Review of "Expect Great Things!: How the Katherine Gibbs School Revolutionized the American Workplace for Women" by Vanda Krefft

Katherine Gibbs (b. 1865), lived in comfortable circumstances until her husband died in 1909 and left the family destitute. Katherine had no skills, so she enrolled in a secretarial studies course where she learned typing, shorthand, bookkeeping, business practices, etc. Better yet, Katherine learned to teach those subjects, and in 1911, Katherine opened her first secretarial school.


Katherine Gibbs

Eventually, branches of the 'Katherine Gibbs School of Secretarial and Executive Training for Educated Women' opened in Rhode Island, Boston, New York City and New Jersey.


Katherine Gibbs School in Boston


Students at the Katherine Gibbs School

In addition to teaching secretarial skills, the Katherine Gibbs schools had courses in art and music appreciation, English literature and composition, psychology, sociology, economics, contemporary civilization, and world government. The curriculum also included lessons in personal grooming, elocution, and fashion sense. As a result, Katherine Gibbs' graduates were in high demand as secretaries, and many 'climbed the ladder' in a world where "men still held tight to high-paid, high-prestige occupations."


Typical 'Gibbs girl' with a hat and white gloves

Gibbs' plan to give women a boost was simple. She'd give employers women who were better than men: speedier typists, flawless stenographers, tidy organizers, and well-groomed, nicely dressed, gracious hostesses. In addition, 'Gibbs girls' would stealthily learn all about the organization, observe leadership, gain new skills, make new contacts, earn a decent living, and move up in the world....striking out on their own if necessary.



Krefft includes mini-biographies of 'Gibbs girls' who succeeded in a variety of professions. I'll give some examples.

◈ Katherine Towle: Towle got a degree from UC Berkeley, then graduated from the Gibbs school in 1923. After being employed by the Berkeley admissions department for three years, Katherine was denied admission to the school's PhD program because she was a woman. So Towle got a job as resident dean at the elite Ransom and Bridges school in Piedmont, California and soon became headmistress. Then in 1943, Towle joined the Women’s Reserve of the U.S. Marine Corps and was eventually promoted to Colonel.


Katherine Towle

◈ Mary Sutton Ramsdell: Ramsdell had a turbulent life before she graduated from the Gibbs school in the 1920s. Ramsdell then put her education to good use in Boston - at a home for unwed mothers. This was really a private detention center, and Mary was dismayed by the fact that women who 'fell from virtue' were penalized, but the men involved weren't punished. So Mary became a Massachusetts State Policewoman with a badge and gun, and she handled crimes involving women. Mary hauled in men who seduced underage girls; tracked down sexual predators reported to the police by teachers, ministers, nurses, and child protection agencies; went after negligent parents, etc. Mary had a twenty-year career where she was an advocate for women and a respected leader in the law enforcement community.


Mary Sutton Ramsdell

◈ Mary Goodrich : Goodrich was an aviation reporter and columnist who earned the first woman's pilot's license in Connecticut. In the early 1930s, Goodrich was appointed director of the Betsy Ross Corps, a group of female pilots ready to assist in national defense during emergencies. Mary lost her pilot's license in 1933 for faulty depth perception, after which she enrolled in the Gibbs school. This led to a job as a publicist and then a position with the Walt Disney Studio. Hired as a secretary, Goodrich was soon scouting out story ideas, writing summaries of the plot and characters, and doing background research on costumes, landscapes, and buildings. Krefft notes, "Mary's time at Disney would always remain a prized memory."


Women working at the Walt Disney Studio

Other Gibbs school graduates with distinguished careers include:

◈ Lenna Wilson - who became a New Hampshire State Representative in the 1920s;


Lenna Wilson

◈ Natalie Stark - who volunteered with the Sacco and Vanzetti defense team and later - while living in the Philippines - lobbied for United States aid to starving Chinese farmers;


Natalie Stark

◈ Lillian Lorraine - who flew domestic missions for the Army Air Forces during WWII;


Lillian Lorraine

◈ Loretta Swit - who became an award winning actress (she played 'Hot Lips' Houlihan in M*A*S*H);


Loretta Swit as 'Hot Lips' Houlihan

◈ Loudell Insley - who worked for Robert Kennedy and Ted Kennedy; and more.


Loudell Insley with Ted Kennedy

In addition to discussing the Gibbs schools, Krefft writes about society pressuring women to be 'stay at home wives and mothers', which would leave the good paying jobs for men.



Women were welcome to work as nurses and teachers, but for much of the 20th century, it was almost impossible for females to become lawyers, doctors, engineers, scientists, and so on. The Gibbs schools played a part in remedying that situation, so kudos to them.

This book, which contains a fine synopsis of women's professional advancement - along with many photographs - is an excellent addition to women's history. Highly recommended.

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Eliza Foss, who does a fine job. I also had access to a digital copy of the book.

Thanks to Netgalley, Vanda Krefft, and Algonquin Books for copy of the book.

 Rating: 4.5 stars