"Women Don't Do Creative Work": Disney's 1938 Rejection Letter Goes Viral

A rejection letter written in 1938 to a young woman applying for a creative position at Walt Disney has gone viral on the internet. The letter, which highlights how women were limited to jobs that limited their ability and were not considered for any creative work at the time, has ignited a conversation on social media.

The letter was shared by a user on the Reddit community r/Damnthatsinteresting. The letter states that "women do not do any of the creative work in connection with preparing the cartoons for the screen, as that work is performed entirely by young men. For this reason girls are not considered for the training school." The letter is addressed to Miss Ford, who is said to have applied for a position in the inking and painting department of the US film company.

Job rejection letter sent by Disney to a woman in 1938
byu/Deepakhn inDamnthatsinteresting

The company told the applicant about the "only" work for women at Disney. They said, "The only work open to women consists of tracing the characters on clear celluloid sheets with India ink and filling in the tracings on the reverse side with paint according to directions."

The letter also outlined the application procedure for the company's painting and inking division. "In order to apply for a position as 'Inker' or 'Painter' it is necessary that one appear at the Studio, bringing samples to come to Hollywood with the above specifically in view, no there are really very few openings in comparison with the number of girls who apply," the letter added.

Since being shared, the viral post has amassed a variety of reactions online.

"It was the way work was structured everywhere at the time, there were simply jobs that women were hired to do and everything else was done by men. No explanation was needed, it would be like asking why some jobs were on the first floor and others on the second floor," said a user.

A second said, "Times have changed. These days you might not even get a response if you're not hired."

"Love how they explain the reasoning: Women do not do any of the creative work 'Oh, weird, why not? Great question! Well you see, it's because the work is done entirely by young men. Does that clear things up?'," added another person.

"Amazing positioning of Snow White and the witch," noted another person.

"The world has come a long way since then," said a person.