Why Didn't Women Work For Disney In 1938? Read Viral Rejection Letter

A rejection letter addressed to a woman in 1938 has been going viral on the internet now, revealing why women were not allowed to work for Disney's cartoon painting department. The woman, Mary V Ford, had applied for the creative position for which she was rejected because the company did not appoint women to that department. The letter was signed by another woman named Mary, who told Ford that women were not hired for particular roles as they were reserved for "young men". 

The vintage letter has now gone viral on social media, revealing how far (or not so far) the world has come for women in the workforce. While some commented, "Times have changed. These days you might not even get a response if you’re not hired." Some others took it more as a humourous throwback to when rejection letters were straightforward in the reasoning.

Job rejection letter sent by Disney to a woman in 1938

byu/Deepakhn inDamnthatsinteresting

Woman Rejected To Work For Disney's Creative Department

Mary V Ford, who belonged to Arkansas, United States, had applied for the Painting Department at the Hollywood-based film studio. The letter from Walt Disney Productions rejected her application saying that they did not appoint women to creative positions like animation. However, the letter has not been verified and it is unclear who the first person to post it on social media is. 

The mail did not leave any space for second-guessing or confusion, as it bluntly said, "Women do not do any of the creative work in connection with preparing the cartoons for the screen, as that work is performed entirely by young men. For this reason, girls are not considered for the training school."

Further, the letter gave Ford a chance to apply for a different position. It read, "The only work open to women consists of tracing the characters on clear celluloid sheets with India ink and filling in the tracings on the reverse side with paint according to directions." The sender also added instructions on how Ford could continue trying for the position she applied for.

The letter read, "In order to apply for a position as 'Inker' or 'Painter' it is necessary that one appear at the Studio, bringing samples of pen and ink and watercolour work." However, the sender stated that Ford shouldn't have come to Hollywood as there were very few positions available for girls.