Office Work for Women: An Historical Review

Silverstone, Rosalie

doi:10.1080/00076797600000005

“…Despite the relative autonomy of some offices, these changes must also be understood in relation to changes in the private domains. In particular, by the early twentieth century increasing numbers of middle-class women needed to enter employment [151] because of their single status or lack of financial support by men, a situation exacerbated by an over-supply of governesses with the increasing educational attainment of middle-class women (Silverstone 1976;Lowe 1987, p. 17).…”

Section: Office Work and Bureaucratic Organizationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Men In The Public Eye

Hearn¹

2006

0

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Men's domination of the public domain is obvious, yet it is often ignored in social and political analyses. How do public men, in public patriarchies, come to exert such enormous power? How and why do men dominate in the public worlds of work, politics, sexuality, and culture? Jeff Hearn explores these questions and investigates how public worlds construct public men and public masculinities in different and changing ways.These important issues are examined by focusing on the period 1870-1920, when there was massive growth and transformation in the power of the public domains. Jeff Hearn explores the relationships between men's activity in and domination of the public domains, the domination of private domains by public domains, and the intensification of public patriarchies. An underlying theme is that the present exists in the past, and the past in the present, and Hearn demonstrates that these historical debates and dilemmas are still relevant today as men search for new, postmodern forms of masculinities.Men in the Public Eye reveals why men's domination in and of the public domains is a vital feature of gender relations in patriarchies, both past and present. It will be essential reading for anyone interested in the social, political, and cultural dimensions of men and masculinities.

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“…Despite the relative autonomy of some offices, these changes must also be understood in relation to changes in the private domains. In particular, by the early twentieth century increasing numbers of middle-class women needed to enter employment [151] MEN IN THE PUBLIC EYE because of their single status or lack of financial support by men, a situation exacerbated by an over-supply of governesses with the increasing educational attainment of middle-class women (Silverstone 1976;Lowe 1987, p. 17).…”

Section: Office Work and Bureaucratic Organizationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Men in the public eye: the construction and deconstruction of public men and public patriarchies

1993

Choice Reviews Online

0

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Men's domination of the public domain is obvious, yet it is often ignored in social and political analyses. How do public men, in public patriarchies, come to exert such enormous power? How and why do men dominate in the public worlds of work, politics, sexuality, and culture? Jeff Hearn explores these questions and investigates how public worlds construct public men and public masculinities in different and changing ways.These important issues are examined by focusing on the period 1870-1920, when there was massive growth and transformation in the power of the public domains. Jeff Hearn explores the relationships between men's activity in and domination of the public domains, the domination of private domains by public domains, and the intensification of public patriarchies. An underlying theme is that the present exists in the past, and the past in the present, and Hearn demonstrates that these historical debates and dilemmas are still relevant today as men search for new, postmodern forms of masculinities.Men in the Public Eye reveals why men's domination in and of the public domains is a vital feature of gender relations in patriarchies, both past and present. It will be essential reading for anyone interested in the social, political, and cultural dimensions of men and masculinities. This book is the product of a lot of talking, reading, researching, writing, rewriting, and a lot of inspiration from women, men, and young people. There are very many people, groups, and organizations I'd like to thank for assistance in this process. They include colleagues and students at the University of Bradford, particularly those who have been taking courses on 'men and masculinities'; Paul Wilding and all at the Department of Social Policy and Social Work at the University of Manchester for making me so welcome during 1988-89; the Hallsworth Research Fellowship Committee for their generous award of funds to do much of this work; the Manchester Campus Workshop on the Critical Study of Men and Masculinities for providing continuity and support; the Men, Masculinities and Socialism Group and other men's groups; and librarians at Bradford University, Manchester University, and Bradford Council for their help.Many people have helped directly or indirectly, and I would like to thank, among many others.

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“…Historical accounts of the office as a work space have largely emphasised the experience of the clerk. Informed by Bravermann's (1998) "deskilling" thesis, these studies have explored the changing status of the clerk as well the feminisation of the office space (Attewell, 1989;Cohn, 1985;Davies, 1982;Deacon, 1982;Guerriero Wilson, 1999;Heller, 2008;Lowe, 1987;Nolan, 1992;Silverstone, 1976). Such narratives have led Saval (2014, p. 6) to assert rather pessimistically that "the story of white-collar work hinges on promises of freedom and uplift that have routinely been betrayed".…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Office space: Australian advertising agencies in the twentieth century

Crawford

¹

2018

JMH

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Purpose This paper aims to examine the evolution of the advertising agency and its offices in Australia over the course of the twentieth century. Historical accounts of advertising have paid scant attention to agencies’ attempts to organise and manage their offices, as well as the impact that these efforts has had on the work undertaken by agency staff. Design/methodology/approach This study draws on reports in the advertising industry press, as well as oral history testimony to examine the agencies’ changing layout and interior design. It identifies three distinct periods, which reveal the impact of modernist and post-industrialist ideas on the organisation and functions of the advertising agency’s offices and, indeed, their impact on the agency’s outputs. Findings This examination of the office space within the agency setting not only offers a new perspective of the advertising agency business as a whole but also demonstrates the importance of material culture for historians working across management, business and marketing fields. Originality/value The originality of this study lies in its use of material culture and space as a tool for examining management history and understanding its impact on everyday work practices. By charting the changes reflected in advertising agency office spaces, this study also offers a unique overview of the ways that management practices have historically interacted with business work spaces.

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Office Work for Women: An Historical Review

Cited by 14 publications

References 0 publications

Men In The Public Eye

Men In The Public Eye

Men in the public eye: the construction and deconstruction of public men and public patriarchies

Office space: Australian advertising agencies in the twentieth century

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