Vanda Krefft, "Expect Great Things!: How the Katharine Gibbs School Revolutionized the American Workplace for Women" (Algonquin Books, 2026)

About this episode

Vanda Krefft discusses her book 'Expect Great Things!' which explores the impact of the Katharine Gibbs School on women's roles in the workplace.

It’s a safe bet that most of the secretaries on the TV series Mad Men would have attended the Katharine Gibbs School in New York City. The iconic institution was in its heyday in the 1950 and '60s synonymous with supplying secretaries—always properly attired in heels, ladylike hats, and white gloves—to male executives. In Expect Great Things! Vanda Krefft turns the notion of a “Gibbs girl” on its head, showing us that while the school was getting women who could type 90 words per minute into the C-suite, its more subversive mission was to get them out of the secretarial pool to assume positions of power on the other side of the desk. And Gibbs graduates did just that, tackling the sexism of the era and paving the way for 21st-century women to succeed in any profession.Katharine Gibbs was one her own success stories. She started her school when, as a 46-year-old widow, she was left near-broke with two young sons. The school taught typing and stenography but Gibbs also hired accomplished professors from elite colleges to teach academic subjects—it was a well-rounded education that produced early feminists ready to tackle the sexism of their era. "Expect great things!" was her motto…

People in this episode

Guest: Vanda Krefft

Topics covered

• women in the workplace
• feminism
• education
• secretarial work
• history of women
• empowerment

Keywords

• Katharine Gibbs School
• women empowerment
• secretaries
• feminism
• workplace history
• Vanda Krefft
• Expect Great Things!

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Katharine Gibbs School, Walt Disney

Books & works: Expect Great Things!

Places: New York City

More episodes of New Books in Gender

• Can I Say That: Your Go-To Guide for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion · June 11, 2026 · 39 min
• Don Thomas Deere, "The Invention of Order: On the Coloniality of Space" (Duke UP, 2026) · June 11, 2026 · 46 min
• Don Thomas Deere, "The Invention of Order: On the Coloniality of Space" (Duke UP, 2026) · June 11, 2026 · 46 min
• Michael Staudenmaier, "White, Black, Brown: Becoming Puerto Rican in Chicago" (UNC Press, 2026) · June 10, 2026 · 59 min
• Shikha Jhingan, "The Female Playback in Bombay Cinema: Voice, Body, Technology" (Wayne State UP, 2025) · June 9, 2026 · 46 min
• Jane Kanarek, "Beyond Brutality: Reclaiming Female Presence in Bavli Sotah" (Brandeis UP, 2025) · June 6, 2026 · 1h 3m