy Farms in Pennsylvania. Images of these farms, some of which depict women working, can be viewed in the Digital Archives.  

Joseph H. Hanson (1820-1858) ran his farm near Delaware City, Delaware. His records include an account book for 1844-1858 noting operations and the employment of women as domestic workers who would occasionally complete farm work such as thinning corn or binding oats and wheat. 

On their farm near Wilmington, Delaware, the Forwood family grew crops, raised livestock, and produced timber. Hagley holds account books for the family spanning a century from 1790 to 1889, which note farm conditions and contain information on the workers, which include women.  

Keystone Mushroom Farm, established in 1917 in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, was one of the first commercial mushroom producers in the United States. Within Kaystone’s collection are financial records which hold information on employees, hours, wages, and occupations. Women were employed here, with more hired during World War II. Additionally, Hagley’s oral history collection contains interviews with women growers within the cultivated mushroom industry, such as Gale Ferranto (1969-), president of Buona Foods Incorporated. 

Even as women began to join the workforce in other sectors, factory work remained dominated by men. At first, women were hired in adjacent jobs, running operations such as boarding houses, laundry, and sewing services. As time progressed, women began to take on more direct roles in factory work. Many industries employed women including lead, hosiery, boot and shoe, pea canneries, power laundries, textiles, cigar and cigarette manufacturing, clothing, pottery, and bread baking, among others. 

Within Hagley’s collections, there are records relating to several types of manufacturing such as leather goods, helicopters, computers, chemicals, and dental equipment. Women were employed by companies such as Boeing-Vertol Company (helicopters), John B. Stetson Company (hats), Beech-Nut Packaging (food), Indiana Ordinance Works (explosives), and Sperry Corporation (computers). Many of these collections also contain photographs depicting women at work at these respective employers.  

In addition to creating materials, women were also employed to operate the fruits of the industrial labor in aviation as pilots and railways as conductors. Some women who worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad have shared their stories in oral history interviews. 

Despite how the trades are traditionally seen as “man’s work,” some women have taken on leadership roles within the industry such as Rebecca Lukens (1794-1854), who owned and managed Lukens Steel Company, an iron and steel mill in Coatesville, Pennsylvania.  

Two oral history collections that specifically relate to work within industrial sectors are Work and Daily Life in the Brandywine Valley and Interviews with Former Employees of DuPont Company’s Textile Fibers Department. These interviews capture the stories of those who contributed to the daily work of their companies. 

To better envision women in the trades, check out the Westinghouse Electric Corporation Steam Division photographs. 

Initially, clerical work was considered a job for men, but as businesses grew so did the amount of paperwork and with it, the need for more staff to handle the influx. As increased employment was needed after the American Civil War, companies often hired women due to their education level and wage expectations. In the 1870s, women were normally not encouraged to pursue higher education, making them qualified for office work. Also, due to workplace legislation, it was legal to pay women lower wages than men, making them ideal hires. The records held within Hagley’s collections document the gradual feminization of clerical work. 

The introduction of the typewriter, a gender-neutral machine, was instrumental in the establishment of women within an office setting. The Donald & Carolyn Hoke collection of typewriter advertising and ephemera and the Sperry Rand Corporation, Remington Rand Division records contain materials that demonstrate the advancement of typewriters and their cultural place within the world.  

Companies, such as J.E. Rhoads & Sons, Pennsylvania Power & Light Company, and E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, employed women in clerical positions, often with men as managers. Materials such as Services of the Du Pont Advertising Department give a glimpse into the variety of women’s roles in DuPont’s Advertising Department. 

Retail employees worked in brick-and-mortar locations such as department stores, but also sold products door-to-door. Women were employed in sales and clerical positions, as well as seamstresses and housekeepers. Similarly to clerical work, initially men dominated retail jobs, but with time, more women began to join the profession.  

The records of department stores such as James T. Mullin & Sons in West Chester, Pennsylvania, the Kennard-Pyle Company in Wilmington, Delaware, and Strawbridge & Clothier in Philadelphia contain materials documenting women employees. The Digital Archives has oral histories from employees of Strawbridge & Clothier, marketing materials, and the employee magazine Store Chat. 

Kay Brownlee (1912-1971) was an employee of B.F. Dewees department store in Philadelphia. Her papers contain documents involving store operations and the experiences of other women employees. 

Beyond department stores, Avon Products, Inc began as a sales and manufacturing “women’s company” and hired many women as sales representatives. Hagley holds a large collection which is popular for researchers of Avon products, advertisements, employees, sales, and company records. 

In the nineteenth century, formalized education became increasingly more common. The importance of education, especially for women, is stressed in this letter from the Bishop of Wilmington to the Reverends in the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington in 1930. 

The du Pont family has long standing beliefs concerning the importance of education. Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739-1817) was an advocate for a national education system. Hagley contains a book entitled Traité de l'éducation des femmes, et cours complet d'instruction (Treatise on the education of women, and complete course of instruction) which contains copious marginal notes from du Pont de Nemours.  

Women within the du Pont family were often educated at boarding schools such as Madame Rivardi’s female seminary, away from the familial home. Victorine du Pont Bauduy (1792-1861), Evelina du Pont Bidermann (1796-1863), and Eleuthera du Pont Smith (1806-1876) all received schooling, and their materials are in E.I. du Pont's daughters' papers. 

Bauduy, Smith, and Sophie M. du Pont (1810-1888), established the Brandywine Manufacturers Sunday School (BMSS), financed by Éleuthère Irénée du Pont (1771-1834) and located on his property, to serve the children of local manufacturing workers. The du Pont women were instrumental in running and maintaining the school for its students, both boys and girls.  

Victorine du Pont Kemble (1825-1887) and Emma Pauline du Pont (1827-1914) attended boarding school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Du Pont, Kemble, De Forest family correspondence contain letters from Victorine du Pont Kemble during her time at boarding school. 

Cornelia Meigs (1884-1973) attended Bryn Mawr College. Some of her yearbooks and other materials relating to her collegiate life can be found in the Meigs family papers. Alice Hamilton (1869-1970) was educated at the University of Michigan Medical School and served on the faculty of the Women’s Medical School of Northwestern University in Chicago and later, Harvard University. The Digital Archives hold a collection of her written work on her research in industrial toxicology. Grace Hopper (1906-1992), prominent computer scientist, was a student at Vassar College, where she later taught, and Yale University. Hopper worked for the Sperry Rand Corporation in the UNIVAC Division.  

The National Association of Manufacturer’s Education Department was formed in 1949 to aid students and teachers in achievement in academics through the intersection of industry and education. Catalyst’s collection includes publications surrounding the topic of education in relation to women. 

Throughout the development of women’s workplace employment, gender stereotypes became more apparent. Such perceptions are often reflected and defined by popular culture. From advertisements and publications to board games, items in Hagley’s collections provide insights into the attitudes surrounding what was deemed appropriate work for women during the eras in which they were created. 

The Hoke typewriter collection contains postcards of typists depicting some of the ways women in this profession were viewed. A few publications in the Digital Archives that illustrate expectations of women in the workplace include The Housewife’s Almanac, How to be a Super Secretary, and Memorandum on the Changing Role of the American Woman.  

What shall I be?: the exciting game of career girls, the 1971 board game, depicts career options of a teacher, ballerina, nurse, model, actress, and airline stewardess; while the 1968 boy's edition reveals potential careers of doctor, athlete, astronaut, scientist, engineer, and statesman. These differing career options show the distinction between what is seen as appropriate career goals for girls and boys, respectively. 

How women’s work is perceived within society has also been visible through its inclusion within the displays at the World’s Fairs of the past. The 1893 Chicago World’s Fair included a Women’s Building to display the accomplishments of women. This idea continued into the Women’s World Fair held in 1925 and 1926, which was proposed and executed by women to bring attention to women’s work and achievements.  

Where Are the Women? Identifying Resources on Working Women in Hagley’s Archive 

The Courier’s First Lady: Jessie Vann on Film 

Catalyst Collection Opens to Researchers 

Ding Dong! Avon Calling! The Women and Men of Avon Products Incorporated 

Escape from New York: How Urban Workers Relaxed in the 19th Century City 

Women in the Workforce 

A New Industrial Revolution: Womanpower, NAM, and the Labor Shortage During World War II 

The Changing Workplace: The Brownlee Papers/Dewees Department Store Collection 

We Think You’re Important: Big Business & the Movement with Emily Twarog 

A Summer Internship Processing Catalyst