The trouble was, I hated the idea of serving men in any way, I wanted to dictate my own thrilling letters. Besides, those little shorthand symbols in the book my mother showed me seemed just as bad as let t equal time and let s equal the total distance.-The Bell Jar

 Esther Greenwood, an aspiring young English major of the 1950's was faced with a dilemma of what to do with her life after graduating, a problem students still face today. Although women had growing importance in the mid-20th century work force, there were only a few limited career opportunities open to her. Esther yearned to write, but not what someone else dictated. She wanted to become her own author  and branch out in whatever direction she wanted. That really was not the most practical option for her though. With little foreign language experience and a principal skill of scholarship winning, there were not many great jobs available.

Shorthand, a secretarial notation was often viewed at the time as a necessary skill for women in the workplace during the 50's. About 70% of women in the workplace held jobs in the clerical branch, or in factories. Having a clerical job was out of the question for Esther, as it would have been for many other women aspiring for something greater. Dictating the words of men held no appeal to Esther, and also the abbreviated  words often used quickly became one of her pet peeves. There were plenty of women authors, but many professional and managerial positions were still closed to women during this time. Only about 15% of working women were professionals, and 6% held managerial positions. At the same time, African American women were even more limited in what jobs they were allowed to hold. These jobs were almost exclusively domestic and physically demanding.

Ever since WWII when women had to fill positions for men off at war, there had been an increasing movement towards women's equality in the work force. When the men came back, many women still kept their jobs, and thus a new class of mothers and single women making their own income began. To allow women to be able to support themselves with this income the Department of labor took several steps towards equality in the workplace like equal pay and training for professional positions. Although these reforms did not materialize until later, this decade was responsible for the start of the equal pay movement. The effects that this movement made are still very poignant today. This gender gap in the workplace will most likely stay around for a long time to come, but seeing how far women have advanced into the professional and managerial fields, brings much hope for the future.