WHITE COLLAR GIRLS

Series

Series Name

The March of Time 13th Year

Issue

Issue No.

11

Date Released

1948

Length of issue (in feet)

1519

Stories in this Issue:

1. 1WHITE COLLAR GIRLS

Story

Story No. within this Issue

1 / 1

Summary

The March of Time synopsis: In evaluating the importance of American women in the nation’s economy, the film points out that, through long generations of inheritance, they own and control seventy per cent of the total provate property, including a majority of the stocks and bonds of the country’s corporate enterprises, banks and utilities. Private purchasing power is also mainly in their hands - for they practically monopolise buying in the greatest consumer industries - food and clothing. While of the sixty million job-holders in the US today sixteen million are women - more than half of them married, widowed or divorced.

Among these working women, in recent years, has evolved a new type - the "career girl", whose principal characteristic is an undeviating concentration on succeeding in her profession or business. The film shows the way these girls get their start - some in specialised schools or courses, some in department store work leading to such jobs as those of comparison shopper, department manageress or assistant buyer.
Principal problem of the career girl is a financial one, for the road leading to the higher paid positions is a long and arduous one. Finding a reasonably-priced place in which to live is the major difficulty, and it is only by careful budgeting and strong determination that a modest salary can be made to meet big-city prices.
A question which the film examines in some detail is the attitude of the career woman towards marriage. Because they find in business or the professions a great source of satisfaction, many career women are willing to risk the serious problems involved in doing two jobs simultaneously - one in the world of business and another in the home. For thousands of married working women the end of the business day means, not a chance to rest and relax, but plunging into another set of responsibilities as home maker. Though many such women make a success of marriage, it takes all the tolerance and good humour the wife can muster to keep things running smoothly, but occasionally career and marriage collide head-on. Today, says The March of Time, the place of women in the American economy is a secure one. For years they have controlled much of the nation’s wealth and they now hold a sizable share of its jobs. And in spite of traditions and prejudices which have tended to keep them in a subordinate position, many of America’s White Collar girls have won at last what they fought for long and hard - fame and fortune in what was once a man’s world.

Researcher Comments

This story was included in Vol.14 No.13 of the US edition.

Keywords

Women; Domestic life

Written sources

The March of Time Promotional Material   Lobby Card, Used for synopsis

Credits:

Production Co.

Time Inc.