Kate Papert
Kate Papert | |
|---|---|
 Papert, from the 1924 yearbook of Barnard College | |
| Born | July 31, 1902 New York, New York, U.S. |
| Died | April 29, 1977 (aged 74) New York, New York, U.S. |
| Occupations | Labor economist, government official |
Kate Papert (July 31, 1902 – April 29, 1977) was an American economist and state labor official based in New York. As director of the state's Division of Women in Industry, took particular interest in addressing child labor,[1] the minimum wage,[2] and women workers during World War II.[3]
Early life and education
[edit]Papert was born in New York City, the daughter of Solomon Papert and Rose Papert. Both of her parents were Jewish immigrants from the Russian Empire; her father ran a dry goods store. She graduated from Washington Irving High School and attended Barnard College for three years,[4] but earned her bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Wisconsin.[5] She stayed at Wisconsin for graduate studies under John R. Commons.[6]
Her sister Ruth Papert was a clothing designer, poet, and composer, who campaigned against DDT and for organic gardening.[7]
Career
[edit]Papert worked in the Division of Statistics at the New York State Department of Labor, and became chief of the department's Bureau of Research. In 1938, she was appointed acting director of the department's Division of Women in Industry and Minimum Wage.[5][8] "In her 11 years in the New York labor department she organized and directed some of the most extensive and important research projects handled by the division," explained a 1938 report of her appointment.[9] She became the director of the division by 1942, when she published a report on a rise in child labor in the state.[10]
In 1942, Papert was appointed to a new commission, chaired by Kathryn H. Starbuck, organized to set state law and policy around women in war work.[11][12] The whole commission resigned in 1943, because they felt their expertise and recommendations were ignored.[13] In 1944 she spoke on a panel about child labor and juvenile delinquency.[14] In 1945, she spoke at an event concerning agricultural labor and migrant workers,[15] and at a roundtable urging that retraining and counseling programs be established for women displaced from jobs after the war effort.[16] Her division continued to study women war workers after 1945[17] but the Bureau of Women in Industry was a target of smaller government efforts by 1948.[18]
Papert was a member of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) and of the Women's Trade Union League (WTUL).[5] By 1961 she was a consultant studying national cost-of-living trends.[19]
Publications
[edit]- "Maintaining Child Labor Standards in Wartime" (1943, Occupations)[20]
Personal life
[edit]Papert died in 1977, in New York City, at the age of 74, survived by three of her sisters and her "dearest friend" Dorothy O'Brien.[21]
References
[edit]- ↑ "Women Back Law Changes". The New York Times. February 12, 1944. p. 17. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
- ↑ "Fight for Minimum Wage for Women Had Early Beginning". The Windsor Star. 1938-10-18. p. 15. Retrieved 2026-09-05 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "More Women Replacing Men in Jobs in State". The New York Times. November 12, 1942. p. 26. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
- ↑ Barnard College, Mortarboard (1924 yearbook): 158.
- 1 2 3 "Kate Papert Gets State Labor Post; Miss Miller Names Aide to Succeed Her as Head of Women's Division; On Staff for 11 Years; Native New Yorker Has Headed Research Bureau During Important Projects". The New York Times. 1938-08-15. p. 13. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
- ↑ Klotts, Diana (1938-10-21). "Speaking of Women: Women vs. Unfair Labor". The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle. p. 3. Retrieved 2026-09-05 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Miss Ruth Papert, early foe of DDT". The Star-Ledger. 1975-11-21. p. 50. Retrieved 2026-09-05 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Boris, Eileen (1994). Home to work : motherhood and the politics of industrial homework in the United States. Internet Archive. Cambridge [England] ; New York, N.Y. : Cambridge University Press. pp. 286–287. ISBN 978-0-521-44370-8.
- ↑ "Other Activities in the States". The Woman Worker. 18 (6): 14. November 1938.
- ↑ "Child Labor in State Has Almost Doubled In the Last Year, Official Statistics Show". The New York Times. April 2, 1942. p. 18. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
- ↑ "Mrs. Mabel K. Staupers Named to New State Commission". Opportunity. 20 (11): 340–341. November 1942.
- ↑ "Group Named to Study Problems Of Women Working in War Plants; Kathryn Starbuck of Skidmore Heads Committee of Advisers Appointed by Frieda S. Miller, State Industrial Commissioner". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
- ↑ "Women Advisers on Labor in State Find Work Ignored, Resign in Body; Advisers to State Find Work Futile". The New York Times. August 9, 1943. pp. 1, 30. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
- ↑ "Juvenile Delinquency Linked to Child Labor". The Times-Union. 1944-02-11. p. 17. Retrieved 2026-09-05 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Cooperation Urged in Migrant Problems". The Times-Union. 1945-03-22. p. 23. Retrieved 2026-09-05 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Retraining is Urged for Women Workers". The New York Times. January 28, 1945. p. 35. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
- ↑ "Many Women Stay in Wartime Jobs; State Labor Department Study Shows Level Is Still Above Any Pre-War Year". The New York Times. September 12, 1947. p. 24. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
- ↑ "Women Hit Weakening Work Bureau; Protest Sent to Governor Over Curtailment". Democrat and Chronicle. 1948-01-23. p. 33. Retrieved 2026-09-05 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Roessner, Elmer (1961-09-19). "Business Today: Workers Gaining on Hgh Costs". Bristol Herald Courier. p. 4. Retrieved 2026-09-05 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "In the Magazines". The American Child. 25 (8): 4. December 1943 – via Internet Archive.
- ↑ "Deaths". The New York Times. May 1, 1977. p. 44. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-09-05.