9to5: The Story of A Movement

In the early 1970s, a group of secretaries in Boston decided that they had suffered in silence long enough. Inspired by the Women's Liberation Movement, they started fighting back, banding together to force changes in their workplaces. Their goals were simple: better pay, job descriptions, respect, advancement opportunities, and an end to sexual harassment - then a freshly coined concept. They employed outrageous humor to attract the press and shame their bosses into change. This movement, taking the name 9to5, became national, and inspired Dolly Parton's iconic song and Jane Fonda's hit film of the same name. Later becoming a formal union, 9to5 encapsulated a unique intersection of the women's and labor movements. The awareness these women brought to bear on their work reverberates even today. Clerical workers were the low-wage workers of their era, and as America confronts the growing reality of deep income inequality, and commonplace sexual harassment, the stories and strategies of these bold, creative women continue to resonate deeply.