This photograph shows a telephone switchboard where overseas phone calls were handled during World War II. Many women patriotically joined the industrial workforce to work in shipyards or an aircraft factories, but many more worked in service or clerical jobs as secretaries, bank tellers, retail clerks, and telephone operators.
Women Working at a Bell System Telephone Switchboard
- 12/22/1943
Description
This primary source comes from the Records of the Women's Bureau.
National Archives Identifier: 1633445
Full Citation: Photograph 86-WWT-28-3; Photograph of Women Working at a Bell System Telephone Switchboard; 12/22/1943; Women Working In Industry, 1940 – 1945; Records of the Women’s Bureau, Record Group 86; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/document/bell-telephone-switchboard/, April 4, 2026]
Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.
