In the Age of Steel: Oral Histories from Bethlehem Pennsylvania -- Women of Bethlehem Steel - Nellie Ross

Annotation Nellie Ross started with Bethlehem Steel in 1942 and served as a senior matron during the war. While foremen were responsible for managing women workers' work efforts, matrons were employed to ensure the female workers' health and well-being. In this interview Ross discusses matron training, bomb building processes, facilities provided for women, the hiring process for women, work relationships between workers, matrons, and foremen, work relationships between men and women, conflict resolution, childcare considerations, and the reasons women went to work. This interview is part of a series of interviews conducted by Lehigh University students and faculty from 1974 through 1977 focusing on retired Bethlehem Steel workers, business people, and the heirs of industrial magnates. The project was co-sponsored by Bethlehem Steel Corporation, who provided contact information for retired steel workers. An oral history interview is an act of memory and hence both highly selective and highly subjective. While it accurately reflects what a narrator remembers (or chooses to tell) of his or her experience and viewpoints, it may not accurately represent what actually transpired or what another person may have experienced. As such users should subject interviews to the same degree of critical scrutiny they would any other historical source.