ABSTRACT
The Great Depression catapulted the nation into the direst economic conditions of the century and halted a decade of spectacular economic growth. After the initial shock of the crash, Atlanta businessmen reassured themselves and the citizenry of the economy’s soundness by illustrating its stability and continued growth. Atlanta’s diverse manufacturing, white-collar, and service workers suffered through the Depression in ways as disparate as their occupations. For Atlanta women, the degree of hardship caused by the Depression depended greatly upon race and varied profoundly among occupational groups. For many working women the Depression era represented a period of stagnation and even decline in occupational opportunities, salaries, and professional growth. Before the Depression, female clerical workers frequently changed jobs, often in search of better opportunities and wages. Confidence in their abilities and some form of safety net—savings, skills, or family—allowed some women to continue to seek out better opportunities.
