The two texts are letters written by Mary E Cleave, a Walt Disney Productions employee,

responding to Mary V Ford’s letter applying to a training school at Disney. Cleave informs Ford
about the inexistence of the position of an illustrator for a woman. At the time the first letter was
written (1938), training schools at Disney for aspiring illustrators for it were reserved solely for
young men thus making Ford ineligible.

The practice of women being denied opportunities simply because they were women was not
uncommon and was the norm. However, Cleave offers Ford an alternative route at Disney, a
tedious one of tracing and inking the cartoons in contrast to Ford’s choice of that of an
illustrator. Cleave even goes so far as to say that Ford would find it exceptionally hard to find a
position as an illustrator in Hollywood and even discourages coming at all.

To better understand the nuance of this distinction, it is not that women were completely shut
out of this industry, it's that women were still stopped at a certain point in their career because
they were only deemed qualified enough up until that point. Disney, and in extension the
industry, thought of women as competent enough to hold the position of an inker or a painter but
not competent enough to be an illustrator. Women were expected to be apt enough to be able to
be ordered but not apt enough to actually direct themselves. Women were assumed to have not
enough ‘creative ability’ to be an illustrator. Another ironic detail to mention is that Cleave was a
woman and as women she wrote this letter to Ford. This is another detail which demonstrates
the the things that were acceptable and unacceptable to do at the time, in this context, it was
acceptable for Cleave to respond to a letter as a spokesperson for disney and for women to be
inkers and painters but unacceptable for them to be illustrators. This also showcases the
common mindset of the time and addresses the misogynistic behavior as the obvious and the
norm.

The text on the right, is written almost a year later from Cleave, offering a position as an inker or
a painter to Brewer, another woman applying for a position in the creative and illustration
department. Even though an entire year has passed, Cleave’s response to a similar request
from another woman stays the same. The difference is that Disney is much more enthusiastic
and keen on actually giving a job as an inker/painter to a woman, judging from the tone of the
second letter.

This change in stance and reaction to the same request, may be attributed to the fact that World
War 2 was on the brink of beginning. This led to many men being called away for war or
preparations for it. The switch in the ‘attitude’ towards women working more was likely due to
labor shortages and was entirely to keep the business afloat. Disney did not drastically if at all
change their stance on women working but had to adopt friendlier and more inclusive job
positions due to the lack of man-labor as it was something that could not be replaced with
machines at the time.