1943 Guide to Hiring Women

My entire department is made up of women. There are only four of us, but still, all women. So, we all got particularly hearty laughs out of an excerpt from the July 1943 issue of Transportation Magazine that my boss's husband ripped out of the September/October 2007 issue of Savvy & Style.

Titled "1943 Guide to Hiring Women" the article lists eleven tips on "getting more efficiency out of women employees" and was written "for male supervisors of women in the work force during World War II."

Here are some of my favorites:

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.

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.

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 their women make excellent workers when they have their jobs cut out for them, but that they lack initiative in finding work themselves.

And, my absolute favorite (because, honestly, I think this one really is true):

8. Give every girl an adequate number of rest periods during the day. You have to make some allowances for feminine physchology. 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.

Oh, ladies, how far we've come since 1943!