When someone has a white collar job it means they usually work in a professional office environment, and a blue collar job is a term for those who perform some sort of manual labor, pink collar jobs are jobs in the service industry that have become feminized. Librarians, nurses, secretaries, and waitresses are all considered jobs that have been feminized for one reason or another over the years. World War I was the beginning of "pink-collar jobs" as the military needed personnel to type letters, answer phones, and perform other tasks. One thousand women worked for the U.S. Navy as stenographers, clerks, and telephone operators. During this time nursing also became "feminized" after the opening Bellevue Hospital School of Nursing, the first to train women as professional nurses. While some of these nurses worked in hospitals, the majority of them worked in field tents. During World War I and II, men were being drafted and sent to war, opening the doors for women to step into these now open positions.
Gourley, Catherine (2008). Gibson Girls and Suffragists: Perceptions of Women from 1900 to 1918 (Minneapolis, MN: Twenty-First Century Books)
The Shift to "Self-Made Man"
In addition to women taking over men's jobs in the 1900's, after the Civil War, many American men shunned the idea that educated men were at the forefront of "moral and economic authority." These men were now focusing on individual pursuits of a more labored work force, turning away from the aristocratic positions that their good breeding once encouraged them to pursue, such as librarianship. "As gentility was abandoned by young men, it became more identified both with old-fashioned values and with femininity. Women were looked to as keepers of the culture, and they took that responsibility seriously." Doors were being opened for women like never before, and they took advantage of the opportunities that the librarian position held for them. “As American women entered librarianship in the late 19th century, they focused on issues of professional equity, on services to women among the general public, and on the importance of preserving the history and writings of women themselves.” As men stepped away from the position, women stepped into it with full force, ensuring that their history was also accounted for. Librarianship was a way for independent women to shape themselves into a self-made woman.
Keer, Gretchen, and Andrew Carlos. "The Stereotype Stereotype." American Libraries Magazine. 30 Oct. 2015. Web. Pritchard, Sarah. "Library History and Women's History: An Ongoing Convergence."American Libraries Magazine. 29 Feb. 2012. Web.
Some Thoughts on the Pink Collar Stereotype
An anonymous letter from a French newspaper in 1736 stated that "the office of librarian is the most honourable office a learned man can get." I 100% agree with that, but I also don't think that it should be just one type of person who is a librarian. Most of the library jobs from history went to white men, then white women. If libraries are indeed for everyone, we must reflect that in our hiring processes in the future. The people that staff the library should be just as diverse as the patrons they serve. I hope in the future that there is more representation from all genders and races. There is not just one type of person who uses the library, so there shouldn't be just one type of person who staffs it.
Lettre sur l’Ofice de Bibliothécaire : A Monsieur Enguel, Bibliothécaire à Berne. Mercure suisse: ou recueil de nouvelles historiques, politiques, & c., July 1736.