Women in City Government

Bibliography

Selected resources useful for further research on women in Seattle city government.

Seattle Municipal Archives

Browse Archives Guide or Search Subject Files

Ben Evans Recreation Program Collection, 5801-02
Department of Parks and Recreation, 1903-1995, 21.2 cubic ft.
Correspondence, newspaper clippings, reports, brochures, recreation program schedules, and photographs related to the recreation and sports programs and personnel at Parks facilities.

Civil Service Commission Annual Reports, 1802-F7
1896-1973, 1.6 cubic ft.
Annual reports for the Civil Service Commission date from 1894 to 1975. Includes Labor Commissioner reports from Public Employment Office through 1942. Reports from 1896 to the 1920s have appendices that include reports from the secretary, chief examiner, and labor commissioner, as well as labor statistics, rulings, amendments, examinations, including examination questions, and labor issues.

Civil Service Commission Minutes, 1400-01
1975-1979, 0.4 cubic ft.
Proceedings of the Commission including hearings, determinations, policy revisions, abstracts of examination results, examinations approved for advertising, and approved classification reports.

Fire Department Annual Reports, 1802-G4
1895-1960, 1.8 cubic ft.
Fire Department annual reports include duties performed, statistics, financial information, ages and names of Department members. Information on alarms responded to includes date, time, location, and financial loss. Early reports include annual report from Women's Division.

General Files, 1802-04
1883-1902, 12.0 cubic ft.
Correspondence, petitions, license applications, surety bonds, claims, contracts, specifications, ordinance copies, and complaints originally filed with the City Clerk documenting the major issues confronting City government and its citizens during the time period. Especially well covered are the Great Fire, the extension of water and sewer systems, street grading, street lighting, and street railways. This is an earlier version of the Comptroller File. Records are described at the item level in a searchable database.

Legislative Department. City Councilmember Subject Files.
Subject files of various Councilmembers relating to women's issues and discrimination, including:

• Jane Noland, 4663-02, 1983-1997, 61.6 cubic ft
• Margaret Pageler, 4667-02, 1987-2000, 41.0 cubic ft
• Jeanette Williams Subject Files 4693-02, 1967-1989, 41.4 cubic ft
• Jeanette Williams Speeches and Prepared Statements, 4693-03, 1970-1989, .8 cubic ft
• Sherry Harris, 4633-02, 1992-1995, 6.0 cubic feet

Legislative Department. Central Staff Records.

• Analysts' Working papers, 4603-01, 1970-2000, 113 cubic ft
• Central Subject Reference File, 4601-02, 1972-1991, 49.8 cubic ft

Office of Women's Rights Subject Files, 8401-01
1970-1992, 5.0 cubic feet
Correspondence, memoranda, briefings, surveys, reports, and legislation relating to issues of concern and projects of the OWR. Issues include child care, battered women, women firefighters, women in the trades, vocational education, refugee and immigrant women, chemical and alcohol dependency, and sex discrimination.

Office of Women's Rights Women Firefighters Project, 8402-02
1974-1980, .4 cubic ft.
Materials relating to monitoring of Seattle Fire Department's pre-recruit training program for prospective women fire fighters. Includes background material on SFD/women relations, copies of the Doolittle Reports on strength and endurance training, and the SFD's recruiting program.

Personnel Department Affirmative Action Reports, 6002-01
1979-1992, 3.2 cubic ft.
Reports include employment data on race, ethnicity, gender, and disability. Includes reports titled Race and Sex Summaries by Category and Department; Race and Sex Characteristics by Department; and Handicapped and Veteran Profiles.

Police Department Women's Division/Night Patrol Reports, 1802-C4
1934-1939, .4 cubic ft.
Brief reports regarding regular visits by women officers to dance halls, cabarets, pool halls, theaters, comfort stations, skating rinks, and beverage dispensaries. Includes information on numbers of intoxicated persons, curfew violations, "risque/vulgar" performances, and disorderly conduct. Arranged chronologically.

Seattle City Light Advertising, 1201-03
1955-1975, 4 volumes
Advertising samples used in newspapers and magazines.

City of Seattle, Office of the City Clerk

Search Legislative Databases

Comptroller Files/Clerk Files, 1802-01
1895-present, 450 cubic ft., also on microfiche
Correspondence, reports, petitions, contracts, agreements, etc. from elected officials, City departments, other government agencies, and the general public, placed "on file" with the City Clerk as an official file of the City. CFs can include affidavits, agreements, audits, applications, appointments, approvals, Council reviews, contracts, certifications, charters, claims, community development block grant deeds of trust, correspondence, vetoes, petitions, policies, proposals, reports, rulings, rules, recommendations and requests. Titles indexed and available online.

Seattle Public Library

Search Library Catalog

Northwest Index
Index and citations to articles in local newspapers and magazines on issues and individuals in Seattle city government. Subject access terms include:

• Individual names (ie Landes, Bertha Knight)
• Seattle. Women
• Seattle. City employees. Women.

Seattle Documents Collection
Department of Lighting Newsletters. Seadoc L7.9 and L7.3

Seattle Public Library Departmental Annual Reports

Other Selected Books and Documents

Search Seattle Municipal Archives Documents Database
Documents marked "SMA" are at both the Seattle Public Library and the Seattle Municipal Archives.

The Academic and extracurricular underground experiences of three black women at the University of Washington, 1935 to 1941. Juana Racquel Royster Horn. Seattle, Wash. : Juan Racquel Royster Horn, 1980. 259 leaves. PhD dissertation, University of Washington.

Affirmative Action for Women. Seattle Office of Women's Rights. various years

Alone in a Crowd: Women in the Trades Tell their Stories. Schroeder, Jean Reith, 1985.

Analysis of the Follow-up study of University of Washington Libraries discrimination against women. University of Washington Libraries. 1976

Apprenticeship utilization in the city. Office of Economic Development, 1993, 26 leaves Notes: Heading for body of document: "Working in King County statement of legislative intent final report." [SMA only]

Balancing work and family for city employees: City of Seattle employee dependent care needs survey: final report. Hannibal, Susan (Office for Women's Rights) Seattle, 1995. [SMA]

Barriers to Service for Refugee and Immigrant Women: report on May 14, 1992 form. Judy Chen (Seattle Office for Women's Rights_ and Gretchen Test (Refugee Women's Alliance). Seattle, 1992. [SMA]

Bertha Knight Landes of Seattle: Big-City Mayor. Sandara Haarsager. Norman and London: University of Oaklahoma Press, 1994. [SMA]

Executive summary of minority/women business participation in purchasing and concessions. Washington Consulting Group, Inc., Seattle. 1990.

The homeless one: a poem in many voices. Helfgott, Esther Altshul. Seattle, 1999.

Housing choices and constraints of female-headed families: a case study of Seattle. Minden, Betsy Janet. Seattle, 1985.

[Jeanette Williams] Videorecording. Schmechel, Donald A. Seattle, 1988.

Pay equity and sex-segregated jobs in the City of Seattle workforce. Place, Karen (Seattle Office for Women's Rights). Seattle, 1983.

Permanent part-time employment in the City of Seattle: an exploration of its utilization and a proposal for its extension. Finkel, Susan K. Seattle, 1974.

Report on status of women in the City employment. Seattle Office of Human Resources, Women's Division. Seattle, 1972.

Seattle Fire Department pre-recruit training program. Seattle Fire Department. Seattle, 1978.

Seattle women: a legacy of community development. Andrews, Mildred. Seattle, 1984.

Seven stars and Orion: reflections of the past. Mumford, Esther Hall, ed. Seattle, 1986.

Sexual harassment in the Seattle City workforce: a research report. Stringer-Moore, Donna M. (Seattle Office of Women's Rights) Seattle , 1982. [SMA]

A survey report on Seattle Women in Government members, co-sponsored by Seattle women in Government (SWING) and Seattle Office for women's rights. Seattle, WA, 1991. [SMA]

Utilization of minority and women's businesses in the construction and consulting fields, Perkins Coie & Washington Consulting Group & WES Consulting Group, 1989m viii, 64 p. [SMA only]

Women in the Seattle Fire Department / questionnaire results, analysis and recommendations, Seattle Women's Commission, 2001.

Women's place : a guide to Seattle and King County History. Tanner, Mildred. Seattle, 1994. [SMA]

Women in nontraditional jobs : a status report. Duncan, Emily (Seattle Office of Women's Rights). Seattle, 1982.

Women in the Seattle Fire Department : results of a questionnaire and interviews. Submitted by Captain Katherine M. Maughn. Seattle, 1994. [SMA]

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