'Still Working 9 to 5' Shows Women Still Striving for Equality

The stories sound totally invented, like something out of a comedic novel or a farcical movie. A secretary is asked to sew up a rip in her supervisor’s trousers, even though he’s still wearing them. Another is fired by her boss for daring to bring in a corned beef sandwich on white for lunch, instead of putting it on rye.

Sound ridiculous? Yes. True? Also, yes. In fact, these kinds of stories served as the real-life inspiration for the blockbuster film “9 to 5,” which came out in 1980 and featured three megastars — Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton — as a trio of long-suffering office workers who join forces to fight back against their misogynistic and clueless boss played by Dabney Coleman.

While “9 to 5” may have been a somewhat silly, over-the-top slapstick comedy, it hit on some real issues and offered some creative workplace solutions. It for sure made many secretaries laugh and nod their head in knowing agreement. But that was a long time ago and here we are, more than 40 years later. Certainly the issues that plagued female office workers back then are now a thing of the past, right?

Well, not exactly.

On Thursday, December 1, Hamptons Doc Fest kicks off with the opening night film, “Still Working 9 to 5,” a documentary co-directed and co-produced by Camille Hardman and Gary Lane that takes a look at the impetus behind the original “9 to 5” movie and the issues it raised. The documentary also considers how things have changed — or not — for women in the workplace in the years since.

Intriguingly, the film “9 to 5,” which was directed by Colin Higgins who wrote the screenplay for “Harold and Maude,” was inspired by a real-life movement of the same name which began in Boston in 1973. Spearheaded by two activist friends, Ellen Cassedy and Karen Nussbaum, 9 to 5 was an organization that advocated for the rights of female office workers in the city. The two women had college degrees and secretarial jobs at Harvard University, and after experiencing many indignities in their jobs, they took their complaints and demands to the streets and other women and a movement was born.

“Ten of us in Boston, women office workers, were sitting in a circle complaining about low pay, unequal pay, training men to be our own supervisors, and being asked to do all kinds of favors for bosses,” recalled Cassedy, who is among those featured in “Still Working 9 to 5.” “Then we began distributing newsletters all over Boston and ran a bad boss contest.”

That’s where the anecdotes about the improperly impromptu seam repair and the corned beef faux pas came from. It was just the tip of the iceberg and the issues were many. Sexual harassment, of course, as well as low wages and the inability of women to move up the professional ladder were common refrains among working women. As one Boston woman wrote in a 9 to 5 questionnaire, “I have found clerical work to be a direct stepping stone to more clerical work, especially if you are good at it.”

Members of the group distributed thousands of flyers during lunch hours to spread the word about their efforts and 9 to 5’s first public event was a forum in 1973 where women voiced their concerns and fleshed out what they thought they should advocate for in the workplace.

At the time, part of the challenge for Cassedy and Nussbaum was the fact that though women office workers were disgruntled and eager for equal pay and equal rights, they didn’t like the feminist label, which had garnered an unfavorable, radical reputation in earlier movements.

“They were not feminists. Before we sat down, the women would make it clear they weren’t that,” Cassedy said. “So why let the word feminism get in the way? We were ready for women who described themselves in all different ways. What we did could be instructive today, not because people need to do exactly what we did, but they can learn from what we did and be inspired.”

Though they started small with no money in a tiny office, 9 to 5 soon began taking on Boston banks and insurance companies.

“We expanded into a multiracial organization,” said Cassedy. “We formed a women-led union in Boston and then went nationwide.”

In September, Cassedy’s new book, “Working 9 to 5: A Women’s Movement, a Labor Union and the Iconic Movie,” was published by Chicago Review Press. The timing of the book’s release with the documentary “Still Working 9 to 5” is purely coincidental, but decidedly fortuitous.

“I’ve transmuted into a writer from an activist. It’s been so interesting and inspiring to reach back 50 years to when I was 22 and this all started,” said Cassedy, who explained that she decided to write the book after witnessing millions take part in the Women’s March in January 2017.

Also among those inspired by the 9 to 5 organization was Jane Fonda, a close friend of Nussbaum. Fonda followed the Boston movement closely and was instrumental in taking the concept for a film to Hollywood, where she convinced producers as well as Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton to join the effort.

“Karen Nussbaum was keeping Jane up to date on what we were doing. She said she wanted to make a movie about concerns of office workers and she asked us to assemble a group of women to talk to,” Cassedy recalled. “She asked them, ‘Have you fantasized about doing-in your boss?’ It was a little awkward and then the room exploded because everyone had. There were women who wanted to grind up their boss in a coffee grinder or swivel their boss in a chair. It all went into the movie.”

Despite Fonda’s star-power and connections in the business, it took some doing to convince male-dominated Hollywood that a film with three female leads could be a box-office success.

“Karen had to write a memo saying that women office workers had never seen themselves on the big screen,” Cassedy noted. “She said, ‘If you allow this to be a movie, it will succeed.’”

She was right. Released on December 19, 1980, “9 to 5” ended up being one of the top-grossing films of 1981, alongside “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and “Superman II.” Having Jane Fonda as a partner turned out to be great for the 9 to 5 movement as well.

“She started working for the movement. She went out on tour and held brown bag lunch screenings and a thousand women turned out to hear Jane talk about her issues,” Cassedy said. “She was really in tune with some of our principles. At that time — and to this day — there are secretary jokes, they’re bimbos or office wives and not taken seriously. But secretarial work is respectable and office work should be respected.

“In the movie, the office workers are not the butt of jokes. The women join together to improve conditions,” Cassedy added. “In the ’70s, it was a matter of debate whether women should be treated fairly or were qualified to move up the ladder. The movie came out and the debate was over. It used comedy to poke fun at men and show women ran the office without the boss. Nobody knows he’s gone, they institute shared jobs, a childcare center and flex time.

When asked what has changed since she founded 9 to 5 back in the early 1970s, Cassedy said, “Matters that used to be individual are now a matter of policy — pregnancy discrimination is illegal and managerial options are open to college women who have higher pay and responsibility.”

But still, she acknowledges challenges remain. They are just different now.

“It can be harder to be a worker in today’s economy. There are fewer benefits, pensions, irregular schedules and computerized monitoring,” she said.

In “Still Working 9 to 5,” the history of gender inequality and discrimination in the workplace is explored through interviews with Cassedy and others involved in the movement’s early days. The documentary also recalls the making of the film and its subsequent spin-offs, including a TV show starring Rita Moreno and a Broadway musical featuring Allison Janney, both of whom are interviewed in “Still Working,” along with the original film’s cast and crew.

But it doesn’t stop there, and just as many of the original 9 to 5 issues remain, the documentary continues with an exploration of contemporary feminism, including the #MeToo and Times Up movements, and present-day efforts to finally pass the Equal Rights Amendment.

When first coming to this documentary project, Camille Hardman admits she didn’t know much about the “9 to 5” movie but explains that her partners in the film, co-director and co-producer Gary Lane and his twin brother, Larry Lane, the film’s executive producer, were big Dolly Parton fans.

“They had watched the Emmys where Dolly, Lily and Jane talked about doing a new version of ‘9 to 5’ or a sequel,” Hardman recalled. “They came to me and said, ‘Wouldn’t it be amazing? A TV show, musical and now a sequel?’”

In all honesty, Hardman wasn’t overly enthused about the idea, but she agreed to go back and watch the original film to see if there was enough material for an interesting documentary.

“In making films, there’s the struggle. But from what I can work out, there wasn’t a great struggle in the making of ‘9 to 5,’” Hardman said. “There were a few personality clashes, they changed writers for the script, but there was no great drama. Everyone got on well. Jane was a big star; they didn’t have a lot of trouble writing the script or getting money. So there were no stakes to come across.”

But what Hardman did see in the story was the formation of the 9 to 5 movement and the parallels with recent women’s movements — and that she found interesting.

“October 2018 was our first interview. This is right after all the women’s marches and Harvey Weinstein,” Hardman said. “It felt like we were in a zeitgeist and I thought this could be an extension of what’s happening. All the major issues are in the original film — sexual harassment, unequal pay, lack of job promotions, hitting the glass ceiling, childcare and maternity leave.

While the efforts to make a “9 to 5” sequel didn’t pan out (none of the film’s original stars were enamored by the script so the project was scrapped), Hardman did feel there was enough material related to the 9 to 5 movement and the current issues surrounding women’s equality to anchor a documentary. Then COVID-19 hit just as the filmmakers were beginning to edit the film, illustrating many of the issues the documentary set out to address.

“The pandemic was all over the news and women were getting the brunt of it. Who would be the caretakers and the teachers? It was particularly hard for single mothers and contract workers who were easily terminated and had no benefits,” Hardman said. “We were making this film and these things were happening in real time while we were editing. Chunks of what we had edited were on the cutting room floor while we were putting in fresh, relevant information for working women today.”

But would the documentary ultimately resonate with the next generation? It turns out, the answer is “Yes.” In screenings, Hardman has had young women tell her that they and their friends have experienced many of the issues raised in the film, including unequal pay, misogyny in the workplace and sexual harassment.

“It’s getting better because more people are talking about it, but it depends on what state you work in and I’m sure there are places in the U.S. and around the world where this is not discussed at all,” said Hardman, who stressed that there is solidarity in numbers. “By coming together, that change is created.”

For Cassedy, 50 years after 9 to 5 the movement, and “9 to 5” the box office smash, this documentary helps point the way to a more equal future.

“The point of ‘Still Working’ is we’ve come a long way, but there is still a long way to go,” Cassedy said. “This film shows the struggle for women’s rights, both then and now. It moves you to tears over and over again. You’re shaking your head, but are being inspired.

“I think there are plenty of reasons to feel despair, but also plenty of reasons to feel hope,” she added. “We’re always reaching for the horizon and we won a lot of victories along the way that created even more opportunities. Freedom is a hard-won thing and every generation has to win it again. That’s the message of ‘Still Working 9 to 5.’ There’s never a time when you sigh with relief and think you have gotten there so you can relax.

“As Gloria Steinem said, ‘We’re the ones old enough to realize how bad it used to be and need the young people who realize how bad it still is.’”

“Still Working 9 to 5” will be screened on Thursday, December 1, at 7:30 p.m. at Sag Harbor Cinema as the opening night film at Hamptons Doc Fest. Susan Lacy, creator/director of the American Masters series, will lead a post-film Q&A with co-directors and co-producers Camille Hardman and Gary Lane, executive producer Larry Lane, and Ellen Cassedy, co-founder of the 9 to 5 National Association of Working Women. A wine and cheese reception follows. For details, visit hamptonsdocfest.com.