Psychology of Supervising the Working Woman, The.
[Labor]. Laird, Dr. Donald A. The Psychology of Supervising the Working Woman. With the assistance of Eleanor C. Laird, research assistant. First edition. Fourth impression. New York and London: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1942.
8vo.; 19 photographs printed on coated paper; torn corner on frontispiece; pp. 73-80 detached; black cloth, stamped in gilt; light wear to extremities.
First edition, fourth printing. Laird, a doctor in psychology, maps out the differences between men and women in an effort to prepare employers for the modifications to the workplace that will be necessary to accommodate female workers. Chapters such as “Adjusting Work to Women’s Brainpower” and “The Problem of Crushes and Jealousies” “scientifically” detail how work must be adjusted to women’s physical and emotional capabilities. Excerpted from the chapter entitled “Bones and Joints”:
Women are not only knock-kneed—they are knock-elbowed as well! This is another reason why women handle tools and throw balls in such a way as to make the process appear awkward to men and the results uncertain….nature may be blamed somewhat when the fair sex hammers her finger instead of a nail, or has difficulty with a screwdriver or a man-designed can opener. (p. 81)
Laird also includes a comprehensive chart on pp. 162-165 characterizing various behaviors and interests as either “mannish” or “womanish”—while men may prefer activities such as repairing a clock or climbing along the edge of a precipice, women are more likely to enjoy raising flowers and vegetables or looking into shop windows. A woman’s mentality, Laird concludes, is not the same as a man, and the following anecdote is offered as evidence of this point:
When a bank in Des Moines was held up, the description the woman bookkeeper gave the police was that the two bandits were “not bad-looking.” About the same month, a drugstore in Detroit was held up, and the girl clerk told the officers that the thugs had “the nicest blue eyes.” (p. 159)
Additionally, a check-list is provided for supervisors, with questions ranging from “Are there adequate mirrors in the washroom?” and “Are my women workers being ‘bossed’ or are they being ‘helped in a fatherly way’?” to ensure that the workplace is very woman-friendly. Males in supervisory or managerial positions need to understand why women may take issue with working in projects on teams, because of the cliques that can develop and impede work, or how “menstrual phenomena” can affect a woman’s performance while on the job. Becoming sensitive to the unique psychology of women is “an emergency need,” imperative for making places of employment safe and productive for both sexes.
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