#HappyInternationalWomensDay - 1923 Teachers Contract Shows Progress For Women

Happy #IWD2015 to all women and my fellow feminists. A teacher’s contract from 1923 has recently gone viral on Facebook, and shows how much we have to be happy for. Back then, teaching was primarily a female job and the contract outlines all of the guidelines anyone who signs must follow to keep her job. With the rules being so gender-specific, there is no denying the sexist antecedents that today's working women face.

The contract was posted on Ohio Education Association’s Facebook page, and dictates how the women automatically lost their jobs or had to quit when they got married. The female teachers had to have their clothes a certain length, had to wear two underwears to avoid any manner of looking good. They were also warned not to seek or keep the company of men, not to drink alcohol or smoke, not to dye their hair, not to dress in bright colors. Read below..

Teacher Contract, Term 1923

This is an agreement between Miss ___________ teacher, and the Board of Education of the _____________ School, whereby Miss _____________ agrees to teach in the _____________ School for a period of eight months, beginning September 1, 1923. The Board of Education agrees to pay Miss ___________ the sum of $75 per month.

Miss __________ agrees:

1. Not to get married. This contract becomes null and void immediately if the teach marries.
2. Not to keep company with men.
3. To be at home between the hours of 8 pm and 6 am unless in attendance at school functions.
4. Not to loiter in downtown ice-cream stores.
5. Not to leave town at any time without the permission of the Chairman of the Board of Trustees.
6. Not to smoke cigarettes. This contract becomes null and void immediately if the teacher is found smoking.
7. Not to drink beer, wine or whiskey. This contract becomes null and void immediately if the teach is found drinking beer, wine or whiskey.
8. Not to ride in a carriage or automobile with any man except her brother or father.
9. Not to dress in bright colors.
10. Not to dye her hair.
11. To wear at least two petticoats.
12. Not to wear dresses more than two inches above the ankle.
13. To keep the schoolroom clean.
- To sweep the classroom floor at least once daily.
- To scrub the classroom floor with hot water and soap at least once weekly.
- To clean the blackboard at least once daily.
- To start the fire at 7:00 am so the room will be warm at 8:00 am when the children arrive.

Post by Ohio Education Association.