Let’s remember when the Seattle library forced a bunch of married women out of their jobs, on this day in 1932 (August 23)
On its website’s job opening page, the Seattle Public Library calls itself a place “where people of all ages, backgrounds and beliefs come together to share and explore their interests.” That wasn’t always the case, which is pretty weird.
Per HistoryLink’s David Wilma:
On August 23, 1932, the Seattle Public Library Board of Trustees votes not to employ married women and to ask for the resignations of married women already on the staff. The action comes after drastic cuts in funding for the library during The Great Depression. Library salaries are cut 10 to 17 percent, 30 employees are dropped from the employment rolls, branches are closed one day a week, and hospital services, bookmobile services, and adult education programs are cancelled.
The resolution read:
It shall be the policy of the Seattle Library Board not to employ a married woman whose husband is able to provide her a living. Any library employee marrying a husband able to provide a reasonable income will be required to tender her resignation. Under extenuating circumstances the Board may suspend these rules.
Nine women were dismissed over the next six months because their husbands had jobs. Fourteen other married women kept their positions by submitting affidavits and swearing to the fact that their husbands earned less than $100 a month.
Read the whole thing:
