The Employment of Women in Certain Phases of Television Production
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A SURmi tKS ISFWTMEgt OF WOMM IM CEHTAIR PHASES OF TSLEVISIO:! RiODUCTIOM A Thesis Presented to the Faeultj of the Department of Radio and Television XJnivBralty of Houston . ■ M. D. ANDERSON MEMORIAL LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON In Partial Fulflllmnt ■ of, the lequiremnts for the Degree SSaster of Arts by Sybil Rye son Solomon June 1955 122592 A StJBVrri t® SMfLOYKgST OF WO1SS II C SI TA IS MSES OF Tffimsios mm>wTios An Abstr&ai of a Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Departnsat of Radio and Television University of fioustm In Partial Fulflllmnt of the Requireffients for the Degree Meter of Arts by Sybil Ryemon Soloznon June 1955 In tliy f1624 ©t television has beccsrae the s^>st prominent aourae ©f entertaisa@ste educ&tiGn and jUsif^raatiaie The grovjth <at the* tslwlaim industry has been extroaely rapid. As a result of this remarkable growth many near jobs have bem ©reetM ed are being created, as the *in dustry contlnms to satwe end eacpmd* ; f. «-< a_ ' Television as a mms of e«nlng a livelihood is now attracting a great many *people Mora end, more women are turning to careers in telwlslme This study is sn *Invest! gatlm into the problem of th® currmt @^loy®®nt of women In certain j^ases of television productlau What ar® the specifto jobs that sceen now holding in television $a?o* *dwtim sad ^&t salaries do they earn at these jobs! How does the nunbar of sm c^psre with the xruxabdr of women who srs doing the asm job! Kw do their salaries cogspareiy^Bo* cause of th® newness of th® Industry aooe of this inforaatim had previously bem ^therede Tcmg w«on caisldorlng *tele vision as a career had no infcroatlon cmcemlng what jobs to train for# at* salarlea teey could, expect to earn# and what the attitude of the atationa Is tvsard employing wc®®n>> Sa @?Oer to get ttw inforaatim for this study it was . necessary to to the source of the©mploysent** television stationse A questionnaire listing twenty different jobs in > XsrMiS television production, was sent to all televislem stations in ©^ration In th® IMted States pyltir to -January lt 1955. la eMlfelcsi W listing the epeeifle Jatee# the ^xeetioKmaire requested the nmhw ef ma «md doiog these jobat the eelarj rcmge tw b@6h eamey my jbba that wmm are *held lag la fV predaetim that were aet itemized by th® *<$u@stlm aalre# md intesatlen m to m not the etatlma ware plmnlng to to their etaffa la the next six amths* the respmaes to the Queetl«malre are the basis for the following omelnaims te the etsweat eaplojuent of women in televlalm production# The televisim industry is definitely reeeptlve to fmale mployoese TMay wosan sre wmklng at e large number of dltrerent 3obs la *telewloion .they are doing Sobs that require ewlleetod te^mloel *towledge jobs that require creative and artietie *eMlity jobs that retire greet patimoe az^. endurMiee, md jobs that me mtrmely competi* tire# Worn «e boldly twenty emt of toe total number of jobs to televisito that ware itwaisod by the questicwmaire md listed by toe statlsm* I^sro wo®m me werMaj in *tele vision writing fibs dep®rtamts^tbm’‘to wtoer biases of TV productim#. BcwevsT# toere-'toe Wms wwhtog to all jobs Hated by toe (paeatlonaMre# with <movmeepti®i# The job which Mata ao-'fwle aaployees is the job of Babe*wp» and only, few men ware listed aa doing that job* M a general rale wenm are eamtog less tom isen# The swallost $wo«itag® of s«a em too highest salaries. ishlle We smallest @t sea earn the lowest salaries* There are wmm earatog m as *0011,600 per wmth* This salary was the M#ieat f«ale salary receded and was the sme as the highest sale sa2«*y reccrded* Static® Mmagwa ccmsat that they hire both ®m eaM. wmm <m We basis of ability arid qaaliftoatlotia fcr We job*- M to tie fbtwe prospeets for wme® in W production, *•eventyfiw per emt of the stations planning to increase their staffs will ^^loy both sen wid *wmm The wo®m who are going to enter We business of *tele riaian in the future will find that they ere accepted as an isportimt part of the pmscmel rocpilred to build better *tele wision production* TABLS OF COSTOTS CHA PCT , PAGE I, UHR(8X$CTI0I TO THS STCDY • 1 prctolea *• • • • • • »• •' e1 .• • • • • Statement ®f the problem • • • • • • • 5 Purple ©f the study ■ • «• • ,• • «■ •- .•<■ • • 6 Method ©f the w©eMw®- . •• *! •- •- *• ♦- 7 Deflaltltoa ©t teiror • • »■ • •' »■ •' * »- 8 II» TIIE mGASJSATIO® OF THS STOUT »■ .• •' <■ • •' • Hj. Hie AMLTSIS OF THE AJBfm TO W QUSSTIOSHAIRSw 16 IV• ADDlTIOSAh 5OB& SSU> BT WOMEK- »■ •' • .• . $1 V» CQ11SSTS OF TO STATIC® SAHAOSRS •••, . • $8 VI. AMX.TSIS OF THE FIWISGS A® COKUOSIOSS . • 60 BisLiOGiurar .• • •• .• .• .■. ••. .• 69 APPE®IX A. Letter from author to stations • .■ . 73 APPODIX B. Questionnaire ♦ •' • • . • • .• • 7^ APPBMX Ce Letter fro,* station .■ . •- .■ . .• • 76 APPENDIX D. Letter from author to H.A.I.T.B. 77 APPsron Ee Letter fro® H.A.R.T.B. to author ... 78 APPfflDIX F» List of statiom to i^loh questionnaires were sent *••.••«••••••• emPTSR I IW^KODVCTIOS TO WS STODT "Spaee, imtil tM advent ef bad always placed a definite liaitatlOA ©n ®an*a range ©f cosmunleation, ladle abolished this *barrier With tM growth ©f broadcast* Ing, a mw revolution Is overtaking wi* Man la living in a new dimnsimeeeladl© and television, have eaptored the popular itoaginatlon etM have become doolmnt paatiB»s in our **Uvea i- 2* In the field of oowmloatlim' radio has relinquished Its top positlm to the new medlua called *televialon The \ saturation by television of urban, surburban, and farm eosoauiltioa, has ®&<e this new mdim of e®«anleatl<m a powerful force in modern soeiety# We have ©eased to marvel at the wonders of television and haw accepted It as a part of our day to day living** Men, women, and ehildren n0w have at their finger tips an unllMtod reals of entertaiment, education, and ' *Informtion The peculiar ispaet that television has on i- Charles A* Sie^aan, Bad to Television aad Society (lew Torkl Oxford tMl vers 1 ty""'iws aJ " 1^ v, William Kaufaan and Bobort 3* Colodsln, Your Career in Television (lew York! Merlin Press, 1950) pp*‘irlx7' SOI. " 2 the that3nttos6^** it hoMe ter ell ages and both, as&esa has placad this ©sans ot earn* wmlaatlm In a eategory all lt» ©wb* Tela’ylsitm has the awld t@ ©w *doarstep "The alghb alub, the gridiroif the politleal arena# and the school have been breast te the. llviag. Badio has becoene aeaetite1^* Televlalon new holds the nuiaber one foaltlm. at Is^ortanee in the tield ef *ec» *tounloation M the technical ebstaelae end p’obleras that televialea bought with It have be« ewaemted and resolved# the Industry Mm mvol^ed a greatw and greater portion of owr *population The peww of televlalon to eaptvre the interests of the entire nation has been demonstrated by several draaiatle events in the field of govmmmt end *pol itiese4 It la safe to say that television la here to stay# Its growth has been ph«&wnal» It will oontlime to grow la else end IsapwtsBee* It is firmly mtrenehed «d wntll some new# isw® powerful# mare dra®&tio Bedim of eommnieaticKi us-urps its plaae# television will reealn in the position of ^Charles y* Undsley# hadio and Televislm *Casyni oation (Sew Xcrht *®Orw»ailFvmp«ny> Tn (CMC 3 prcEiinenc® tMt It wt < ef a better postwar werM have found tele* vlaieek baa a nwaber ef equally etriMag aspectse Itar example# this la the first tine la hletery that «a has had an eppor* tunity to tates a hl^ly developed but eonpletely unexploited selenee eM out ef it ereate a nee lndu8try««tm industry *ieh is being built troa. ths ground tp and <d.ch will pro* ^da hua^reds of th®MMda ©f nw **®lobs wnv^wkw® eneiRerwwww ip'wwwv R6*i wwe#! sroMr wsscwwwflWF- we ■eww |gWF*^Wrat As a natural eatoane of title axtraaely rapid growth telerlsloat way new |ob< bwe iimay dwelled end are aontlmiiBg to detelo^ •felwlaloa la bigt lSe* *open Its future la all b«tcre *«**^lt As those hew |db» ocm Into bMngt the televisim Indiuitary la bW'Osing the field of w^plo'pMaat for mro end, acre *people Mtwtllyi televialw Is a blending of radio* the *stage and sot Im *pletwea It requires writ ere who ..ooi weato stcrleat aotora to pcnrtrey *rolea produotara and *diractors Bcenic sa^ oostwe *doslga^w oawra non* engin eers, *suaiol®M fila *Mltwa prop® end **oqulpomtall those people sre a n^essary part < the te« that enables Hubbell, op* elt** p* K. 4 ua't© ®lt la our llvtog riroaa wb& ©ajoy toe £srog?sM *re celved ©a eur Tf setae ^^to am eM womu are entering - toe business televlaim aa • mem^s of earning a *llvell hitMe^z Woaei eare me eenfined. to listted fieMa of e^le^aes&t M are filling jobs to IMuatey of a 'widely dlverelfled ftatwe* . If a ve^m poesoaees toe yityatoel and smtal tollity to obtain «d retain a eertato job# there she will be focaad dotog that job* TMa trend of tofiltra* tim of women into highly teotoloal jobs was toe outcme of World ter Hj when it was aeeeaasry to mto use of toe weeaan poww of toe nation® w®tea proved towselwa to be eatable of *doing sod doing wll# jobs that had .previously been emalderod topoaslble *f« toea to *hold 8 9 feleviaim la a new exeittog field of employment tc® waasn* television is uninhibited and there la no *yre cedent to handie&p toe wc@m too seto employmnt* Th-e'ymy^ nowesa of^telovlslm mtoea^it a fertile field of employ* rnent *$« anyone having toe ability to ^rove himself *eapable 1,0 8 Bmam# et» ale# op* olt*# pp* 11*13* 9 tone K* Baetjer* Ja Industry (Philadelphia! W* B*.