What She Said

Part III, Case 4: At Work

As women's health and life expectancy improved over the 20th century, the number of "child-free" years gradually increased, giving women time to pursue higher levels of education and employment. During the second half of the 20th century, contraception methods and their availability improved for men and women across the US. As average family incomes declined over the same decades, more and more women entered the workforce.

In Los Angeles, women's organizations and groups targeted myriad issues in public policy, legislation, and community activism that were of interest to working women and their families. Prior to World War II, much of their work was aspirational, focused around creating opportunities for women in professional environments. In the post-war years, these same groups began working to address and mediate the unique challenges faced by many women who work.

The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) of Los Angeles rented rooms in its Hollywood Studio Club to unmarried women who moved to Los Angeles for jobs in film, entertainment, and other industries, frequently engaging in municipal and state politics to advocate for residents. Women's auxiliary groups in many labor unions took advantage of the protections provided for them via their union memberships. By the late 1960s, women like Agness Underwood, a journalist, newspaper editor, and author, often retired after spending decades building careers in varied industries across the US. By the late 20th century, other organizations like The Links, Inc., the League of Women Voters of Los Angeles, and the Coalition for Women's Economic Development worked to help build networking relationships, provide support, and advocate for equal pay and improved working conditions for women.

Case 5, Women's Rights, is a wide tower toward the center of the gallery.

• 1

  List, "Girls Residing in the Club," with occupations, November 15, 1946Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) of Los Angeles Collection

• 2

  Elizabeth Kemper Adams, PhD. Women Professional Workers: A Study Made for the Women's Educational and Industrial Union. Chautauqua, NY: The Chautauqua Press, 1921.HD 6058 A37 1921

• 3

  Pamphlet, Equal Pay FactsJoy Picus Collection

• 4

  Letter from Susan Bianchi-San, National Committee on Pay Equity regarding Equal Pay Day events, March 5, 1999League of Women Voters of Los Angeles Collection

• 5

  The Links, Inc. Membership Profiles, circa 1980Links, Inc., Angel City Chapter Collection

• 6

  Letter for "Miss Dickie Garregues," April 12, 1943Beulah "Dickie" Garrigues Collection

• 7

  Memorandum regarding On the Horizon: A Home-Based Business Policy for the City of Los Angeles, August 16, 1991Coalition for Women's Economic Development Collection

• 8

  Proposed Ordinance for Discussion showing suggested edits, circa 1990Coalition for Women's Economic Development Collection

• 9

  Betty Van Deventer. 100 Professions for Women. Girard, KS: Haldeman-Julius Publications, no. 705.Emanuel Haldeman-Julius Little Blue Books Collection

• 10

  Draft manuscript for Newspaperwoman, Preliminary Jacket Copy and Chapter 1Agness M. Underwood Collection