Digital Extra

 Katharine Ryan Gibbs (1863-1934)
A radical idea -- women can work

  By SONYA F. GRAY
Journal-Bulletin Staff Writer

A woman's career is blocked by lack of openings, by unjust male competition, by prejudice and, not least, by inadequate salary and recognition.

Those could be the thoughts of a 1990s feminist. But they were penned in 1924 by Katharine M. Gibbs, founder of a string of secretarial schools that tapped into the then-revolutionary idea that women could work - and succeed - in the business world.

Gibbs was living comfortably as the wife of William Gibbs and mother of two sons when a tragedy that would change her life struck in 1909. William Gibbs, 53, a gold prospector, inveterate sailor and former cowpuncher, was working on his boat at the Edgewood Yacht Club when its mast snapped and struck him. Gibbs, the club's vice commodore, was killed.

Katharine Ryan Gibbs had been born in Galena, Ill., in 1863, the daughter of a prosperous meat packer. At that time, it was rare for women to work; according to government statistics, only 1,000 American women held clerical positions.

By 1900, an estimated 100,000 women held clerical jobs, but it was still difficult for a woman to support herself by her own labor.

After William Gibbs' death, his widow, noted for her original needlepoint designs, and her sister, Mary Ryan, tried to earn a living as dressmakers and clothing designers. They were unsuccessful.

Gibbs had no business experience or training. She sold her jewelry to pay her rent and she and her sister enrolled in a stenography course at Simmons College in Boston.

A Boston colleague said that two concerns were uppermost in Gibbs' thinking: How could opportunities for women in the world of work be increased? How could women best be prepared for that work?

In 1911, Katharine Gibbs bought a two-room school on Westminster Street in downtown Providence. She began with one student.

The school was considered a modest educational experiment at the time, but it was to mark the beginning of her successful string of secretarial schools.

In those days, most secretaries were men. But as men were called to serve during World War I, women filled some of their jobs.

The Providence school was relocated to the East Side and is now at 178 Butler Ave. Other schools followed, in Boston, New York, New Jersey, Long Island, N.Y., and Connecticut.

The graduates of Gibbs' schools became known as the Tiffany of secretaries. Well into the 1950s, they were known for the hat and long white gloves every student was required to wear.

This year, there are an estimated 95,000 alumnae of the Katharine Gibbs Schools, which graduate 3,500 students each year.

Gibbs died in 1934, just six years shy of 1940 - when the number of female stenographers, secretaries and typists reached the 1 million mark.

Sources: Files of the Providence Journal; "The Executive Secretary" published by the Katharine Gibbs School, and "The Gibsonian," published by the Katharine Gibbs School Alumnae Association.

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