Photo Essay - Women's Work Inside & Outside the Home

The notions of "masculine" and "feminine" work have been shown to exert control over the roles men and women take on within the home. Outside of the home, similar dynamics are at play, as women are evidently concentrated into occupations that reflect generally accepted norms of femininity. The position of secretary has long been thought of as inherently feminine, and remains the top job for women just as it did in the 1950s. This phenomenon can be attributed to long-standing gendered expectations, as the role of secretary is an extension of women’s roles as housekeepers within the home. Women perceive secretarial work to be tailored for them, thus pigeonholing them into the profession. Consequently, women take on secretary jobs and perpetuate the assumptions associated with the role. While this division of labor may not alone be an issue, it becomes problematic when the justification is made that secretary jobs are beneath men. This perspective subordinates the position of secretary, and subverts women by association. The following images seek to illustrate the aforementioned concepts, and to communicate the underlying details connected to them.  

The "Stock Image" Secretary
Image Credit: JobMail

A Google search of the term "secretary" returns a series of generic images of secretaries, many involving the same elements (e.g. a telephone, a computer station, a notepad). These are considered necessary tools to fulfill the secretary role, and so are expected to be seen. However, a more poignant recurring element is the depiction of females as secretaries. The volume of female secretary images serves to reinforce the notion that it is a woman’s job.

Do As "She" Does
Image Credit: Awful Library Books

This book cover alludes to expectations of secretaries, lending credence to itself by noting the author as a professional. Its use of the pronoun "she" emphasizes the association of women with the secretary profession. Furthermore, the usage of the phrase "boss's right hand" diminishes the standing of the secretary position by relegating it to the role of assistant/helper. As this was a published work, the message it conveys likely holds greater weight in regards to public perception, reinforcing the idea of secretaries being female. 

The "Multi-Tasking" Secretary
Image Credit: Vector Design

The "Multi-Tasking" Housekeeper
Image Credit: Estate and Manor

The parallels between the two above images illustrate the notion that "jobs held by women are often called 'pink collar' and tend to reflect extensions of reproductive labor or unpaid work in the home" (Shaw & Lee, 2015). While they are present in different work environments, both the roles of secretary and housekeeper may entail the performance of a variety of everyday tasks. Regarding household work, women "often underestimate the work they do because they are performing multiple tasks at the same time" (Shaw & Lee, 2015). Similarly, the multitude of tasks that secretaries perform on a daily basis may result in them overlooking the value of their role in an organization, causing them to internalize a sense of diminished importance.  

Fade Into the Background
Image Credit: Daily Mail

Take Notes
Image Credit: Masterfile

The two above images depict similar circumstances faced by women, both in the home as housekeepers and out of the home as secretaries. The left image depicts a group of male businessmen engrossed in a (assumed) large document, while the single female has her gaze locked elsewhere, writing on her notepad. Labor performed by secretaries is often "invisible" to organizations despite their importance to the fulfillment of company goals (Wichroski, 1994), creating an environment which devalues the work of secretaries. A similar environment of devaluation is also present in housework, as "work done in the home is often not considered work at all" (Shaw & Lee, 2015). The right image works to illustrate this assumption, as a woman is apparently in housekeeping activity while the man is relaxing and watching television. The issue then arises that women are predominantly the people performing devalued tasks in both capacities (in and out of the home), posing the risk that such work comes to be associated with the gender.

Image Credit: Etsy

This 1940s-era advertisement seeks to promote the productivity-enhancing features of a typewriter, a tool that was essential to the effective functioning of a secretary. However, the most  visible text in the advertisement includes the statement "and my boss is pleased," and serves to accentuate the lesser position held by secretaries while shifting focus away from how the typewriter improves job performance.

Image Credit: ShutterStock

In television and film, the stereotype of the "sex-cretary" has become commonplace. Typically, this is shown as a female secretary who is met with sexual advances from a male superior. While forms of media may speak to the contrary, such advances are often unwelcome and constitute sexual harassment, a pressing issue faced by working women. Scholars note that sexual harassment "denies employment opportunities and threatens physical safety and integrity" (Shaw & Lee, 2015). Furthermore, these media portrayals normalize men as being in power, and women as being subjected to the exercise of that power. When framed in this perspective, the feminine coding of the secretary thus subverts women by association.

Image Credit: Etsy

In this 1950s-era advertisement, a bra is being promoted, yet the attributes of the bra (the comfort and shapeliness it provides) are positioned at the bottom of picture in small text. Instead, the main selling point becomes its value for women at work. The woman depicted appears to be a secretary wearing the bra (and nothing else on top) at her workplace, which is a socially unacceptable choice of attire. This advertisement not only resonates with the notion of secretaries being feminine, but also objectifies the profession. 

What's Really Different Here?
Image Credit: Pinterest

A clear division is made between two kinds of men in this advertisement, yet there is only one truly significant element that separates them. While the "man of position" may have a more opulent office, he distinguishes himself from the "man of ambition" by having a secretary. The imagery conveys the idea that men elevate their status by having a secretary in their employ, and brings to attention existing workplace inequities. This coincides with the theory of horizontal segregation, which states that "women and men tend to work in different kinds of jobs and jobs women hold are valued and rewarded less" (Shaw & Lee, 2015).

Noting that the secretary is female (a recurring theme), women who view this advertisement may be conditioned to see themselves as being under the authority of men in the workplace. 

At the turn of the twentieth century, women came to be associated with clerical work such as that of secretaries due to a lack of other opportunities (Shaw & Lee, 2015). Women's transition to clerical work was simplified because of its standing as an extension of femininity, and the number of women in the field proliferated. However, despite many more opportunities seemingly made available, women are still concentrated in the secretary profession. Contributing to these circumstances is the interplay between gendered expectations of "masculine" and "feminine" work and the power dynamics between men and women. As can be seen, the work of secretaries (a feminine job) is devalued, and the position reports to managers who are typically portrayed as male. This in turn reflects what is seen in households, with women often performing devalued housework while men remain "cleaning impaired" (Shaw & Lee, 2015). Thus, secretaries represent a microcosm of not only inequitable segregation of labor, but also the subverting of women in society. So long as gender expectations persist, this will likely continue to hold true.  

References

Shaw, S. M., & Lee, J. (2015). Women’s Voices, Feminist Visions: Classic and Contemporary Readings (6th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.

Wichroski, M. (1994). The Secretary: Invisible Labor in the Workworld of Women. Human Organization, 53(1), 33-41. https://doi.org/10.17730/humo.53.1.a1205g53j7334631