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In 1852, Clara Barton resigned from teaching when she discovered the school hired a man at twice her salary. She said, “I may sometimes be willing to teach for nothing, but if paid at all, I shall never do a man’s work for less than a man’s pay.”
In 1954, Barton was the first female recording clerk in the US Patent Office. Her annual salary of $1,400 matched that of her male colleagues. A year later, she was demoted by an administrator who was against women working in government.
In all her work, Barton remained an advocate for women’s rights.
– Rebecca Hastings, The 100 Companies