Tells the story of eight women bank workers in the small town of Willmar, Minnesota who found themselves in the forefront of the fight for working women's rights. Oral History Interviews of the St. Paul Police Women Oral History Project , This project documents the challenges and successes of female officers that served in the St. Paul Police Department between the s and the s. The project evolved out of the larger St. The interviews trace the changing roles of female officers and record their stories of discrimination, public success, and private pain.
M6 S Kathleen A. Olson Papers, Papers of a Minnesota feminist documenting her participation in voluntary organizations dedicated to achieving full rights for women and the elimination of sexism and sex discrimination in Minnesota schools, and her involvement with University of Minnesota committees working under terms of the Rajender consent decree to end sex discrimination by the University in the hiring and promotion of women faculty and academic staff. Minnesota Department of Human Rights.
Division of Women's Affairs Records, Reports, newspaper clippings, newsletters, articles, bills, and correspondence concerning various aspects of women's rights, particularly sex discrimination. First of all, most of the information which is more easily found relates to official court cases.
Driven by women's increased participation in the labor force following WWII, federal legislation outlawing sex discrimination in the workplace was not passed until the s with title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Equal Pay Act, respectively. So, although discrimination and harassment in the workplace did happen prior to this time, it is not as acknowledged in our written records. For example, the experience of Minnesota congresswoman Coya Knutson and the discrimination she faced in her political career is much more documented than the experiences of an enslaved woman at Fort Snelling.
So records from these Minnesota-based organizations as well as the units of state government that were dedicated to this anti-discrimination work are featured here. The following definitions may be helpful in conducting research. Keep in mind that language on this topic has evolved significantly since the s including the how the terms "gender" and "sex" are used.
