While the decade was full of movements and progress, the workplace was still running on very old software.
Who got hired. Who got promoted. Who got pushed out.
It was rarely about your abilities.
It was about fitting a mold that most people never got to choose.
That mold shaped millions of lives.
1. Homemaker
In the 1960s, being a homemaker was seen as a full-time career.
Most women were expected to manage the household, raise children, and support their husband’s work life.
It was not just accepted. It was admired.
By 1960, about 60% of women in the U.S. were not in the paid workforce.
Many women had college degrees but still chose — or were pushed — toward home life.
That began to change as the decade went on.
The women’s movement started asking hard questions about what a “career” really meant.
Why It’s On This List: Homemaking was once treated as a respected profession. Today it is rarely called a career at all, even though the work has not changed.
2. Secretary
In the 1960s, being a secretary was a prestigious job for women.
It meant you were sharp, organized, and trusted.
By 1960, secretaries made up one of the largest job categories for women in America.
These were skilled professionals who managed schedules, wrote letters, and kept offices running.
But here’s the catch: most were expected to serve coffee too, no matter how skilled they were.
The role was respected, but it also had a ceiling built right in.
Today the job has largely been replaced by office managers and executive assistants with much more authority.
Why It’s On This List: Secretaries were the backbone of American business in the 60s. Their role looked very different back then, in both status and expectations.
3. Doctor
In the 1960s, being a doctor was seen as a man’s job.
In 1960, women made up less than 7% of U.S. physicians.
Medical schools had strict quotas limiting how many women could enroll.
Many advisors told women to become nurses instead.
That’s why so many qualified women were pushed out of medicine for decades.
Today, women make up nearly half of all medical school graduates.
The shift took time, but it changed everything about how we see who can heal.
Why It’s On This List: The doctor’s coat was once almost exclusively a man’s garment. The 60s marked the slow start of a major change in medicine.
4. Nurse
Nursing in the 1960s was almost entirely a female profession.
Men made up less than 2% of nurses in 1960.
It was seen as a natural extension of a woman’s caring role.
Nurses were respected, but often treated as assistants rather than professionals.
Doctors gave the orders. Nurses followed them. That was the unspoken rule.
Today, nursing is recognized as a highly skilled career that saves lives every day.
And more men are entering the field than ever before.
Why It’s On This List: Nursing was once locked into a gender role. The way people saw it in the 60s shaped decades of workplace culture in hospitals.
5. Lawyer
Becoming a lawyer in the 1960s was considered bold for a woman.
In 1963, women made up only about 3% of lawyers in the United States.
Law firms rarely hired women, even top graduates.
Some schools openly discouraged women from applying.
But here’s the deal: the women who pushed through anyway helped change the entire legal system.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg graduated top of her class at Columbia Law School in 1959 and still struggled to find a job.
Her story was not unusual. It was the norm.
Why It’s On This List: Law was a gatekeeper career in the 60s. Who was allowed in — and who was not — says a lot about how society worked back then.
6. Soldier
Military service in the 1960s was seen as a man’s duty.
Women could serve, but their roles were strictly limited.
In 1960, women made up less than 1.5% of the U.S. military.
They worked in nursing, administration, and support roles.
Combat was completely off the table.
The Vietnam War era brought new pressure on the military to reconsider gender roles.
But real change would take decades more.
Why It’s On This List: Military service looked very different for men and women in the 60s. The debate about who should serve, and how, started heating up during this era.
7. Teacher
Teaching was one of the few careers fully accepted for women in the 1960s.
But it came with conditions.
Many school districts required female teachers to quit when they got married or became pregnant.
Teaching was seen as a stepping stone, not a lifelong profession for women.
For men, it was often seen as low-paying and low-status compared to other careers.
That’s why both men and women faced social pressure around this career in very different ways.
Today, teaching is widely respected as a demanding and essential profession.
Why It’s On This List: Teaching was both accepted and limited in the 60s. The rules around who could teach — and for how long — were surprisingly strict.
8. Pilot
Flying a commercial plane in the 1960s was seen as a glamorous, heroic career.
And it was almost entirely male.
The first U.S. female commercial airline pilot was not hired until 1973.
In the 60s, airlines actively marketed pilots as the ultimate symbol of American manhood.
Women who wanted to fly were told to become flight attendants instead.
Even women with military flying experience were turned away from the cockpit.
The sky had a glass ceiling, and it was very real.
Why It’s On This List: Piloting was one of the most gender-restricted careers of the 60s. The story of who got to fly says a lot about who held power in that era.
9. Flight Attendant
Being a flight attendant in the 1960s was seen as one of the most glamorous jobs a woman could have.
Airlines hired only young, unmarried women who met strict height and weight requirements.
Pan Am and other major airlines fired stewardesses when they turned 32, got married, or gained weight.
It was legal. It was common. And most people did not question it.
Flight attendants were trained safety professionals, but they were marketed like models.
The job looked very different from the outside than it did from the inside.
Why It’s On This List: The flight attendant role in the 60s was wrapped in glamour and discrimination at the same time. It is one of the most striking examples of how careers were seen differently back then.
10. Scientist
Science in the 1960s was seen as a career for men in lab coats.
Women who entered the field often found their work credited to male colleagues.
Rosalind Franklin’s critical contribution to discovering the structure of DNA was overlooked during her lifetime.
Many female scientists were hired as “assistants” even when they were leading the research.
You’re better off knowing this history, because it explains why so many breakthroughs took longer than they should have.
The talent was always there. The recognition was not.
Why It’s On This List: Science had an invisible wall for women in the 60s. Understanding that history helps us appreciate how much — and how slowly — things have changed.
11. Politician
Running for office in the 1960s was seen as men’s work.
Women in politics were rare, and often treated as curiosities.
In 1961, only 20 women served in the entire U.S. Congress out of 535 seats.
Women who ran for office were often asked about their husbands and families, not their policies.
The idea that a woman could lead a city, a state, or a country was still seen as far-fetched by many.
That attitude kept countless qualified women from even trying.
Why It’s On This List: Politics was one of the most closed doors for women in the 60s. The few who pushed through faced resistance at every level.
12. Astronaut
Space exploration in the 1960s captured the world’s imagination.
And astronauts were heroes — but only if they were male.
NASA’s Mercury 13 program tested 13 women who performed as well as or better than male candidates, but the program was cancelled.
The first American woman in space, Sally Ride, did not go up until 1983.
In the 60s, the idea of a female astronaut was treated almost as a joke by many in power.
The stars were open. The door was closed.
Why It’s On This List: The space race defined American ambition in the 60s. But who got to be part of it tells a very different story than the one most people learned in school.
13. Engineer
Engineering in the 1960s was almost entirely a male profession.
It was seen as technical, physical, and serious — not a fit for women.
In 1960, women made up less than 1% of engineers in the United States.
Women who studied engineering often faced open skepticism from professors and classmates.
But here’s the deal: women were quietly doing engineering work for NASA and the military, often without the title or the pay.
Their contributions built rockets, roads, and systems that are still in use today.
Why It’s On This List: Engineering is one of the clearest examples of a career that was locked by gender in the 60s. The hidden history of women engineers is finally getting attention it deserves.
14. Police Officer
Police work in the 1960s was considered dangerous, physical, and strictly male.
Women on the force existed, but in very limited roles.
Female officers in the 60s were usually assigned to work with women and children, never on patrol.
They were often called “policewomen” rather than officers, a small but meaningful difference in status.
The idea of a woman responding to a crime scene or making an arrest was widely dismissed.
Today, women make up about 13% of sworn officers nationwide, still low, but a world away from the 60s.
Why It’s On This List: Law enforcement had rigid gender rules in the 60s. What female officers were allowed to do — and say — was tightly controlled.
15. Journalist
Journalism in the 1960s was slowly opening up for women, but with limits.
Women were often assigned to the society pages, cooking columns, and fashion coverage.
Hard news, politics, and war reporting were seen as too rough for female reporters.
Some women fought their way onto the front lines anyway.
Marguerite Higgins had already won a Pulitzer for war reporting in 1951, but the barriers stayed up for most women.
The newsroom was loud, competitive, and mostly male.
Why It’s On This List: Journalism gave women a platform in the 60s, but only for certain topics. Who got to cover the big stories shaped the news everyone read.
16. Accountant
Accounting in the 1960s was seen as a solid, respectable career for men.
Women who entered the field were often steered into bookkeeping instead.
The American Institute of CPAs did not actively push for gender equality in the profession until the 1970s.
Women with accounting degrees were frequently passed over for promotions in favor of less-qualified male colleagues.
That’s why so many talented women left the field entirely.
The numbers did not lie, but the workplace often did.
Why It’s On This List: Accounting looked like a meritocracy from the outside. Inside, gender played a major role in who moved up and who did not.
17. Bartender
Bartending in the 1960s was legally restricted for women in many U.S. states.
Several states had laws banning women from tending bar unless they were the wife or daughter of the bar owner.
A 1948 Supreme Court case upheld Michigan’s right to ban female bartenders, and the ruling stood for years.
The job was seen as morally risky for women, tied to ideas about alcohol and respectability.
Men who bartended were seen as skilled. Women who wanted to were seen as inappropriate.
Those laws were slowly struck down through the 1960s and 70s.
Why It’s On This List: Bartending is a surprising example of a career that was literally illegal for women in some places. It shows how deep the restrictions went in the 60s.
18. Firefighter
Firefighting in the 1960s was seen as the ultimate male job.
Strength, danger, and bravery were all coded as masculine.
The first female career firefighter in the U.S. was not hired until 1974.
In the 60s, the idea of a woman fighting fires was not just unusual. It was unthinkable to most people.
Fire departments had no facilities for women. No uniforms. No plans.
The barriers were physical and cultural, and they were built to last.
Why It’s On This List: Firefighting was one of the last career doors to open for women. The 60s mindset around this job set the pace for decades of exclusion.
19. Business Executive
Climbing the corporate ladder in the 1960s was a path built for men.
Women could work in business, but rarely at the top.
In 1960, less than 5% of managers and executives in the U.S. were women.
Women who showed ambition were often called difficult or aggressive.
Men with the same drive were called leaders.
The corner office had an unofficial “men only” sign on the door.
That culture shaped companies for generations.
Why It’s On This List: The executive track in the 60s was one of the most gender-restricted paths in American business. Understanding that helps explain workplace culture even today.
20. Artist or Musician
Creative careers in the 1960s were complicated for women.
Art and music were seen as acceptable hobbies, but risky as professions.
Female musicians in the 60s were far more likely to be marketed for their looks than for their talent.
Women in fine arts struggled to get gallery showings or serious critical attention.
The music industry signed women, but often controlled how they dressed, what they sang, and how they acted.
Behind the scenes, female producers, composers, and engineers were nearly invisible.
Why It’s On This List: The creative world looked open in the 60s but had its own set of unwritten rules for women. The gap between visibility and recognition was wide.