Before watching Still Working 9 to 5, documentarians Camille Hardman and Gary Lane’s film about how 9 to 5 came about and its lasting social impact, I rewatched the 1980 comedy for the first time in over 25 years. Admittedly, I was reeling from some recent corporate interactions and not at all in a pleasant mood. Then Dolly Parton’s snappy lyrics over the opening credits struck me hard, above all the refrain: “They just use your mind/And they never give you credit/It’s enough to drive you/Crazy if you let it.” For anyone who has worked in the corporate world, the whole song is one relatable line after the next, decrying the unfair and exploitative tactics of corporate cultures, while the average working stiff toils to make a living and hopes, fruitlessly, for a little bit of the good life. Although the song remarks on women in the workplace, it felt universal to me. So did the movie. Fittingly, Hardman and Lane’s superb doc balances celebration, history, and social context, in a way that makes one appreciate the original comedy even more.
This loving work of film appreciation explores how 9 to 5 marked a watershed moment in the representation of women in the workplace while also acknowledging that, despite earning the second-highest box-office take of 1980, it didn’t magically solve the problems it confronts. At the time, one in three women were clerical workers, and the pay gap between men and women was considerably worse than today—so was the prevalence of sexual discrimination, harassment, and assault in the workplace. Although these issues still exist, there’s more awareness around them now. In the 1970s, equal rights for women had been stigmatized by a conservative campaign to make “feminism” a dirty word, and in some spaces, it still is. Like Baby Boom (1987) or Working Girl (1988) in the years to follow, 9 to 5 sought to acknowledge that women, especially widows and divorcées, have families to support, and equal compensation is only fair. But it also intended to give men a way to identify with women and see the argument from their side.
