Secretary
The era after the invention of the typewriter but before photocopiers and personal computers was the heyday of this “pink collar” profession.
I began this series after discovering the Anthony Angel collection housed in the Library of Congress. The compulsive nature of the photographer who created this collection is fascinating. Every day he went out and just took pictures of people around the city. He didn’t have a job. He had a passion. He gave his viewers a window into a world unfiltered by a Gallerist or an editor. In many ways, I feel like I’m walking around with this guy in New York City and just people watching when I look thourgh the collection of his work.
Woman walking down sidewalk in New York City, August 1956, Rizzuto, Angelo, photographer
This is the original photo I used in “Walk on By”. I imagine she just passed by Angelo down the sidewalk and he snaps her as she's walking away. I guess that she’s in a hurry. She needs to get to her job as a secretary in a high rise. The era after the invention of the typewriter but before photocopiers and personal computers was the heyday of this “pink collar” profession, the secretary.
The photo was taken in 1956 in August. The figure is wearing a dress with cap sleeves that does not appear to have any wrinkles. My deduction is that she is heading into her job before 9 AM. When she gets there, she will work using clerical skills aquired at cost in the secretarial school. Most likely she will have a direct boss or work in the secretarial pool. She will sit all day typing.
The term "secretary" derives from the Latin "secretum" meaning "secret," reflecting the high level of trust required for the role, where early secretaries were often men managing confidential matters for heads of state and nobility
A "secretary" was a position primarily held by men prior to the invention of the typewriter. These men served powerful individuals. They managed communication, advised, were confidants, and advisors. After the typewriter became standard office equipment an increasing number of women were joining the workforce. When the role of secretary became dominated by women, the status of the role drastically decreased along with the salary. Eventually secretaries were associated with menial tasks like typing, filing, and answering phones.
A woman's role as secretary often was a mix of administrative and clerical tasks without the benefit of white collar compensation. She faced the stereotype of being too pretty to be safe in the office or too old to have value. In 1950 she could look forward to making a little more or less than $1 an hour. Her salary would be a third less than the average annual household salary. Her white collar male counterparts would average over $5000 a year.
In 1952 the first National Secretary’s Day was celebrated. It was designed to reward and encourage women in the profession. By the end of the decade women were turning away from this profession and moving into better paying and more rewarding jobs.
An article in Time Magazine in 1957 bemoaned the lack of women wanting to become secretaries. “The Secretary Shortage: They’re Either Too Pretty or Too Old” was the title. This article addressed the record number of women entering the workplace during the decade was not translating to a surplus of stenographers or other clerical staff. That shortage gave women bargaining power.
The Commerce and Industry Association of New York reported 78.1% offer profit-sharing plans, 52.7% pay full costs for employees’ health and accident insurance during the shortage of clerical staff in the mid to late 50’s.
“Only the most exquisite melding of money, kindness and men leaves a girl impressed," said the writer of the 1957 article.
It is logical that a shortage of skilled workers would drive up compensation in that field. In the case of a woman benefitting from that shortage through negotiation, the response from the writer is about her being “impressed” as if she asking for more than she is due. I was also struck by the use of the word “Girl". It’s a demeaning term. What is obviously missing in this article is the issue of status. The writer indicates with his language that the work is merely clerical.
A change in status did not occur for decades with the invention of the PC. As technology advanced and business needs became more complex, the role of the secretary evolved, with many taking on broader responsibilities and being referred to as "administrative assistants" to reflect their expanded skillset. The change in title was more than words.
Today the median annual salary for administrative assistants in the United States is $46,010. The lowest 10% earned less than $31,580, while the highest 10% earned more than $74,160. Adminstrative Assistants have more opportunies within their organizations. They can be in charge of office management, communication, event coordination, reporting, and many more complex tasks. In short they are valued members of the team and are rewarded based on their value.
The title of the portrait of my secretary is “Walk On By”. I want that secretary photographed in 1956 to walk by any distraction or obsticle in her career path and move into a place of true power.
In the composition the figure is walking over the typewriter into the maze of blue and green in the background. The woman seen from the back offers my viewers a large range of possibilities. There are no facial clues about her mood, but there is a strong sense of confidence that one can feel with her body language.
I choose symbolic compositional elements. One is the color green. The color of money. The Maze of horizontal, vertical, and diagonal lines alludes to the potential pathways she will have to navigate. Another symbol is the tools of the secretary including a typewriter, a pencil, and a pad for taking dictation.
Being a secretay opened the door for many women to enter the white collar world, but it was also the barrier. Their skill set kept them from going beyond a job that was assigned to their sex. In 1956 a woman had to have that confidence to face the world which was just beginning to open up larger possibilities for women heading into the feminist revolution of the 1960’s and 1970’s.
By the time I entered the workforce in the 1980's there was still a secretary for the executives, but the women in the office worked in sales, inventory, accounting, and computers. The positions for women changed over the decades, but the lingering misogyny was very present in the office where I worked. Salaries were not published, but it was clear that men were getting more than their female counterparts and were more frequently considered for promotion.
Progress is made by taking steps forward and walking by those obstacles.
Until Next Time….
Margaret
Great quilt! My mom did a lot of secretarial work. She met my dad when she was a secretary where my Dad worked, Acacia Mutual Life Insurance in DC. She worked for my Dad when he opened his own insurance office (free labor), later at my elementary school (as a volunteer), finishing up at lab and a dr's office - those two were paid positions. But there's one more! She worked as the secretary at Riley & Riley Associates, the real estate appraisal company my husband and I started. We paid her well.