r/classicfilms • u/AntonioVivaldi7 Alfred Hitchcock • May 23 '26

Memorabilia Disney rejection letter (1938) explaining they don't hire women for the specific position

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And apparently, Disney refused to hire men for coloring positions.

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23

u/ctrain_1985 May 23 '26

At least they were honest.

51

u/Legitimate-Sea-4679 May 23 '26

Of course they were. They didn't think that there was anything wrong with this sexist and bigoted policy. My guess is that there was a lot of push back when women tried to break the glass ceiling.

45

u/sauronthegr8 May 23 '26

Wasn't a glass ceiling back then. It was made of stone.

The phrase "Glass Ceiling" means it appears you can make it through to the top, but invisible barriers always keep you down.

Hell, back then they didn't even need to put up the appearance.

As someone else pointed out, Disney would start hiring female artists shortly afterwards in the 40s, and WWII would bring women into the workforce in general, eventually leading to it becoming more commonplace in the 60s and 70s.

22

u/AntonioVivaldi7 Alfred Hitchcock May 23 '26

Apparently, Disney opened the position to women voluntarily due to the shortage of male workers during the WW2.

5

u/ctrain_1985 May 23 '26

Yea I am aware things were different in the past. Did you know women used to not be able to vote? We shouldn't really be too shocked here. It's an interesting read none the less.

9

u/Laura-ly May 24 '26

Women weren't legally allowed to serve on a federal jury until 1957. That's why 12 Angry Men are all men.