The 9to5 women’s labour movement of the 1970s may well have been the inspiration for the hit film starring Jane Fonda, Dolly Parton and Lily Tomlin but, as this fascinating and passionate documentary recalls, it was a struggle based on hard work, running battles with patronising men and facing down a society that had happily got used to the marginalisation of women. And what began modestly became a movement of real power and influence.
Oscar winners’ Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar’s follow-up to American Factory is an enthralling look back at a time when more women worked in offices than men did in construction. Despite the fact they often didn’t see themselves as part of the emerging women’s movement – with many of them overtly apolitical – these office-bound women finally decided enough was enough. Tired of making the bosses their coffee, it was time to fight for a pension, equal pay and maternity leave.
Early on in the film there is a clip from the cult TV series Mad Men, as Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss) is just starting her career at Sterling Cooper as Don Draper’s secretary, and is pithily informed by Joan Holloway (Christina Hendricks) that her role is “something between a mother and a waitress.” 9to5 quickly introduces a series of women who, as young secretaries, were similarly expected to become ‘Peggys’, as they recount the sexist and simplistic duties they were asked to undertake.
The film peppers in a few more clips from the likes of The Mary Tylor Moore Show, but then leaves them to one side as it features interviews with founders of the 9to5 movement, who initially started modestly via newsletters and quiet conversations with fellow office-workers, before getting properly organised, standing up for their rights and staging strikes and protests.
After the formation of the 9to5 group, the film goes on to detail union mobilisation and battles with the bosses, as female clerical workers en masse used their numbers to force real change. The film also makes good use of Jane Fonda who talks about how they made the 1980 comedy feature 9 to 5, interviewing members of the movement for thoughts on what they really wanted to do to their bosses. Her passion – through footage from the period as well as from new material – shines through, and helps to reinforce the profound need for protest over workers’ rights.
US, 2020, 86mins
Directors: Julia Reichert, Steven Bognar
Production: Community Media Productions
International sales: Submarine Entertainment
Producers: Julia Reichert, Steven Bognar
Cinematography: Steven Bognar
Music: Wendy Blackstone
