Women at Work: Demolishing a Myth of the 1950's

About the Book

There is a persistent stereotype that during the 1950's American women had no choice but to be housewives. This book reports on a Survey of the women of Cornell University's Class of 1950 that demolishes this stereotype. Forty-four percent of these women chose to work or go to graduate school for five years or more during the 1950's. In their lifetimes, 71 percent worked 20 years or more; 38 percent, 30 years or more. This record is probably typical of college-educated women of this generation. This Survey should be a source for sociologists and historians studying this generation of women.

This book includes individual entries about the work experiences and other activities of 191— 56 percent— of the 344 women graduates in Cornell University's Class of 1950. Cornell women were routinely working a full decade before the women's movement of the 1960's. Five women became physicians; 11 became lawyers, and 22 earned Ph.D.'s or other doctoral degrees. Five were engineers; 13 became college professors; five were chairs of academic departments, and one was a dean.

This book also includes these Sections:

Why We Worked. Most of us expected to— and most of our parents expected us to— earn our own living until we married and started having children or if we remained single.

World War II Experiences. At least five women graduates in the Class served in the military during World War II and attended Cornell on the GI Bill. Still another woman was a Japanese prisoner-of-war.

Graduate Degrees Earned. At least 110 women— nearly a third of the Class— earned at least 134 advanced degrees.

Books Written. At least 17 women have written, edited, translated or otherwise produced at least 78 books.

Sex Discrimination. More than a third of the women reported that they had encountered sexual discrimination in the workplace, and a few have shocking tales to tell.

What our Families (and We) Thought. The majority of our husbands fully supported our working outside the home, and most of our children had positive or at least no negative feelings.

What our Mothers and Grandmothers Did and What our Daughters are Doing. Most of our mothers and even some of our grandmothers worked at least some at some point in their lives. The seeds of the women's movement of the 1960's were sown by the women of these earlier generations.