Reading Assignment

Women, Work and the Office: The Feminization of Clerical Occupations in Canada, 1901 - 1931

Author(s): Graham S. Lowe

Source: The Canadian Journal of Sociology / Cahiers canadiens de sociologie , Autumn, 1980, Vol. 5, No. 4 (Autumn, 1980), pp. 361-381

Published by: Canadian Journal of Sociology

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3340370

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at https://about.jstor.org/terms

Canadian Journal of Sociology is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Canadian Journal of Sociology / Cahiers canadiens de sociologie

This content downloaded from ������������142.104.240.194 on Fri, 09 Apr 2021 06:17:24 UTC������������

All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms

Women, work and the office: the

feminization of clerical occupations

in Canada, 1901 - 1931*

Graham S. Lowe

Department of Sociology University of Alberta Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2H4

Abstract. The purpose of this paper is to offer an explanation of the origins and early development of

the feminization process in clerical occupations. The central argument is that the administrative revo-

lution which swept major Canadian offices between the turn of the century and the depression precip- itated a shift in the sex ratio of clerical occupations. First, the main contours in the historical develop- ment of the female clerical labor market are traced using census data. Second, four theoretical

models-the consumer choice model, the reserve army of labor model, the demand model, and the segmentation model-are critically evaluated. Third, a structural explanation of clerical feminiza-

tion is presented. Drawing on the concepts of job sex labelling and labor market segmentation, this perspective shows how the changing structure of the office and the clerical labor process during the administrative revolution underlay the feminization of clerical jobs. Supporting evidence is provided by three case studies: the development of a female labor market for bank clerks during the First World War; the recruitment of women into the lower administrative levels of the federal civil service;

and the mechanization of major offices during the 1901-1931 period.

Resume. L'objet de cette dissertation est d'offrir une explication des origines et du d6veloppement

hatif du processus de la f6minisation des occupations clericales. L'argument central est que la revolution administrative qui envahissa les offices majeurs du Canada entre le nouveau siecle et la depression precipita un changement dans le rapport des sexes dans les occupations clericales. Premierement, les contours principaux dans le d6veloppement historique du march6 de travail

clerical femelle sont traces a l'aide de donn6es de recensements. Deuxiemement, quatre modeles th6oriques le modele du choix du consommateur, le modele de reserve d'arm6e de travail, le modele de demande, et le modele de segmentation-sont 6valu6s d'une maniere critique. En troisieme lieu, une explication structurale de la f6minisation clericale est pr6sent6e. Tirant sur les concepts de

l'6tiquetage du sexe d'un ouvrage et la segmentation du march6 de travail, en perspective ceci demontre comment et le changement structural du bureau et le processus du travail clerical pendant

la revolution administrative soutiennent la f6minisation d'emplois clericaux. La preuve d'appui est fournie par trois &tudes de cas: le d6veloppement d'un march6 de travail femelle pour les commis de banques pendant la premiere guerre mondiale; le recrutement de femmes dans les niveaux

administratifs peu elev6s des emplois civils federaux; et la m6canisation des bureaux majeurs pendant la p6riode de 1901-1931.

* This is a revised version of a paper presented to the Political Economy Section of the Canadian Political Science Association Annual Meetings, June 1979, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. I would like to thank Dennis Magill, Noah Meltz, Lorna Marsden, Rosalind Sydie, as well as three anony- mous CJS reviewers, for helpful comments on an earlier draft. I would also like to acknowledge the Canada Council's financial support of the research.

Canadian Journal of Sociology/Cahiers canadiens de sociologie 5(4)1980 361

This content downloaded from ������������142.104.240.194 on Fri, 09 Apr 2021 06:17:24 UTC������������

All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms

The spectacular growth of white-collar occupations in Canada since the turn of the century has fundamentally altered the nature of the labor force. One of the most striking features of the burgeoning white-collar sector has been the shift in the sex ratio of many jobs accompanying the rise in female labor force partici- pation rates. Nowhere has this feminization trend been more pronounced than in clerical occupations. At the turn of the century the office was largely a male preserve. Yet by 1971, 30.5 percent of the entire female labor force was en- gaged in clerical work. And with about 70 percent of all clerical jobs held by

women, the contemporary office is the prototypical female job ghetto (Armstrong and Armstrong, 1978; Braverman, 1974; Kanter, 1977; Lowe, 1979).' Much can be learned about the emergence and maintenance of female job ghettos by examining how the feminization of clerical work occurred.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze how women came to predominate numerically in the office. A main theme of the paper is that the feminization process was central to the administrative revolution which occurred in major Canadian offices during the first three decades of the twentieth century. The administrative revolution accompanied, and indeed facilitated, the transition from small-scale entrepreneurial capitalism to modern corporate capitalism.2 The hallmark of this revolution was the rise of large, centralized office bureauc- racies and the growing importance of administration in regulating economic

activity (see Braverman, 1974; Mills, 1956; Lockwood, 1966; Lowe, 1979). The nature of clerical work was dramatically altered: clerical ranks expanded tremendously between 1901 and 1931; the relative socio-economic position of the clerk was eroded;3 and office organization and the clerical labor process were rationalized.

The feminization process is fundamental to all of these changes. For exam- ple, the influx of women into the office largely accounted for the growth of cler- ical occupations. This in turn undermined the socio-economic position of the clerical group, as women were paid less than men. And scientifically-oriented managers, seeking greater administrative efficiency and more direct control over the office, created a new stratum of routine clerical jobs into which women were channelled. Thus, by the start of the depression, the old-style male book- keeper had been replaced by an army of subordinate female clerks. As any observer of the contemporary office is quick to recognize, the legacy of this feminization process is still vital.

1. See Table 1 for exact figures. It should be noted that clerical employment data from the censuses

used in this paper are reclassified to conform with the 1951 Census definition of clerk. This allows

for accurate inter-censal comparisons. However, these adjustments mean that employment data in Tables I and 2 for 1971 are slightly below those found in the actual census.

2. The concepts of corporate capitalism and entrepreneurial capitalism have been drawn from Clement (1975:71-80).

3. Between 1901 and 1921. the average clerical salary rose from 116 to 1 25 percent of the average wage for the total Canadian labor force. Yet after 1921, clerical earnings entered a steady decline, cutting below the labor force average in 1951. In 1971, the average clerical salary was only 77 per- cent of the labor force average (Lowe, 1979:224). Research by Lockwood (1966) in Britain and Burns (1954) and Braverman (1974) in the United States also documents how the explosion of white-collar occupations since the turn of the century has been accompanied by a relative decline in clerical w ages.

362

This content downloaded from ������������142.104.240.194 on Fri, 09 Apr 2021 06:17:24 UTC������������

All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms

Four major questions will guide our analysis. First, how did clerical jobs come to be defined as "women's work?" Second, what factors motivated

employers to shift their source of labor supply in this manner? Third, to what extent do the characteristics of female clerks (relatively low wages, low skill levels, lack of opportunities, powerlessness, lower aspirations and tenuous at- tachment to the labor force) reflect the nature of the jobs into which they have traditionally been channelled? And fourth, did women displace men in existing clerical jobs or replace them in qualitatively different kinds of work? Our inves- tigation of these issues will proceed as follows: The first section of the paper will use census data to trace the major contours in the historical evolution of the fe- male clerical labor force in Canada. The second section will evaluate various

theoretical perspectives on female labor force participation in light of our research concerns. Emphasis will be placed on developing a historical analysis which relates changing labor force characteristics to transformations in the workplace. The third section will document how the female clerical labor mar- ket has its roots in the administrative revolution by examining three case studies of how changes occurred in the clerical labor process and office organization.

The feminization of clerical work: historical trends

The entry of women into the office can be traced back to the closing decades of the nineteenth century. In the post-Confederation period women were usually relegated to servile domestic chores. In 1868, for example, the federal civil service employed only one woman, a housekeeper (Dawson, 1929:190). This situation began to change, and by 1885 there were twenty female clerks work- ing in the federal government (Payne, 1907:511).4 Yet many of today's major offices were slow to hire women. Sun Life Assurance Company in Montreal, for example, did not appoint its first female clerk until 1894 (Sunshine, November 1911:142). Attitudes towards the employment of women in offices were becom- ing more tolerant. Jean Scott (1889:24) was thus able to observe in 1889 that "women seem as fitted for (office) work as men, and have proved as competent where the work was not too severe."

The small number of women found in Canadian offices prior to 1900 re- flected generally low female labor force participation rates. The 1891 Dominion Census, the earliest to break down occupational data by sex, shows that 11.4 percent of the female population over the age of ten were gainfully employed, comprising only 12.6 percent of the entire labor force (Canada, DBS, 1939:4). After the turn of the century, however, powerful new economic forces began restructuring the division of labor in industry. By the end of the First World War, the foundation for a modern industrial capitalist economy had been laid (Firestone, 1953:152). A number of other factors-the development of the modern joint stock corporation and the public bureaucracy; changing attitudes

4. In 1881, the Civil Service Commissioners argued that if more female clerks were hired, "it would be necessary that they should be placed in rooms by themselves, and that they should be under the immediate supervision of a person of their own sex, but we doubt very much if sufficient work of similar character can be found in any one Department to furnish occupation for any considerable number of female clerks, and it would certainly be inadvisable to place them in small numbers throughout the Departments" (Canada, First Report of the Civil Service Commission, 1881:26).

363

This content downloaded from ������������142.104.240.194 on Fri, 09 Apr 2021 06:17:24 UTC������������

All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms

Table 1. Total labor force, clerical workers and female clerical workers, Canada, 1891-1971*

Clerical workers as a

Total labor Total percentage of total force clerical labor force

1891 1,659,335 33,017 2.0

1901 1,782,832 57,231 3.2

1911 2,723,634 103,543 3.8

1921 3,164,348 216,691 6.8 1931 3,917,612 260,674 6.7 1941 4,195,951 303,655 7.2 1951 5,214,913 563,083 10.8 1961 6,342,289 818,912 12.9

1971 8,626,930 1,310,910 15.2

Sources:

1. Canada D.B.S., Census Branch, Occupational Trends in Canada, 1891-1931 (Ottawa, 1939), Table 5. 2. Meltz, Manpower in Canada (Ottawa: Queen's Printer, 1969), Section 1, Tables A-1, A-2 and A-3. 3. 1971 Census of Canada, Volume 3, Part 2, Table 2.

* Data adjusted to 1951 Census occupation classification.

towards the employment of women; labor shortages during World War I; and the growing importance of more efficient forms of administration-combined with industrialization to shape the pattern of clerical feminization. Tables 1 and 2 indicate that women made significant advances in clerical

employment after 1901. There were relatively few clerks in the labor force in 1891, the vast majority being male (Table 1). The number of female clerks in- creased from 4,710 to 12,660 between 1891 and 1901. While this represents a relative growth rate of 168.8 percent (Table 2), almost ten times that for the total female labor force, the female share of clerical jobs only increased from 14.3 percent to 22.1 percent (Table 1). But this marked the emergence of a trend which, by 1971, had resulted in the concentration of 30.5 percent of all fe- male workers in clerical occupations (Table 1). The segregation of women into specific industries and occupations has

remained surprisingly stable since 1900 (Armstrong and Armstrong, 1978:20). This is especially true in the case of clerical work. From 1901 to 1971, the share of clerical jobs held by females jumped from 22.1 percent to 68.9 percent. Segregation was even more pronounced within particular office jobs. In steno- graphy and typing, for example, the "female" label became firmly affixed as the proportion of jobs held by women increased from 80 percent to 95 percent between 1901 and 1931.5 Furthermore, changes in the industrial concentration of clerical employment between 1911 and 1931 set the course of future develop- ments (Lowe, 1979:187). By 1931, manufacturing, finance and trade each accounted for over 20 percent of all female clerical employment (Lowe,

5. In 1971, 96.8 percent of all stenographers and typists were women (Canada, 1971 Census, Vol. Ill, Part 2, Table 2).

364

This content downloaded from ������������142.104.240.194 on Fri, 09 Apr 2021 06:17:24 UTC������������

All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms

Females

as a percentage

of total clerical

14.3

22.1

32.6

41.8

45.1

50.1

56.7

61.5

68.9

Female clerks as a

percentage of total female labor force

2.3

5.3

9.1

18.5

17.7

18.3

27.4

28.6

30.5

Table 2. Percentage increases, female labor force and female clerical workers, Canada, 1891-1971 *

Female labor force

17.7

53.3

34.0

36.0

27.1

39.7

51.3

68.2

Female clerical workers

168.8

166.4

168.6

29.9

29.4

109.7

57.8

79.4

Sources:

1. Canada D.B.S., Census Branch, Occupational Trends in Canada, 1891-1931 (Ottawa, 1939), Table 5. 2. Meltz, Manpower in Canada (Ottawa: Queen's Printer, 1969), Section I, Tables A- 1, A-2 and A-3. 3. 1971 Census of Canada, Volume 3, Part 2, Table 2.

* Based on data adjusted to 1951 Census occupation classification.

1979:189).6 These industries were at the forefront of corporate capitalism and their development required the rapid expansion of administration.

The growth of administration is evident in Table 2. From 1891 to 1921, the inter-censal decade growth rate for female clerks exceeded 166 percent, far outstripping increases in the total female labor force. In other words, clerical

6. Over the 1901-31 decades, women increased their share of clerical jobs in manufacturing from 16.5 percent to 40.7 percent; 22.7 percent to 52.9 percent in trade; 0.8 percent to 49.6 percent in finance; and 5.5 percent to 37.6 percent in government (Lowe, 1979:184). For an interesting dis- cussion of the impact of changing industrial structure on female employment, see Singelmann and Tienda (1979).

365

Female

clerical

4,710 12,660

33,723

90,577 117,637

152,216

319,183 503,660 903,395

1891-1901

1901-1911

1911-1921

1921-1931

1931-1941

1941-1951

1951-1961

1961-1971

This content downloaded from ������������142.104.240.194 on Fri, 09 Apr 2021 06:17:24 UTC������������

All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms

feminization originated during the 1890s and accelerated dramatically between 1901 and 1921. Indeed, the 1911-21 decade was pivotal to the development of the modern office, containing the greatest surge in clerical employment of the century. Clerical growth tapered off somewhat during the 1920s, but changes in the nature of clerical work make this a decisive period for the creation of a fe- male job ghetto in the office. Women were well on their way to predominating in the office by 1931, holding 45.1 percent of all clerical jobs (Table 1).

Chart 1 compares the actual number of male and female clerks in 1971 with what these numbers would have been had the occupational structure and sex composition of the labor force remained constant since 1901. The chart con- firms that the clerical sector was a major source of new employment during this century. Furthermore, it illustrates the importance of female employment to the overall growth of clerical occupations.

We have traced the institutionalization of women as the major source of labor for modern clerical work. This underscores a central theme of the paper: that the entry of women into the office coincided with the proliferation of many new fragmented, routine jobs in the lower reaches of administrative hierarchies. Truncated employment opportunities for women and deeply engrained sex- based wage differentials resulted. We thus find that in 1901, female clerks earned 53 percent of the average male clerical salary, inching up only slightly to 58 percent by 1971 (Lowe, 1979:223).7

Chart 1. Changes in the clerical sector of the Canadian labor force, by sex, 1901-1971*

Total e clerical |

M a le :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

clerical

Female ::::: clerical l

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1,0001,1001,2001,300 Thousands of workers in 1971.

E:: Number of clerks in 1971 if occupational structure were identical to that of 1901.

D Actual number of clerks in 1971.

* Comparison between actual distribution in 1971 and distribution calculated on basis of 1901 occupational structure, standardized to 1951 base.

7. This is consistent with the broad labor force trend. In 1971 the average income for women doing

paid work was about half that of men (Armstrong and Armstrong, 1975:371). Yet within the fe- male labor force, clerks were quite well off. For example, a 1921 survey (Canada Year Book, 1928:779) indicated that female office clerks earned more than twenty-two other female occupa- tions. Only telegraph operators in Montreal and tailoresses, teachers as well as telegraph opera- tors in Toronto earned more. In 1901, female clerks earned 45 percent more than the average fe-

male wage. This fluctuated over the next several decades, rising to a high of 49 percent in 1941. This advantage gradually diminished, with female clerks only making 6 percent more than the fe- male labor force average by 1971 (Lowe, 1979:224).

366

This content downloaded from ������������142.104.240.194 on Fri, 09 Apr 2021 06:17:24 UTC������������

All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms

The working conditions faced by female clerks have created a vicious circle. Low wages tend to produce the kind of work patterns-high turnover, short- term labor force attachment and low aspirations-which reinforce employers' discriminatory attitudes and trap women in a relatively small number of female-dominated jobs. The underlying causes of these employment patterns deserve careful theoretical consideration.

Theoretical perspectives Why, then, did women become concentrated into a handful of lower level occu- pations as growing numbers of them entered the work force after 1900? Expla- nations of this can be classified into four basic models: the consumer choice

model, the reserve army of labor model, the demand model and the segmentation model. In considering each of these theoretical perspectives be- low, we will assess its ability to account for the changing sex ratio of clerical jobs during the early twentieth century in Canada.

The consumer choice model

The consumer choice model, a common explanation of changing female work rates, is based on the concept of rational economic choice. The model is princip- ally concerned with how married women decide to allocate their time between work within the home, work outside the home and leisure. A central assumption is that employment decisions are rooted in the family context. For example, a wife may decide to work for pay outside the home because of a family consensus that the husband's income should be supplemented. Variables such as the wife's age, education, fertility and potential earning power; stage in the family life- cycle; and husband's income, education and occupation are also deemed important in the decisions regarding work (see Ostry, 1967).

The social, economic and demographic variables included in the model may merely reflect rather than affect work rates (Madden, 1973:9). The assumption that a woman's choice of whether or not to work is based on factors over which she has control tends to obscure the influence of social and economic structures (Connelly, 1978:6; Armstrong and Armstrong, 1975). Furthermore, the model's emphasis on how family expectations shape a woman's work decision suggests that subjective processes ultimately determine behavior. Consequently, insuffi- cient attention is given to the limitations placed on female work rates by struc-

tural factors outside the home, such as the type of job opportunities and earn- ings available to women and the family's class position. Moreover, the model tends to discount the importance of interaction between the supply of women workers and the type of employer demand for their labor. Why, for example, did employers begin to hire increasing numbers of women for specific clerical jobs after 1900 and how was this shift in demand linked to changing office or- ganization?

The reserve army of labor model Some analysts (Armstrong and Armstrong, 1978; Braverman, 1974; Connelly, 1978) have used Marx's concept of a reserve army of labor to explain the posi- tion of women in the labor force. The model examines how capitalists create a fluid supply of cheap labor, capable of employment or deployment in response to changing industrial requirements (see Braverman, 1974:386-388). Because

367

This content downloaded from ������������142.104.240.194 on Fri, 09 Apr 2021 06:17:24 UTC������������

All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms

of their availability and cheapness (see Connelly, 1978:21), women increasingly have been drawn into the reserve army for the expanding clerical, sales and service sectors. According to Braverman (1974:385), "women form the ideal reservoir of labor for the new mass occupations. The barrier which confined women to much lower pay scales is reinforced by the vast numbers in which they are available to capital."

Yet to classify women who are trapped in unrewarding jobs as part of a reserve army tells us little about how this condition developed. Assuming that capitalism requires a permanent reserve army of labor, what would lead capital- ists to distinguish between men and women workers when delimiting this reserve for certain occupations? Would it not be more accurate to refer to

women in female job ghettos, such as the office, as part of the active labor force? Our concern is with how sex-based inequalities were built into the labor market as changes occurred in office organization and the clerical labor pro- cess. Yet the reserve army thesis is of little value in this respect because it falls short of providing a more precise analysis of (a) why women at a certain point in time became incorporated into the active labor supply for specific occupa- tions; (b) the extent to which women are segregated from men in "female" oc- cupations; and (c) how their inferior position within job hierarchies has been maintained over time.

The demand model

Best exemplified in the work of Oppenheimer (1970) and Madden (1973), this model examines how employers segregate women into specific occupations by

manipulating job requirements. Oppenheimer, rejecting the supply-based con- sumer choice model, argues that the growing demand for women in certain oc-

cupations and industries has brought increased supply and higher labor force participation (1970:160). Madden (1973:52, 58-60), on the other hand, demon- strates that the imperfect competition which pervades the labor market facili- tates discrimination by employers who possess excessive market power. Both of these arguments use two concepts-labor market segregation and sex labelling -to explain sex-based employment differences. Because men and women tend to be segregated into separate, noncompetitive labor markets, one may there- fore talk about a demand specifically for female workers (Oppenheimer, 1970). In other words, a demand for female labor results from the general demand for workers in nursing, elementary school teaching, clerical and sales work and other jobs which are predominately female.

The restriction of female workers to a small number of female-dominated

occupations is reinforced by the process of sex labelling. By manipulating de- mand characteristics of a job-such as skill and educational requirements, working conditions and salary levels-employers can tailor the labor supply. Thus, job requirements such as physical exertion, geographic mobility, or an unbroken career path are barriers to women. On the other hand, stereotypes of women as more manually dexterous and patient but less effective at supervision than men and as secondary wage earners channel females into jobs at the lower end of the occupational spectrum (Oppenheimer, 1970:115). These stereotypes furnish the rationale for discrimination against women in terms of remunera- tion and opportunities for upward mobility. Madden (1973:78) explains that "if job requirements are structured so as to preclude part-time work, to require

368

This content downloaded from ������������142.104.240.194 on Fri, 09 Apr 2021 06:17:24 UTC������������

All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms

peak effort between the ages of twenty and thirty-five, or to require career con-

tinuity with one employer, that job will never be a female occupation." Strong norms develop to exclude women from those occupations defined as male. Moreover, once women are established in an occupation, their lower wage rates give employers little incentive to revert to higher-priced male labor. Discrimi- nation tends to be cumulative, reproducing in the female labor market charac- teristics defined as unacceptable for more rewarding jobs.

Clerical work is an outstanding example of how sex-related job require- ments limit female employment opportunities (see Oppenheimer, 1970:115). Once a clerical job acquired a "female only" label, future demand was not just for cheap labor but for cheap female labor. But the demand model does not ad- dress how changing job characteristics motivated employers to hire women in the first place. In some cases (Stevenson, 1975; Prather, 1971), it is merely suggested that a high degree of occupational segregation is itself responsible for the inferior economic position of women. Yet the sexual division of labor is un- doubtedly one of the strongest bases for balkanizing the labor market into un- equal segments (Kessler-Harris, 1975:217). What we need, though, is an expla- nation of how sex-based discrimination became incorporated into both the institutionalized processes of the labor market and the organization of the workplace.

The segmentation model A number of useful concepts, notably sex labelling and labor market segmen- tation, can be drawn from our discussion of the three models. More generally, the deficiencies of the models underline the need for a historical analysis of the origins of female job ghettos and, further, a thorough examination of the rela- tionship between transformations in the work context and changing labor force characteristics. A more structural perspective would help us to trace the femi- nization of clerical occupations back to its origins. A strong connection un- doubtedly exists between changes in the organization of office work and the characteristics of the office work force. As Kanter (1977:18) suggests:

... managerial and clerical jobs are the major sex-segregated, white-collar occupations, brought into being by the development of the large corporation and its administrative apparatus. A sex-linked

ethos became identified with each of the occupational groupings. Ideologies surrounding the pursuit of these occupations and justifying their position in the organization came to define both the labor

pool from which these occupations drew and ideal images of the attributes of the people in that pool.

It is therefore essential that we examine the sex-based dimensions of power and inequality inherent in the office, as well as the influence of broad economic and organizational forces on occupational characteristics. Recent work on labor market segmentation is instructive in this respect (see Gordon, 1972; Edwards et al., 1975; Freedman, 1976; Edwards, 1979). Prominent in this literature is the hypothesis that the development of corporate capitalism has fragmented a once homogeneous working class by segmenting the labor process within firms and, as a consequence, within the labor market (Gordon, 1972:43; Edwards et al., 1975:xi).8 Segmentation occurs when changes in the productive process cre-

8. The term labor process refers to the way in which labor power is organized and regulated in the activity of production. The term labor market refers to those institutions which influence, directly or indirectly, the purchase and sale of labor power (Edwards et al., 1975:xi).

369

This content downloaded from ������������142.104.240.194 on Fri, 09 Apr 2021 06:17:24 UTC������������

All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms

ate submarkets based on different occupational characteristics, behavioral rules and working conditions. By linking changes in labor market sectors to the transformation of the work place under corporate capitalism, segmentation the- ory indicates that sex is not the key to explaining male-female occupational dif- ferences. The segmentation of the labor market into non-competing male and female components results not from changes in the market itself, but rather from the way labor power is utilized and organized hierarchically by employers. The fragmentation of the labor process over the course of this century, especi- ally within large corporations, has led employers to clearly distinguish between

types of jobs and therefore types of workers required. The main criterion shap- ing job requirements is the degree of stability the organization requires from the job holder (Gordon, 1972:71). Methods of ensuring various degrees of stability are anchored in different systems of control in the workplace. Employers in- creasingly separated jobs requiring stability from those which did not, recogniz- ing that devices for maintaining stability within, for example, professional, technical and middle level administrative positions were too expensive and elab- orate to apply to the lower strata of clerical and menial labor.

Edwards (1979) argues that variations in labor market behavior can be ex- plained in terms of the systems of control employers have instituted in the workplace.9 For instance, given the interchangeability of workers in routine clerical jobs there is no reason for employers to offer high rewards in terms of pay, good working conditions and career prospects. Hence, the creation of a "secondary" labor market characterized by truncated career paths, part-time or short-term employment, relatively low salaries, subordination and powerless- ness. This connection between labor market subgroups and different job control systems lends support to our suggestion that the administrative revolution in Canadian offices brought about changes in clerical occupations. Segmentation theory shows that sex discrimination has become imbedded over time into the very structure of work. This structural perspective is lacking in one respect, however. It does not directly address how changing entrance requirements for certain jobs created a decisive, and permanent, shift from male to female workers. This deficiency can be remedied by combining the structural orienta- tion of segmentation theory with the concept of sex labelling. This will equip us to analyze the origins of the persistent dichotomy of the female clerk and the male office manager to which Kanter (1977) refers above.

A structural explanation of clerical feminization: selected historical evidence In this section of the paper, we will document how major structural changes in office organization and the clerical labor process underlay the shift in demand from male to female clerical workers. Three case studies will be presented. The first will focus on the rise of a female labor market for bank clerks during the

9. Edwards (1979) has advanced segmentation theory furthest by proposing three market segments, each defined in terms of a different form of job control found in the workplace. In other words, dif-

ferences among jobs explain basic differences among workers (166). A thorough evaluation of Edwards' work is beyond the scope of the present paper. However, we should note that his model does not appear to have solved the problem of accounting for clerical occupations as more than just a "deviant case" within the major labor submarkets (see Piore, 1975:130).

370

This content downloaded from ������������142.104.240.194 on Fri, 09 Apr 2021 06:17:24 UTC������������

All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms

First World War. The second examines the clustering of female clerks in the lowest strata of the federal civil service. And the third outlines the mechaniza-

tion of clerical work in major offices, arguing that this aspect of work rational- ization was fundamental to the feminization process. All three cases highlight the connection between the administrative revolution and changing occupa- tional characteristics. The emphasis will be on how the dynamics of labor mar- ket segmentation and sex labelling were borne out in the office.

Before considering the historical evidence, a brief outline of the structural basis of clerical feminization is in order. The rise of corporate capitalism in Canada after 1900 precipitated a revolution in the means of administration. Two trends converged, transforming the nature of clerical work. First, the flood of paperwork generated by the expanding economy required growing numbers of clerks. Second, managers came to rely on the office as the nerve centre of ad- ministration. As organizations expanded, managers replaced traditional, unsystematic methods of administration with "scientific" programs founded on the rational concepts of efficiency in organizational operations and control over the labor process. By the end of the First World War, these trends had greatly magnified the scope and complexity of office procedures. But the burgeoning layers of administration became a source of inefficiency, threatening to under- mine the managerial powers vested in the office. This sparked a surge of ration- alization in major Canadian offices, particularly during the twenties. By the end of the decade, the typical large central office exhibited certain factory-like features. Work had become fragmented and standardized; hierarchy and regi- mentation prevailed.

Task specialization was fundamental to this revolution in the means of ad- ministration. As the burden of office work increased, managers found that clerks performing simple tasks in rapid succession were cheaper to employ, pro- duced more and were more easily regulated. The new jobs created in this man- ner lacked the skill components found in the craft-like work of the bookkeeper. Consequently, they were unattractive to middle class male clerks expecting upward mobility and comfortable salaries. Employers were pragmatic enough to recognize the clear advantages of women's higher average education, tradi- tionally lower pay and greater availability for menial tasks. A permanent secondary labor market of female clerks thus developed. Its emergence was buttressed by a number of socio-economic factors, such as the rise of mass pub- lic education, male labor shortages during the First World War, the gradual loosening of social norms regarding women's employment, and the fact that fe- male wages were generally better in offices than in domestic or sales work. In short, a hallmark of the modern office is the replacement of the general male bookkeeper by an army of female workers. As women flooded into these subordinate positions which employers had defined as "female," they became entrenched as the modern clerical corp.

The impact of World War I on women in banking Severe labor force disruptions during both world wars directly influenced the sex ratio of many occupations. It has been argued that far from transforming the economic role of Canadian women, World War I merely accelerated an earlier trend by creating a temporary influx of women into the world of men's work (Ramkhalawansingh, 1974:261). This generalization underestimates how

371

This content downloaded from ������������142.104.240.194 on Fri, 09 Apr 2021 06:17:24 UTC������������

All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms

the war precipitated lasting shifts in the balance of the sexes in the office.?0 The more enduring effects of the war on clerical occupations resulted from the de- velopment of shortages of male clerks at a time when major structural readjust- ments were occurring in the office. The fact that the war coincided with the ad- ministrative revolution helped to break down traditional barriers to female em- ployment in some industries." In banking, for example, the war was instrumen- tal in establishing women as the most economical source of labor for routine clerical jobs.

Banks traditionally considered the ideal clerk to be a young "gentleman" from a solid middle class background. When there was an under-supply of Canadians of this description, the banks recruited in Britain. But acute shortages of male bank clerks during the war forced a reconsideration of staffing policies. We find, for instance, that the proportion of female clerks in the Bank of Nova Scotia's Ontario region rocketed from 8.5 percent in 1911 to 40.7 percent in 1916 (Lowe, 1979:204). The war had shattered old restrictions, and even with postwar readjustments women still held over 30 percent of these positions in 1931.

Women were a rarity in turn-of-the-century banks. One of the largest banks in the Dominion employed only five women in 1901 (Journal of the Canadian Banker's Association, July 1916:316). A major stumbling block was that bankers considered women unable to create the public confidence necessary for a successful branch operation. One branch manager, when faced with his first female employee in 1901, "discussed with the head office in all seriousness the advisability of having a screen-a good high one, too-placed around her to shut her off completely from the observation of the public" (Journal of the Canadian Banker's Association, July 1916:316).

Prior to the war, women tended to fill jobs requiring no public contact, such as stenographic and secretarial positions and menial head office jobs. One bank, for example, employed 350 female stenographers and 273 female general clerks in 1916. These jobs were mainly at head office; only seven women held teller positions in branches. As the war escalated, bank officials had little choice but to deploy females to the branches as vacancies created by enlisting male clerks'2 combined with the general expansion of banking to precipitate a labor supply crisis. A female employee described the resulting diffusion of women through- out the bank's clerical hierarchies in these terms:

10. The tremendous expansion of the clerical sector during the war decade further segmented the labor market. For example, clerical jobs increased their share of the total female work force from

9.1 percent in 1911 to 18.5 percent in 1921. Fully 50.2 percent of the growth in office occupations over the decade was accounted for by women flooding into offices. In fact, 69,165 more clerical jobs were created during the 1911-21 decade than during the twenties. This works out to approx- imately four times more jobs, and therefore about four times more women entering the office.

11. The impact of the war on clerical employment opportunities for women was not even across all industries. In Montreal, for example, munitions plants hired women clerks to help administer war production as well as regular business (Price, 1919:26). On the other hand, Montreal's post offices employed mainly female clerks in 1914 and the war brought about little change (Price, 1919:60). Similarly, in the Manufacturers Life Assurance Company the war merely tilted the balance in favor of women, something which would have happened anyway (Lowe, 1979).

12. By early 1919, a total of 9,069 male bank clerks had enlisted in Canada (Lowe, 1979:284).

372

This content downloaded from ������������142.104.240.194 on Fri, 09 Apr 2021 06:17:24 UTC������������

All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms

The posts open to women in a bank are, of course, both stenographic and clerical, and on the former it

is unnecessary to touch. In the head offices until quite recently the proportion of clerical openings was small, but it is rapidly increasing and affording, as the business of each bank expands, opportunities in

the way of special openings calling for special ability. In addition to the ordinary run of clerical posi-

tions, women have been employed for the past few years in the branches of at least some of our leading banks in collection departments and on the ledgers; yes, on the ledgers.... Since the outbreak of the war, women have been filling positions both as clerks and as heads of departments which were for-

merly held by men.... In fact, the only two posts which are not at present occupied by women in a

greater or lesser proportion are those of accountant and manager. (Journal of the Canadian Banker's Association, July 1916:314-15)

Bank management reluctantly adjusted to the realities of the wartime labor market. In 1916, the Bank of Nova Scotia officially directed its branch man- agers to replace enlisted male clerks with women. Recognizing that the scarcity of male clerks would likely continue, bankers considered the possibility of plac- ing women into previously male dominated jobs: "we might just as well realize at once that the services of young women will have to be utilized for ledger- keepers, and at the smaller branches for tellers, so that attention should be paid to their training with this kind of service in mind."'3 While a good number of branch managers were unwaivering in their conviction that the male clerk was indispensible for business,'4 some were acknowledging the merits of female clerks. But this was tempered by the assumption that after the war most would return to the higher callings of homemaking and motherhood.

The economic necessities of the war clashed with the traditional social norms governing female conduct. Women were thus confronted with a dilem- ma. Many of the newly recruited female clerks proclaimed their intention to re- main employed "not merely as the assistants of men but as their equals in service and remuneration" (Journal of the Canadian Banker's Association, July 1917:316-17). Yet numerous other women demured in the face of this

challenge, thereby fulfilling the prophecy that "with the return of peace scores of girls will joyfully lay down their pens and return to their homes" (Monetary Times, 8 August 1919:10).

The immediate postwar boom carried wartime feminization into the twenties. The Monetary Times (8 August 1919:10) reported that "Canadian banks are busier than ever before, and by their policy of opening many new branches at the present time they are able to absorb their returning employees and still retain some of the temporary (female) help." The expansion of bank hierarchies channelled numerous former male clerks into supervisory positions. The recession in the early twenties resulted in many branch closures, curbing the hiring of women for a time. But when the economy picked up later in the decade, banks actively recruited women into their lower clerical ranks.

Changes in the clerical labor process, especially in large branches and head offices, tended to make the banks' time-tested recruitment and training proce- dures obsolete. Curiously, some bankers considered male juniors cheaper to hire

13. "Circular No. 1,699 from the General Manager, 6 April 1916," Bank of Nova Scotia Archives, Toronto.

14. When conscription was imposed, the banks lobbied the government to exempt their male clerks, arguing that these employees possessed special qualifications and performed a vital role in the economy (Monetary Times, 29 March 1918:22).

373

This content downloaded from ������������142.104.240.194 on Fri, 09 Apr 2021 06:17:24 UTC������������

All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms

than women. The Monetary Times (20 May 1927:11) offered this explanation: Women do not cultivate 'mobility' which is such a characteristic part of Canadian banking. Again, they are not suitable for very small branches, where the employees act to a certain degree as protec-

tors. Moreover, they do not respond to opportunities for promotion as readily as men, who are in the

business as a life work. They have not so large a capacity for work as the average male, and conse-

quently more clerks are necessary.

In other words, men were an investment, contributing considerably more to the bank in the long run by working their way up to responsible positions.

Even before the war, however, growing task specialization had increased the number of routine clerical jobs at the expense of the general clerkships which served as the training ground for aspiring males. As the banks modernized their administrative structures, there arose a "good deal of discontent among the younger men who ... enter the banking service at low salaries with the expecta- tion of rising to more responsible and highly paid positions" (Journal of the Canadian Banker's Association, January 1911:11). In sum, the wartime labor crisis exacerbated organizational changes in the banks to bring about a demand shift in the lower clerical echelons.

In order for women to become a permanent labor source by the end of the 1920s, the banks' occupational structure had to be segmented along sex lines. It was this segmentation which facilitated the creation of a secondary female labor market. At the root of occupational and wage discrimination in the office was the nineteenth century attitude that while women were handicapped in pur- suing "male" occupations because of inherent disadvantages, they nevertheless possessed certain qualities useful in a limited range of subordinate jobs. Scott (1889:25) explains: Woman has manifestly been designed by nature as a complement, not as a substitute for man. If soci-

ety has put her under certain political disabilities, her creator has put her under certain physical disa-

bilities. Even independently of the curse of Eve, the average women cannot calculate on her ability to work continuously with as well-grounded confidence as the average man, while in bodily strength she

cannot compare with him. On the other hand, she excels him in delicacy of touch, in lightness of step, in softness of voice.

Because their natural calling was thought to be in the home, women were relegated to part-time, temporary employment. Strong social sanctions prohibited the employment of married women.'5 Women tended to internalize these prevailing norms, making it that much easier for employers to build sex-based inequities into the division of labor. A vicious circle developed. Tasks defined as suitable for women were typically monotonous and unrewarding. This helped to turn the assumptions underlying occupational discrimination- the female's tentative labor force attachment, her primary vocation of home- maker and mother, her lower aspirations-into self-fulfilling prophecies,

manifested in a lack of job interest and high quit rates. The way women reacted to their relatively disadvantaged working conditions provided employers with supporting evidence for the negative stereotypes which justified their recruit- ment into routine jobs.'6

15. In the early twentieth century, approximately 90 percent of women in the Canadian labor force

were single (Vipond, 1977:117).

16. Ironically, women who entered the labor force typically were somewhat better educated than men. This was an added bonus for employers, but how was the discrepancy between occupational

374

This content downloaded from ������������142.104.240.194 on Fri, 09 Apr 2021 06:17:24 UTC������������

All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms

Labor market segmentation and job sex labelling in the federal civil service The treatment of women in the federal civil service is a classic example of the use of legislation and formal hiring policies to severely restrict female employ- ment opportunities. Beginning in the late nineteenth century, the flow of women into the lower ranks of the Ottawa "inside service" steadily mounted. The relatively high government salaries and the introduction of merit-based en- trance examinations in 1908 attracted many women into the swelling bureauc- racy. This leads Archibald (1970:16) to conclude that the "generally low labor force participation rates of women in the early part of this century were more a result of restricted opportunities than of female lack of interest in working." Women initially entered the civil service in response to a general demand for clerical labor. But the Civil Service Commission resorted to rules, regulations and legislation to segment the supply of clerical workers into male and female groups, confining the demand for female labor to menial jobs in the lowest reaches of the clerical hierarchy.

The inequality of opportunity built into the civil service bureaucracy early in the century helped create a cheap female labor pool (Hodgetts et al., 1972:483). But other factors also contributed to the discrimination against women in the service. Closer examination of employment practices reveals di- rect links between the processes of segmentation and sex labelling, traditional attitudes regarding woman's role and the growth and rationalization of govern- ment offices.

By 1891, women had been accepted as a permanent part of the service and were considered as efficient as male clerks (Dawson, 1929:191). Their numbers steadily increased, and in 1908, 700 of the 3,000 inside jobs were occupied by women (Hodgetts et al., 1972:483). The Civil Service Commission, however, reacted with alarm, predicting administrative chaos were the trend to continue. The Commission was even more concerned that the preponderance of women in the lower echelons of the service would eliminate these positions as a training ground for male officials. The Commission's solution was simple: restrict women to certain routine clerical jobs. In 1910 it limited appointments in the first and second division to men, leaving only the third division open to women. And blatant sex labelling was used to prevent women from monopolizing the third division: In the first place, there is certain work incidental to clerical duties, as in the handling of large regis-

ters, carrying of files and books up and down ladders, etc., which on physical grounds is not suitable for women. There are other positions in which, from time to time, the clerk may be called upon to travel considerable distances from Ottawa, alone or in the capacity as secretary of assistant. For obvi-

ous reasons, male clerks are required in positions involving such duties. (Canada, Civil Service Commission Annual Report, 1910:17)

status and education rationalized? Part of the answer is found in the ideology surrounding

woman's social role. The "cult of domesticity" required that women, as the transmitters of culture to children, should have an adequate base of knowledge from which to work (Brownlee and Brownlee, 1976:18). The growing number of women who entered the clerical labor market had to balance the contradictory demands of the world of work with those of home and family. Encour- aged to gain specialized clerical skills by enrolling in one of the plethora of business colleges, yet all the while knowing her destiny was in the home, the young woman of the 1920s faced a basic

quandry (see Vipond, 1977:120).

375

This content downloaded from ������������142.104.240.194 on Fri, 09 Apr 2021 06:17:24 UTC������������

All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms

The new rules forced women who passed the qualifying exam for the second division to take a position in the third. Temporary clerks had to pass typing or stenography tests, skills rare among males. Occupational segmentation was furthered by allowing department heads to label jobs "male" or "female." Women therefore became stenographers and typists; men became general clerks (Archibald, 1970:14). These measures had the desired effect. Yet the Commission did not consider the problem solved until the 1918 Civil Service

Act limited job competitions on the basis of sex and a 1921 ruling barred most women from permanent posts (Archibald, 1970:16).17

It is significant that during the same period the civil service job classifi- cation system was being overhauled by a team of Chicago efficiency experts (see Lowe, 1979:312-18). The "scientific" reforms increased the specialization and standardization of clerical procedures. The administrative division of labor advanced, adding to the pool of female jobs a growing array of routine tasks. Inequalities in the opportunity structure were becoming more rigid. Even though they constituted a stable supply of clerical workers, the status of the fe- male civil servant can be best described as marginal. This sometimes had rather severe ramifications. For example, when the job market was tight, women were considered to have less right to employment than men (Hodgetts et al., 1972:487). In sum, the experience of the female civil service clerk supports Oppenheimer's (1970) contention that the effects of sex labelling are self- perpetuating. Early discriminatory policies have thus left an indelible mark on the present occupational structure of the federal civil service (Archibald, 1970:19).

The female office machine operator Mechanization had a disintegrating effect on traditional clerical occupations. It simplified tasks, reduced skill levels, standardized procedures and intensified the pace of work and the level of supervision. The women who now operate modern office machines are considered the most "proletarianized" sector of the white-collar work force (Work in America, 1973:38; Rinehart, 1975:92; Glenn and Feldberg, 1977). Mechanized clerical jobs were a byproduct of the progres- sive rationalization of the office. Women did not displace men, for a female label was always attached to this kind of work. Because office mechanization is so closely interconnected with feminization, it provides clear evidence of how structural changes in the office underlay the shifting ratio of clerical jobs.

Stenography became the first female office occupation for a unique combi- nation of reasons. Because of the arduous nature of the work, the special training required and the lack of obvious social or economic advantages, male clerks did not find stenography very attractive. Young women were being trained in typing in the early 1880s, at least a decade before the typewriter was modified into a practical office appliance. Typewriters thus helped create a new subgroup outside the male dominated, mainstream clerical occupations. By

17. The 1921 regulation made exceptions for married women who were self-supporting or if other suitable candidates could not be found. Married women in the service were forced to resign and reapply as temporary workers at the minimum salary.

376

This content downloaded from ������������142.104.240.194 on Fri, 09 Apr 2021 06:17:24 UTC������������

All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms

1900, any remaining doubts about women's ability to operate the new office machines had been supplanted. Prevailing social norms sanctioned these devel- opments, provided women did not pose a competitive threat to the male clerk.

A woman is to be preferred for the secretarial position for she is not averse to doing minor tasks, work

involving the handling of petty details, which would irk and irritate ambitious young men, who usu- ally feel that the work they are doing is of no importance if it can be performed by some person with a

lower salary. Most such men are also anxious to get ahead and to be promoted from position to posi- tion, and consequently if there is much work of a detail (sic) character to be done, and they are ex-

pected to perform it, they will not remain satisfied and will probably seek a position elsewhere.

(Leffingwell, 1925:621)

Stenography presents somewhat of a paradox in terms of the position of women in the office. On one hand, we have shown that women were shunted into the bottom layers of administrative structures. Yet on the other hand, mechanization afforded considerable socio-economic status and craft-like work

to a select group of female clerks. Early stenographers closely approximated the ideal of craft work, as evident in the range of their skills and their greater mas- tery and control over the work process. These conditions were significantly bet- ter than those in other clerical jobs, so much so that stenographers became career-oriented and tended to develop a strong occupational identification. This accounts for their longer years of service and greater earning potential. Conse- quently, we find that from 1911 to 1926 stenographers were the highest paid group of either sex in the Bank of Nova Scotia, with starting wages consistently higher than those for general clerks (Lowe, 1979:231).

The privileged position of the stenographer was undermined, however, by the advance of rationalization. By the start of the First World War, the two

central elements of the job, dictation and typing, were being separated. The in- troduction of dictation machines facilitated the organization of central typing pools. Furthermore, there was a great surge of women into the occupation in search of high wages and steady employment (Labour Gazette, 1913:passim). In 1915, Toronto had twenty-eight business schools turning out stenographers and typists (Ontario, Report of the Commission on Unemployment, 1916: 182).18 The market became glutted. Unemployment among stenographers

reached 25 percent in Toronto that year (Labour Gazette, February 1915:924) and only the most experienced operators could command top wages.

Management viewed the typing pool as more efficient, cheaper and easier to control than individual stenographers scattered throughout the office. Typing pools combined technical and organizational changes, giving rise to the "office- machine age" (Mills, 1956:195) which has culminated in the "word processing systems" and "administrative support centres" of today. By the mid-twenties, many large Canadian offices had central typing pools (Lowe, 1979:363-67). These paper-generating assembly lines obtained optimal efficiency from typewriters by keeping them in continuous use. Employees viewed the pool

18. Another contributing factor on the supply side was the attempt by typewriter companies to regu-

late the labor market for stenographers and typists through employment agencies (see Ontario, Report of the Commission on Unemployment, 1916:182). The business schools and private em- ployment agencies helped create a huge secondary labor pool of semi-skilled women, which employers drew on to fill routine typing jobs.

377

This content downloaded from ������������142.104.240.194 on Fri, 09 Apr 2021 06:17:24 UTC������������

All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms

concept with suspicion. One insurance company reported that:

Most stenographers who had seen or heard of transcribing machines were very much prejudiced

against them, and the belief was almost generally entertained that the machine would ultimately

force all stenographers to abandon their careers in favour of the much lower priced transcribing ma-

chine operators.... There was also a natural prejudice ... against working in a Stenographic Depart- ment as compared with the more intimate contacts surrounding positions where they were required to

take the work of only one or two dictators. (Life Office Management Association, Proceedings, 1926:82)

Without downplaying the impact of the typewriter on the feminization pro- cess, it is accurate to say that the Hollerith machine fully launched the mechan- ical transformation of the clerical work process. The Hollerith punch card sys- tem was the most dramatic innovation in office technology prior to computers. International Business Machines was the main supplier, and by the early 1930s it had 105 major Canadian offices among its Hollerith customers (Lowe, 1979:377-78). The job title of "office machine operator" first appeared in the 1921 Census, signalling that a minor revolution in office technology was well underway.

The impact of the Hollerith machine was heightened by increasing bureaucratization and the introduction of scientific office management during the twenties. The women operators no doubt found that the machines tended to

fragment and deskill work. As Shepard (1971:63) puts it, such devices "greatly accelerated the trend toward functional specialization. Many more special purpose machine-operating jobs evolved, placing employees filling these jobs in a relationship to technology similar to the mass-production factory worker. Work in these jobs is repetitive, mechanically paced, and minutely sub-divided." In short, the female office machine operator had become a stand- ard feature of the large bureaucratic office by the late 1920s. These women constituted what in Marxist terms might be called the "machine minders" of the modern office.

Conclusion

This paper has attempted to develop a new perspective on the feminization pro- cess. By incorporating features of existing models into a structural explanation, we have been able to trace the origins of a secondary female clerical labor mar- ket back to transformations in the means of administration. The historical evi-

dence presented supports Meissner's (1977:162) contention that "the structure of functional distinctions and social inequalities becomes visible in job assign- ments, wage differences, and job classifications." The evolution of modern ad- ministration during the first three decades of this century in Canada created a new stratum of clerical jobs. As the number of these routine jobs grew, they be- came increasingly rationalized. Employers shifted their demand for clerks from men to women mainly because the requirements of the new administrative tasks were inconsistent with the established occupational characteristics of male clerks. Feminization was not simply a case of women displacing men. Rather, women became an administrative underclass because the division of labor had

advanced to the point where male clerks were unsuited and unwilling, for a variety of social and economic reasons, to perform the new menial tasks. Segmentation resulted; men became office managers and technical or profes- sional personnel and women occupied the subordinate clerical jobs.

378

This content downloaded from ������������142.104.240.194 on Fri, 09 Apr 2021 06:17:24 UTC������������

All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms

The paper raises a number of issues worthy of further investigation, but two in particular stand out. The first has to do with the relationship between sex segregation in clerical jobs and the hierarchical organization of the office (Stevenson, 1975:251, 253). Specifically, how has the concentration of women workers in the lower reaches of administration helped maintain the hierarchical arrangement of control in the modern office? The second question links the workplace to the larger society. We have argued that in order to understand labor market processes, it is imperative to examine the social relations of pro- duction in the office. But to what extent are the social relations of office work

reflected in the class structure? Davis (1975:279) claims that lower level clerks form an integral part of the working class. Certainly our research suggests that office working conditions became "proletarianized" during the administrative revolution, at least to the extent that they became more factory-like. But does this mean that the women recruited into clerical jobs comprise a segment of the working class? Both of these questions present intriguing theoretical possibili- ties and will hopefully spark future research.

Let us conclude with a comment on the present situation. Clerical occupa- tions now contain the greatest concentration of women in the labor force. The thrust of sex labelling and segmentation, when combined with the progressive rationalization of the office, have increasingly locked women into subordinate clerical jobs. Presumably, attitudes towards women's position in society have liberalized considerably since the 1920s. But sex-based inequalities and discrim- ination are so deeply embedded in the structure of the contemporary office that only the utmost tenacity on the part of women's groups and unions holds pros- pects for greater equality.

References

Armstrong, Hugh and Pat Armstrong 1975 "The segregated participation of women in the Canadian labour force, 1941-71."

Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology 12:370-384. Armstrong, Pat and Hugh Armstrong

1978 The Double Ghetto: Canadian Women and their Segregated Work. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart.

Archibald, Kathleen

1970 Sex and the Public Service. Ottawa: Queen's Printer. Braverman, Harry

1974 Labor and Monopoly Capital: The Degradation of Work in the Twentieth Century. New York: Monthly Review Press.

Brownlee, W. Elliot and Mary M. Brownlee 1976 Women in the American Economy. New Haven. Yale University Press.

Burns, Robert K.

1954 "The comparative economic position of manual and white-collar employees." Journal of Business 27:257-267.

Canada

n.d. Canada Year Book.

n.d. Censuses, 1891-1971.

n.d. Civil Service Commission, Annual Reports. 1939 Occupational Trends in Canada, 1891-1931. Special bulletin, D.B.S., Ottawa.

Clement, Wallace 1975 The Canadian Corporate Elite. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart.

379

This content downloaded from ������������142.104.240.194 on Fri, 09 Apr 2021 06:17:24 UTC������������

All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms

Connelly, Patricia 1978 Last Hired, First Fired: Women and the Canadian Work Force. Toronto: Women's Press.

Davies, Margery 1975 "Women's place is at the typewriter: the feminization of the clerical labor force." In Labor

Market Segmentation, edited by Richard Edwards et al. Lexington, Mass; D.C. Heath. Dawson, Robert M.

1929 The Civil Service of Canada. London: Oxford University Press. Edwards, Richard

1979 Contested Terrain: The Transformation of the Workplace in the Twentieth Century. New York: Basic Books.

Edwards, Richard C., Michael Reich and David M. Gordon, eds. 1975 Labor Market Segmentation. Lexington, Mass; D.C. Heath.

Firestone, O.J.

1953 "Canada's economic development, 1867-1952." Paper prepared for the Third Conference

of the International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, Castelgandolfo, Italy.

Freedman, Marcia 1976 Labor Markets: Segments and Shelters. Montclair, N.J.: Allanheld, Osmun.

Glenn, Evelyn N. and Roslyn L. Feldberg 1977 "Degraded and deskilled: the proletarianization of clerical work." Social Problems

25:52-64.

Gordon, David M.

1972 Theories of Poverty and Underemployment: Orthodox, Radical, and Dual Labor Market Perspectives. Lexington, Mass.: D.C. Heath.

Hodgetts, J.E., W. McCloskey, R. Whitaker, and V.S. Wilson

1972 The Biography of an Institution: The Civil Service Commission of Canada, 1908-1967. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press.

Journal of the Canadian Banker's Association Kanter, Rosabeth Moss

1977 Men and Women of the Corporation. New York: Basic Books. Kessler-Harris, Alice

1975 "Stratifying by sex: understanding the history of working women." In Labor Market Segmentation, edited by Richard Edwards et al. Lexington, Mass: D.C. Heath.

Labour Gazette

Leffingwell, William H.

1925 Office Management, Principles and Practice. Chicago: A.W. Shaw. Life Office Management Association

n.d. Proceedings of Annual Conferences Lockwood, David

1966 The Blackcoated Worker. London: Allen and Unwin.

Lowe, Graham S.

1979 "The administrative revolution: the growth of clerical occupations and the development of the modern office in Canada, 1911-1931." Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of Toronto.

Madden, Janice Fanning 1973 The Economics of Sex Discrimination. Lexington, Mass: Lexington Books.

Meissner, Martin

1977 "Sexual division of labour and inequalities; labour and leisure." In Women in Canada, second edition, edited by Marylee Stephenson. Don Mills: General Publishing.

Meltz, Noah M. 1969 Manpower in Canada, 1931 to 1961. Ottawa: Queen's Printer.

Mills, C. Wright 1956 White Collar: The American Middle Classes. New York: Oxford University Press.

Monetary Times Ontario

1916 Report of the Ontario Commission on Unemployment. Toronto: A.T. Wilgress. Oppenheimer, Valerie K.

1970 The Female Labor Force in the United States. Berkeley: Institute of International Studies, University of California.

380

This content downloaded from ������������142.104.240.194 on Fri, 09 Apr 2021 06:17:24 UTC���������UTC

All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms

Ostry, S. 1968 The Female Worker in Canada. Ottawa: Queen's Printer.

Payne, J.L. 1907 "The civil servant." University Magazine 6.

Piore, Michael J. 1975 "Notes for a theory of labor market segmentation." In Labor Market Segmentation,

edited by Richard Edwards et al. Lexington, Mass.: D.C. Heath. Prather, Jane E.

1971 "When the girls move in: a sociological analysis of the feminization of the bank teller's job." Journal of Marriage and the Family 13:777-782.

Price, Enid M.

1919 "Changes in the industrial occupations of women in the environment of Montreal during the period of the war, 1914-1918." Unpublished MA thesis, McGill University.

Ramkhalawansingh, Ceta 1974 "Women during the Great War." In Women at Work: Ontario 1850-1930, edited by

Janice Action, Penny Goldsmith and Bonnie Shepard. Toronto: Canadian Women's Edu- cational Press.

Rinehart, James W.

1975 The Tyranny of Work. Don Mills: Longman Canada. Scott, Jean Thompson

1889 "The conditions of female labor in Ontario." Studies in Political Science, Series III, edited

by W.J. Ashely. Toronto: University of Toronto.

Shepard, Jon M. 1971 Automation and Alienation: A Study of Office and Factory Workers. Cambridge, Mass.:

M.I.T. Press.

Singelmann, Joachim and Marta Tienda 1979 "Changes in industry structure and female employment in Latin America: 1950-1970."

Sociology and Social Research 63:745-769. Stevenson, Mary

1975 "Women's wages and job segregation." In Labor Market Segmentation, edited by Richard Edwards et al. Lexington, Mass.: D.C. Heath.

Sun Life Assurance Company n.d. Sunshine, employee magazine

Vipond, Mary 1977 "The images of women in mass circulation magazines in the 1920s." In The Neglected

Majority, edited by Susan Mann Trofimenkoff and Alison Prentice. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart.

Work in America

1973 Report of a Special Task Force to the U.S. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare prepared by the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. Cambridge, Mass.: M.I.T. Press.

381

This content downloaded from ������������142.104.240.194 on Fri, 09 Apr 2021 06:17:24 UTC������������

All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms