My Sisters Telegraphic: Women in the Telegraph Office ... - Monoskop

THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 11
Women in the Telegraph Industry in the
Twentieth Century
Use of the telegraph for sending commercial messages and routing trains
reached its peak around 1900. The number of telegraphers began to decline
in the early part of the twentieth century as the telegraph was replaced by
the telephone for sending personal messages and by Centralized Train
Control for routing trains. Although Morse instruments remained in service
in remote parts of the world until the 1970s, they were largely replaced
by Teletype devices for transmitting commercial messages.
The invention of the typewriter in 1867 led to the development of the
“teletypewriter,” or “Teletype,” a telegraphic device with a typewriter keyboard
that would transmit the character indicated by a keystroke. Sending
and receipt of messages became largely automated; operators no longer had
to transmit Morse code or switch circuits manually. Messages were typed on
a standard typewriter keyboard at one end and printed out on a mechanical
printer at the other. Various experimental Teletype systems were developed,
beginning around 1900; telegraph companies were using them extensively
by 1915.
Following the development of the Teletype, the functions of the telegraph
operator began to resemble those of a typist. Messages were entered
on a machine with a typewriter keyboard; at the receiving end, automatic
printers printed out the text. A skilled operator who could decipher the
Morse code dots and dashes was no longer needed. The introduction of the
Teletype led to gendering of the occupation of telegrapher; almost all Teletype
operators were women. Thus as the total number of telegraphers declined
in the mid-twentieth century, the percentage of women employed in
the industry increased. 20