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On this day – 1st Female Telephone Operator began working
September 1, 2022
An event every year that begins at 12:00 am on day 1 of September, repeating indefinitely
On September 1, 1878, teenaged Emma Nutt became the world’s first female telephone operator as she began work at Boston’s Edwin Holmes Telephone Dispatch Company. ☎🎙🎧
Hired by Alexander Graham Bell himself, Nutt didn’t just break norms, but ushered in an entirely new era. By the end of the 1880s, nearly every telephone operator was a young woman. 👩👩👩
Why? They reportedly did a better job and had a nicer demeanor than the teenage boys employed prior.
Did you know? The women telephone operators were paid meagerly and went on to organize. A strike in 1919 even left the entire New England region without telephone service.
Telephone Operator (A Weaver of Public Thought), Gerrit Beneker, 1921
