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When telephones became more popular, operators were hired. In the beginning companies hired boys. They would work for low wages and telegraph offices had been please with their performance.
Operators were required to do other jobs in the early days of the telephone. They often collected monthly bills, kept the books, answered calls and, if no lineman was available, change the batteries in a telephone. When boys were ruled out as operators, women were hired. The Boston Telephone Despatch first hired women as operators in 1878. The company directors felt that women would be polite, and their voices were more pleasant than those of the boys. At the time, women weren't considered to be equal to men, so they could be paid low wages. Being an operator in the early days was a sociable occupation. (job) Operators in rural (country) areas knew everyone in their community by their first name. They gave out correct time, passed the time of day with customers, told of train arrivals and gave out scores to the local hockey game. They warned of approaching storms, informed people of election results and streetcar breakdowns. The telephone system of that era was very simple, as was the equipment. A switchboard was used to connect the parties with heavy lines called "cords." The operator plugged the metal end of the cord into a circuit to connect her customers. The first woman telephone operator in the United States was Emma Nut. She worked for the Boston Telephone Despatch. Woman's professions were limited at the time. They were nurses, teachers, servants, sales clerks and factory workers. Jobs as operators were coveted (wanted badly.) By 1900, all operators were women. Many women couldn't be operators. In that era, the rules of telephone companies were very strict. Married women were out. An operator had to be single. Some companies specified the women had to be between seventeen and twenty-six years-old. They had to dress up and do their hair nicely. Their arms had to be long enough to reach the top of the tall switchboard without the operator rising off her chair. Discrimination was rampant. People of African American or Jewish heritage could not work as an operator. In 1900 the average operator made $ 7.00 a week - very low pay even then. She worked nights and holidays. Shifts were ten to twelve hours, six days a week. Operators were often treated rudely. Customers thought of them as servants. Little did they realize that the operators were the telephone system. Without them no calls could be made.
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