When 9to5 was formed fifty years ago, few protections existed for women at work.
9to5 was created in 1973 by clerical workers to respond to the inequities, unfairness, and outright harassment and discrimination they were experiencing in the workplace. These women organized – they banded together under the umbrella of 9to5 to collectively advocate for themselves and for a better future for working women.
Women organized and joined together to demand better working conditions from their bosses, their companies and policymakers. They staged highly-visible actions designed to confront power and disrupt the status quo; they demanded respect, equal pay, and equal protection in the workplace.
This took courage, tenacity, and willpower to fight against sexism and patriarchy. Yet as powerful as the early days were, they fell short in addressing all the problems with the status quo.
Just as sexism was often the norm in the workplace, so was racism. Over the last fifty years, 9to5 has evolved to understand and challenge how racism and sexism interact and play out in the workplace and our everyday systems. Pay disparities, harassment, workplace discrimination, and the need for affordable, quality childcare, affordable housing, paid family leave and a living wage are still issues that people of color, women, non-binary people, and low-income face every day and continue to be core issues of 9to5.
9to5 has been featured in two films – 9 to 5, the 1980s comedy classic featuring Dolly Parton, Lily Tomlin, and Jane Fonda as well as the 2020 documentary, 9to5: The Story of a Movement, directed by Oscar-winning director Julia Reichert. The former’s script was based on conversations with 9to5 members from across the country on their experiences in the workplace. 9to5: The Story of a Movement provides a snapshot of our early history and some of the critical work we’ve done to advocate for working women and their families, featuring interviews with early founders and activists.
For a first hand account of the early years, in 2022 9to5 co-founder Ellen Cassedy published Working 9 to 5: A Women’s Movement, A Labor Union, and the Iconic Movie.
