“Technical Editing and Women Scientists Were Made for Each Other”: Ethaline H. Cortelyou's Career Advice to Women in the Sciences

Abstract

Chemist Ethaline Cortelyou, a significant figure in the emerging profession of technical communication in the 1950s, became a national mentor to women in the sciences, first leading them into the practice of technical editing and then away from it. This article presents a case study of her awakening to the true nature and cost of the patriarchal workplace and her own complicity in actively supporting sexist assumptions and the status quo. During the Sputnik crisis, Cortelyou recognized and overcame her internalized sexism, revised her advice to young women in the sciences, and became a public advocate of workplace reform.

Keywords

history of technical communication technical communication profession internalized oppression sexism women in science Manhattan project occupational segregation

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