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Working Girl: A History of Women in the Workplace

A vintage photograph taken in January 1959

Sandra Day O’Connor – the first woman named to the U.S. Supreme Court – graduated third in her class from Stanford Law School in 1952. According to the Supreme Court Historical Society, when Sandra Day O’Connor pursued a job as a lawyer, she faced intense discrimination against women in the workplace and was repeatedly rebuffed by firms that wouldn’t hire women. But Sandra Day O-Connor did get an offer to work as a legal secretary.

Women have come a long way, looking back at the beginning history of women in the workplace. NALP, The Association for Legal Career Professionals, says 45 percent of law firm associates are women. Women enroll in college more than men, and their workforce numbers have improved.

Mark Penn writes in his book Microtrends that “While women dominated first in teaching and nursing, their upward mobility has led to a new tier of professional success beyond those careers. … As women everywhere have entered the workforce and gotten more education, a whole new set of professional jobs is opening up to them.”

Penn says “women are on the verge of taking over word-based professions, like journalism, law, marketing, and communications.” But despite the rising number of women in the workplace and America’s offices and classrooms, there are still problems. Women in the workplace are still underrepresented in professions involving math and science, and a gender pay gap remains.