ILR School Extension Division Metropolitan District Office (New York, N.Y.), Working Women United Institute Records

Collection — Box: 1

Identifier: /4354/003

Scope and Contents

Bulk dates: 1975-1986 Inclusive date range: 1975-1986

The collection consists of meeting minutes, research proposals, publications, program reports and event details related to the Working Women's Institute (WWI) and its efforts to bring attention to the problem of sexual harassment in the workplace. The collection also contains correspondence between WWI staff and the Women's Alliance for Job Equity (WAJE) and the United Nation's Ad Hoc Group on Equal Rights for Women. In addition, the collection includes examples of sexual harassment policies from a number of colleges and universities including Rutgers University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University. The collection also includes news clippings about sexual harassment.

Working Women's United was founded as an independent institute to provide resources to women to conduct research, educational and legal projects broadly relating to the needs and interests of working women. This collection includes documents related to the 1975 Speak Out event held in Ithaca, NY and organized by WWI founders Lin Farley, Karen Sauvigne and Susan Meyer. Correspondence between the organizers clarifies the role that each played regarding the Speak Out event and Board of Directors Minutes detail the rights of use as they relate to the Speak Out Testimony.

The collection contains detailed program reports documenting the efforts of the Working Women's Institute as well as examples of their publications, handouts, and flyers. Also included are detailed speakers notes, promotional flyers and posters for the "Sexual Harassment on College Campuses" workshop hosted by Rutgers University in 1982. Additionally, the collection includes letters, briefs and press releases related to Supreme Court case 477 U.S. 57 (1986), Meritor Savings Bank vs Mechelle Vinson. This case was the first of its kind to reach the U.S. Supreme Court and would redefine sexual harassment in the workplace. In a 9-0 decision, the Court recognized sexual harassment as a violation of the Civil Rights act of 1964.

The collection includes pamphlets about and policies related to the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace; newspaper clippings and correspondence between WWI and Women's Alliance for Job Equity (WAJE); United Nations Ad Hoc Group on Equal Rights for Women; and, the Federal Government's Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC) proposed amendment to add sexual harassment to its guidelines on sexual discrimination.

Dates

1975-1986

Creator

Working Women United Institute (creator, Organization)
New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations (creator, Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

Access to the collections in the Kheel Center is restricted. Please contact a reference archivist for access to these materials.

Conditions Governing Use

This collection must be used in keeping with the Kheel Center Information Sheet and Procedures for Document Use.

Biographical / Historical

Working Women's Institute was originally founded as Working Women's United in June 1975. The organization was founded by Cornell University faculty members as an independent institute with the goal of researching and publicizing the wide-spread problem of sexual harassment in the workplace. The organization relocated from Ithaca to New York City in 1977 and changed their name to Working Women's Institute in 1978. Working Women's Institute was a recognized leader in the fight against sexual harassment.

Founding organizers, Karen Sauvigne, Susan Meyer and Lin Farley worked at the Women's Section of Cornell University's Human Affairs Program (HAP) in 1975 when they were approached by Carmita Wood. After years of harassment by her boss, Carmita Wood resigned from her position at Cornell University and was denied unemployment benefits. She met with the staff at HAP to tell them her story. The women decided to help her, but first they had to find a name for Carmita's experience. The group settled on the term "sexual harassment." As a direct result from their experience with Carmita, the group formed Working Women United and decided to host an event bringing women together to, "Speak Out," about their own experiences with sexual harassment in the workplace.

Lin Farley was the director of Cornell University's Women's Section and a lecturer for a course called Women and Work. She is recognized for coining the phrase, "sexual harassment," and testified in 1975 before the New York City Human Rights Commission Hearings on Women and Work. Farley is the author of Sexual Shakedown: The Sexual Harassment of Women on the Job.

Karen Sauvigne is a recognized pioneer for her work on sexual harassment. She has gone on to hold faculty and management positions at CUNY Law School, John Jay College and Baruch College. She is currently the Director of Education in the Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at Mount Sinai.

KC Wagner is a former Director of the Working Women's Institute. She is the current Director of Workplace Issues at Cornell University's ILR School and the co-chair of The Worker Institute's Equity at Work Initiative at Cornell University. She has testified as an expert witness in landmark sexual harassment cases on a range of topics.

The New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) is one of the many schools and colleges that make up Cornell University. Unlike most of Cornell's schools, however the ILR was created by the state legislature in 1945 and is part of the SUNY (State University of New York) system. One of the functions of the ILR School is extension (continuing adult education) and public service. Funding for these activities, comes from state support, modest charges to participants, and grants and contracts. The School's Division of Extension and Public Service is administered through a headquarters staff in Ithaca and offices in Albany, Buffalo, Long Island, New York City, Rochester, and Westchester. The Metropolitan District Office, which serves the five counties that make up New York City as well as Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, and Rockland counties, focuses on programs and services for trade unions and other employee organizations, workers, community groups, and government agencies.

Extent

1 cubic feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

This collection consists of organizational records, information on programs and publications, research studies, legal briefs, publications, handouts and examples of policy. These records were created and or collected by the Working Women's Institute (predecessor organization's name: Working Women United) between 1975 and 1986. Working Women's Institute is recognized for publicizing and researching the widespread problem of sexual harassment in the workplace.

Custodial History

This collection was originally located at the Barnard Center for Research on Women (or earlier, the Women's Center). The records were donated by KC Wagner, Cornell faculty and member of the Working Women's Institute. The Barnard Center for Research on Women maintained a large feminist ephemera collection, a collection of periodicals, parts of their own institutional records, and some additional special research collections in their office. After its closing, the majority of their materials were transferred to the Barnard Archives. The Working Women's Institute Records were one of these collections. They were held by the Barnard Archives, but never accessioned into their collection. The records were returned to KC Wagner at her request for deposit at the Kheel Center in November 2018.

Processing Information

Collection processed by intern Sarah Tronkowski, under the supervision of the Technical Services Archivist, as part of the requirements for receipt of a Masters of Library Science.