I have always thought of the film 9 to 5 as a light-hearted '80s comedy and a stick-in-your-head Dolly Parton song. Last week, I listened to the Planet Money podcasts episode, Workin' 9 to 5, and came away with the realization that I never really knew what the film was about and that I need to watch it again. Did you know that the film came out of a women's labor movement of the same name? Did you know that, apparently, being 9-to-5ed is when a man takes credit for a woman's work? Also, did you know that, in the United States, it was the second highest grossing film, coming second to Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back?
Had I listened more closely to the lyrics and gotten past "Working 9 to 5, what a way to make a living" to "They just use your mind, and they never give you credit", I might have realized that there was more to the film than jokes. In the film, shenanigans ensue, resulting with three female coworkers effecting workplace changes in the absence of their awful boss. These changes include flexible hours, a daycare center, and equal pay and they substantially improve productivity. Because one can't get too carried away by fantasy, all but one of the changes stick - equal pay was apparently a bit too crazy to imagine. Even with the rollback of equal pay, reviews at the time found the film "too fanciful and silly". According to Roger Ebert, Dolly Parton was the film's only redeeming factor.
In 1970, 43% of women over 16 were in the labor force and by the end of the decade, there were 12 million more women in the workforce than there had been at the beginning. In 1973, Karen Nussbaum and Ellen Cassedy formed a labor movement and named it 9to5, the hours of their workday, with simple goals: better pay, job descriptions, respect, advancement opportunities, and an end to sexual harassment. They used humor in their campaigns, including a Pettiest Office Procedure Contest and a Bad Boss Contest, to highlight how women were being treated in the workplace. Reading some of the examples, I am guessing that trying to laugh was the easiest way to swallow incredibly awful situations.
Among the jokes and contests, was, and continues to be, a movement dedicated to "equal pay, power, and participation" in the workplace. These are things that should be givens but, unfortunately are not. In its early years 9to5 helped pass the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and, more recently, lobbied to pass the Family Medical Leave Act and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Although we are still on this journey, knowing and celebrating what has been achieved is both important and energizing. Many of us cannot even imagine a boss thinking it is okay to ask an employee to sew up his pants while he is still wearing them. And, for instance, when we need to take medical leave for ourselves or a family member, we can do so without fear of losing our jobs - it seems standard now, but it hasn't always been this way.
The Planet Money podcast reminded me of the power of working together. I believe in the greatness of teamwork and I am still always in awe of the impossibilities that people working together can achieve. Things that once were standard can be turned into the unacceptable, things that we once thought we had to just suck up and put up with, can become the unimaginable and all it takes is more and more voices coming together. So I am adding this to my watch list, celebrating what has been achieved, and looking forward to so much more! All this while wondering when the song is going to stop echoing around my brain.