Thursday, February 21, 2008

1943 Guide to Hiring Women

I had to share this!

1943 guide to hiring women

If you can't read the above, here's the text:
1943 Guide to Hiring Women
The following is an excerpt from the July 1943 issue of Transportation Magazine. This was written for male supervisors of women in the work force during World War II.

"Eleven Tips on Getting More Efficiency Out of Women Employees: There's no longer any question whether transit companies should hire women for jobs formerly held by men. The draft and manpower shortage has settled that point. The important things now are to select the most efficient women available and how to use them to the best advantage.

Here are eleven helpful tips on the subject from Western Properties:

1. Pick young married women. They usually have more of a sense of responsibility than their unmarried sisters, they're less likely to be flirtatious, they need the work or they wouldn't be doing it, they still have the pep and interest to work hard and to deal with the public efficiently.

2. When you have to use older women, try to get ones who have worked outside the home at some time in their lives. Older women who have never contacted the public have a hard time adapting themselves and are inclined to be cantankerous and fussy. It's always well to impress upon older women the importance of friendliness and courtesy.

3. General experience indicates that "husky" girls - those who are just a little on the heavy side - are more even tempered and efficient than their underweight sisters.

4. Retain a physician to give each woman you hire a special physical examination - one covering female conditions. This step not only protects the property against the possibilities of lawsuit, but reveals whether the employee-to-be has any female weaknesses which would make her mentally or physically unfit for the job.

5. Stress at the outset the importance of time the fact that a minute or two lost here and there makes serious inroads on schedules. Until this point is gotten across, service is likely to be slowed up.

6. Give the female employee a definite day-long schedule of duties so that they'll keep busy without bothering the management for instructions every few minutes. Numerous properties say that women make excellent workers when they have their jobs cut out for them, but that they lack initiative in finding work themselves.

7. Whenever possible, let the inside employee change from one job to another at some time during the day. Women are inclined to be less nervous and happier with change.

8. Give every girl an adequate number of rest periods during the day. You have to make some allowances for feminine psychology. A girl has more confidence and is more efficient if she can keep her hair tidied, apply fresh lipstick and wash her hands several times a day.

9. Be tactful when issuing instructions or in making criticisms. Women are often sensitive; they can't shrug off harsh words the way men do. Never ridicule a woman - it breaks her spirit and cuts off her efficiency.

10. Be reasonably considerate about using strong language around women. Even though a girl's husband or father may swear vociferously, she'll grow to dislike a place of business where she hears too much of this.

11. Get enough size variety in operator's uniforms so that each girl can have a proper fit. This point can't be stressed too much in keeping women happy."



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27 Comments:

  1. Mimi - Image Beads said...
    OMG! those were some backward times.
    idyll hands said...
    Haha - this has left me in tears. So funny.

    "3. General experience indicates that "husky" girls - those who are just a little on the heavy side - are more even tempered and efficient than their underweight sisters."

    Just a little on the heavy side, mind you. Those of us who are huggable perhaps? *reconsiders staying in jazzercise*
    Anonymous said...
    This is so true. Very good information
    Anonymous said...
    Written so long ago, yet still so relevant today!
    Anonymous said...
    Try those helpful recommendations at the place I work and the women will chew really big pieces out of your ass for making the suggestion.

    I'm actually annoyed at the shameless ignorance and contempt of this text towards women. What idiot came up with the idea of discarding half of the species as mentally unfit to function in civil society? Probably the same people who think it's a great idea to have hundreds of thousands get themselves killed to fulfill their ambition.
    Anonymous said...
    This may make us laugh.. but show them to a working woman today and she will agree with many if not most of these suggestions.
    Anonymous said...
    These have truth to them! Tell them today though and the Feminists will try to eat you alive.
    Anonymous said...
    Psssh... Civil society? Any place that forces people to toil endlessly simply to eat and stay warm is no more civil than any slave or surf wielding society.

    While the article's tone toward women is obviously reprehensible, the underlying statement is that people not accustomed to being so abused as they are at work will reject the institution outright. It requires trickery, conditioning and of course the threat of destitution to make people actually slave away for robber-barons.
    High Desert Diva said...
    Wow! We have come a long way, haven't we?
    Anonymous said...
    Nothing about child care?
    Anonymous said...
    I will have to keep this in mind when talking to my secretary...or as she would like the called "administrative assistant."
    Unknown said...
    "Any place that forces people to toil endlessly simply to eat and stay warm is no more civil than..."

    Uh, I can think of just such a place. It's called Planet Earth. Are you under the impression that human survival is cost-free, and it's just some sort of conspiracy that forces us to work for our very existence? Is working in a cubicle five days a week really somehow much worse than thousands of years ago when brutal subsistance agrivulture and hunting were how to survive? When real starvation loomed constantly in the background? Methinks you need some perspective.
    Anonymous said...
    re: "Nothing about child care?"

    Back in 1943, when the country was at war, we had actual priorities.
    Anonymous said...
    OMG...thanks for sharing this laugh with the rest of us!
    Anonymous said...
    The tone is stilted, but after 20 years in the workforce, the information seems spot-on to me. Feminists might see it another way, but they can go piss up a rope.
    Jezabels Jewels said...
    ya know...i think i had a boss awhile back that must have read that! lol :P

    it's soooooo interesting to see what has changed over time...and what hasn't so much...

    ah well.
    A Keeper's Jackpot said...
    I'd protest but I have my own theories for men in the workplace....
    Jus Shar Designs said...
    I LOVE #3. Scrawny girls are angry because they are hungry. LOL
    kimono hime said...
    It would seem that "anonymous" is (are?) male. Hm....

    As a non-husky female who has worked in situations surrounded by men (a loading dock, for one, and office, for another), I can say for certain that list is utter rubbish.

    And oh yes, child care is a high priority. No point in running off to defend our nation and leaving the children to their own devices. I mean really, have you ever raised children or are you talking out your ass? (pardon my harsh language. I did not wish to offend any delicate ears. Haha.)
    Anonymous said...
    What's with the massive run-on sentence in #1? This was obviously written by a man. They can be good workers, but they don't know what to do about periods. And you'd better have a doctor check them for "masculine problems".

    -- Ann Nonimus
    Anonymous said...
    Fake
    Anonymous said...
    Women!.....Know your limits.
    Anonymous said...
    Desperate times...desperate measures! This was printed during World War II when women had to work to keep the "home fires burning" due to lack of male hires.
    The mindset is truly amazing as well as backward!
    The Mess said...
    Haha!

    I really liked that obout feminine psychology.

    It´s a lot that we male don´t understand..
    Anonymous said...
    What exactly was involved in the physical examinations? When I think of the creepy doctor who massaged my breasts at age 16 to pass my cross county physical in 1979, I can only imagine the horror in 1943.
    Anonymous said...
    what's really funny is that so many people think that this is a thing of the past. Women still earn only 77 cents to a man's dollar! During job interviews I have been asked of my marital status, told being married was far better for the company, and even taken to a bar for a job interview in 2003.
    Anonymous said...
    Interesting article as for me. I'd like to read more concerning that topic. Thanks for posting that info.
    Joan Stepsen
    Home gadgets

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