Expect Great Things!
How the Katharine Gibbs School Revolutionized the American Workplace for Women
Vanda Krefft
- A
- fun
- and
- fascinating
- social
- history
- of
- the
- famed
- Katharine
- Gibbs
- School,
- which
- from
- the
- 1910s
- to
- the
- 1960s,
- trained
- women
- for
- executive
- secretary
- positions
- but
- surreptitiously
- was
- instilling
- the
- self-confidence
- and
- strategic
- know-how
- necessary
- for
- them
- to
- claim
- equality,
- power,
- and
- authority
- in
- the
- wider
- world.It’s
- a
- safe
- bet
- that
- most
- of
- the
- secretaries
- on
- the
- TV
- series
- Mad
- Men
- would
- have
- attended
- the
- Katharine
- Gibbs
- School
- in
- New
- York
- City.
- The
- iconic
- institution
- was
- in
- its
- heyday
- in
- the
- 1950
- and
- '60s
- synonymous
- with
- supplying
- secretaries—always
- properly
- attired
- in
- heels,
- ladylike
- hats,
- and
- white
- gloves—to
- male
- executives.
- In
- Expect
- Great
- Things!
- Vanda
- Krefft
- turns
- the
- notion
- of
- a
- “Gibbs
- girl”
- on
- its
- head,
- showing
- us
- that
- while
- the
- school
- was
- getting
- women
- who
- could
- type
- 90
- words
- per
- minute
- into
- the
- C-suite,
- its
- more
- subversive
- mission
- was
- to
- get
- them
- out
- of
- the
- secretarial
- pool
- to
- assume
- positions
- of
- power
- on
- the
- other
- side
- of
- the
- desk.
- And
- Gibbs
- graduates
- did
- just
- that,
- tackling
- the
- sexism
- of
- the
- era
- and
- paving
- the
- way
- for
- 21st-century
- women
- to
- succeed
- in
- any
- profession.Katharine
- Gibbs
- was
- one
- her
- own
- success
- stories.
- She
- started
- her
- school
- when,
- as
- a
- 46-year-old
- widow,
- she
- was
- left
- near-broke
- with
- two
- young
- sons.
- The
- school
- taught
- typing
- and
- stenography
- but
- Gibbs
- also
- hired
- accomplished
- professors
- from
- elite
- colleges
- to
- teach
- academic
- subjects—it
- was
- a
- well-rounded
- education
- that
- produced
- early
- feminists
- ready
- to
- tackle
- the
- sexism
- of
- their
- era.
- "Expect
- great
- things!"
- was
- her
- motto
- and
- her
- philosophy.
- Within
- a
- decade
- she’d
- opened
- schools
- in
- three
- elegant
- locations.
- With
- nostalgic
- period
- photographs
- throughout,
- Expect
- Great
- Things!
- takes
- us
- back
- to
- Katie
- Gibbs’s
- life
- and
- tells
- the
- stories
- of
- the
- women
- she
- influenced.
- We
- meet
- Gibbs
- graduates
- who
- worked
- for
- the
- Walt
- Disney,
- Marilyn
- Monroe,
- and
- Robert
- F.
- Kennedy.
- Others
- forged
- pathfinding
- roles
- as
- an
- Emmy-winning
- television
- star,
- a
- women’s
- rights
- advisor
- to
- four
- U.S.
- presidents,
- a
- writer
- of
- Wonder
- Woman
- comic
- books,
- the
- head
- of
- the
- Women’s
- Marines,
- a
- best-selling
- young
- adult
- author,
- and
- a
- U.S.
- Ambassador.For
- readers
- of
- The
- Barbizon
- and
- Come
- Fly
- the
- World,
- Expect
- Great
- Things!
- reveals
- the
- seismic
- impact
- the
- Katharine
- Gibbs
- school
- had
- on
- the
- American
- workplace—and
- on
- women’s
- opportunities today.
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