Women and the War at Home

Anybody out there remember those television and magazine ads for Virginia Slims Cigarettes, the ones with the tag, "you've come a long way, baby"?



Well, they weren't kidding. Now I know even more empatically why women wanted that Equal Rights Amendment thing.

Here's an excerpt from the July 1943 issue of a transportation magazine,

written for male supervisors of women new to the workforce during World War II.

It has "tips" for hiring and managing women. (My remarks are in the parenthesis below.)

"Pick young married women. They're more responsible and less flirtatious than their unmarried sisters.

(We're talking about work here, right? If you 're a single guy, go for the 'unmarried sister'. Illicit affairs I hear can be tricky, dangerous to one's health, and a tad immoral.)

* When you have to use older women, try to get some who have worked outside the home at some time in their lives. Older women who have never had contact with the public have a hard time adapting and are inclined to be cantankerous and fussy.*

(Articulate that to an older woman in 2007, and you will be gambling with your teeth.)

"General experience indicates that husky girls are more even-tempered than their underweight sisters.

(That one statement above could get a man killed.)

"Emphasize the importance of time. Until that point is gotten across, service is likely to be slow.* Be tactful when issuing instructions or making criticisms."

(The last part of that sounds okay.)

Women are often sensitive and can't shrug off harsh words the way men can. Give every girl an adequate number of rest periods. You have to make allowance 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.

(Hey, guys can wash their hands too. I do that twice a week sometimes.)

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

(Hey, I'm a guy and I can lack initative, too! I'm blogging right now when I could be writing a big hairy novel or applying for a consular posting in Iraq.)

"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.

(Let me stress this point: Comment on a woman's "proper fit" at home or work, and you could count yourself among either the quick or the dead.)

"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."



(I know a couple women whom I swear can swear as well as me, but maybe back in the forties this was not the case.)

(Anyway, things have certainly changed and I suppose all those women going into the workforce in that war was a big catalyst for the makeover, although modern feminisn didn't get up and running for another twenty years. )