The Real Women's Labor Movement That Inspired Dolly Parton's "9 to 5"

Dolly Parton was known for many things. She wrote over 3,000 songs, including 25 number-one hit singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. She donated millions of dollars to charity, so much so that she prevented herself from ever becoming a billionaire, though she easily could have passed that threshold. She also addressed meaningful causes through her work and music, and always maintained a sense of pride in her Appalachian roots. 

One of her best-known songs is undoubtedly “9 to 5,” which explores the drudgery and dreams of a working woman’s life. The song is a rousing working-class anthem, with lyrics like “it's a rich man's game no matter what they call it / And you spend your life puttin' money in his wallet” remaining a rallying cry for anyone who has ever felt beaten down by an economic system that seems stacked against everyday people.

Parton wrote the song for the 1980 comedy 9 to 5, which she starred in alongside Jane Fonda. This film, in turn, was in turn inspired by a very real women’s labor movement that still exists today.

The Origins of the 9to5 Movement

In the latter half of the 20th century, many women joined the workforce as low-paid clerical workers. In 1950, one in three women were in the labor force, and by 1998, that number had risen to three in five. Yet women in these roles—often described as "pink-collar ghetto" positions—faced various challenges, ranging from sexual harassment to extremely low pay with few opportunities for advancement. Many found themselves infantilized, made into the “office wives” of their male bosses with little ability to fight back.

In response, Harvard University office workers Karen Nussbaum and Ellen Cassedy started 9to5 in 1972. The pair kicked things off by launching a newsletter called “9to5: Newsletter for Boston Area Office Workers,” which they used to rally other female clerical employees. “We keep Boston’s businesses and institutions running smoothly,” it read. “Without us, they would grind to a halt. Yet we are underpaid and undervalued.” They officially established the 9to5 movement the following year.

 “As the clerical workforce grew by leaps and bounds, so did a sense of injustice among the women whose job it was to type, file, staple, mimeograph, and photocopy,” Cassedy later told Teen Vogue. “Women office workers were tired of low pay, discrimination, and training men to be their supervisors.”

Growth and Persistence

The movement soon raised enough funds for Cassedy to attend the Midwest Academy organizer training. What she learned there inspired her to focus the movement on winning tangible reforms that people could see and be inspired by, rather than simply recruiting people based on promises alone. 

One of their first victories occurred after the women discovered that numerous major Boston employers were working together to keep women’s wages down. Through picketing and an antitrust complaint, they managed to help secure a 10% wage increase for women. 

Their organizing work relied on unique tactics, including skits, mock contests, and catchy slogans. These infused the movement with a sense of joy, which worked synergistically with the seriousness of their purpose. On National Secretaries Day, they ran a campaign demanding “Raises Not Roses.” They also developed a Bill of Rights For Women Office Workers that requested a “clearly defined and written job descriptions, compensation for overtime work, regular salary reviews, maternity benefits, on-the-job training programs, and benefits equal to those of men.” Their goals also included securing childcare, healthcare, and equal hiring opportunities for working women. 

Eventually, 9to5 spread to other cities, and formed a local union within the Service Employees International Union in the early ‘80s. However, the movement faced challenges due to the massive anti-union push that occurred that decade, and which continues today. In 2026, an Economic Policy Institute report found that U.S. companies spend an average of $1.7 billion per year on union avoidance advisors.

Still, 9to5 exists today in several states, and its legacy continues on in modern labor movements that continue to fight for equal rights for all workers. The movement’s story is told in greater detail in the 2020 documentary 9 to 5: The Story of a Movement, and in Working 9 to 5: A Women’s Movement, a Labor Union, and the Iconic Movie by Ellen Cassedy.

Their work, of course, also helped bring 9 to 5 to life. Fonda met Nussbaum during anti-Vietnam War protests, and was inspired to bring her tales of organizing women in the workplace to the silver screen. Parton, meanwhile, penned the hit song while working on set, saying that she started composing the tune by tapping her long nails in a rhythm—a detail that made it into the final version of the track.