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DESIRE TO LEARN<o:p></o:p>I was born in Oakland, California, in 1878, and was the oldest of nine children. It was a big and busy household. Due to my mother’s poor health, I didn’t go to school until I was nine years old. But that didn’t seem to set me back at all, as I did well and got very good grades.<o:p></o:p>Although my father was proud of how well I was doing, he didn’t believe that women should go to university. I managed to convince him, but I had to promise to live at home and continue looking after my brothers and sisters.<o:p></o:p>CHANGING PATHS<o:p></o:p>In 1903, after getting my degree and starting an advanced degree in literature, I decided to go travelling. I stopped in Boston, where I met Frank Gilbreth. He owned a construction company and was working on developing motion-study techniques. It fascinated me and I decided to change my focus from literature to psychology.<o:p></o:p>Frank and I married in 1904. Together, we started a business that focused on motion-study techniques. We were interested in working out the least number of steps to complete a task, whether it was laying bricks, putting a car together, or making bread. While Frank was interested in saving time and energy in the workplace, I became focused on the importance of happiness at work.<o:p></o:p>FAMILY BUSINESS<o:p></o:p>While Frank and I were building our business, we were also building a family. We had 12 children, and our house became a laboratory of sorts. With that many children, we were able to do a lot of time and motion studies right at home.<img src="https://cdn.builder.io/api/v1/image/assets%2Fb3b13b7f131f44b8b9040dab74852379%2F578aee4eff8546928c8c04ec7180bbf0" alt="" style="width: 350.45px; height: 263.312px;"> <o:p></o:p>We wrote a number of books. Most often, these were published only in Frank’s name, or just using my initials. It was thought there wasn’t any way a woman would have knowledge about our area of study, but it didn’t stop me.<o:p></o:p>In 1924, Frank died suddenly from a heart attack. He had been my partner in work and in life, and my world was turned upside down. But we’d achieved so much, and I realised I needed to carry on. It would mean I’d need to do a lot of juggling, and it would take hard work, time and energy, but who was better placed to figure that out than me? <o:p></o:p>PUSHING FORWARD<o:p></o:p>Some of the largest companies in the US hired me to help them study their work conditions and methods. But many didn’t believe that a woman could or should tell them how to run their factories.<o:p></o:p>Instead of letting that stop me, I decided to focus on making running a home easier. I created new tools and products, such as the pedal bin and the butter tray and egg dish in a refrigerator. And I also came up with a more efficient kitchen layout. These inventions meant women had time for interests outside of the home. <o:p></o:p>Several of the most famous universities asked me to teach courses on their campuses. In 1935, I became the first woman professor in the engineering school at Purdue University in Indiana. I wonder what Frank would have thought.<img src="https://cdn.builder.io/api/v1/image/assets%2Fb3b13b7f131f44b8b9040dab74852379%2Fdb9d77da14d543a7936049a9fac13d77" alt="" style="width: 344px; height: 381.656px;"> <o:p></o:p>During the Great Depression, President Hoover asked me to join the Emergency Committee for Unemployment, which helped create many new jobs. And when the US joined World War II, I advised the government and was in charge of turning factories into military bases for the war effort. I also developed an exercise program for the women at these converted factories. It was important to me that they remained strong, healthy and happy.<o:p></o:p>RECOGNITION AND AWARDS<o:p></o:p>I continued to speak and write about management issues well into my eighties and in 1966 I was awarded the Hoover Medal from the American Society of Civil Engineers. After having to deal with men not believing that women could do this work all through my career, it was an honour to receive this award.<img src="https://cdn.builder.io/api/v1/image/assets%2Fb3b13b7f131f44b8b9040dab74852379%2Fbe5dbb0725814eb4994c81e4703ec2dd" alt="" style="width: 25%;"> <o:p></o:p>I was also the first woman to be elected to the National Academy of Engineering, and I became the very first member of the Society of Women Engineers. <o:p></o:p>I was so proud of our achievements and honoured that the world knows me as the ‘First Lady of Engineering’.<o:p></o:p>GLOSSARY<o:p></o:p>Motion-study techniques – the main aim of motion study is to find the easiest way to do something, and in the least steps.<o:p></o:p>Psychology – the scientific study of the ways that people think, feel, and behave.<o:p></o:p>Great Depression – the serious economic crisis that started after the US stock market crash in 1929.LEGACY AND RECOGNITION<ul><li>After her husband’s death, Lillian Gilbreth not only continued to run the successful business they had developed, but she also looked after their 12 children.</li><li>Lillian Gilbreth’s work on time management is known around the world.</li><li>The trail that Lillian Gilbreth blazed continues to be an inspiration for women who want to pursue careers in engineering.</li><li>Two of her children wrote the book Cheaper by the Dozen, which describes the life of the Gilbreth family. It has been made into a feature film twice.</li><li>Lillian Gilbreth was the first woman elected to the National Academy of Engineering; the second to join the American Society of Mechanical Engineers; the first female professor in the engineering school at Purdue University.</li><li>Until 2005, she was the only woman to have been awarded the prestigious Hoover Medal, which recognises ‘great, unselfish, non-technical services by engineers to humanity’. She also received 20 honorary degrees in her lifetime.</li></ul><o:p></o:p>IMAGE CAPTIONS AND CREDITSGilbreth Family (1924), TheGilbreths.com<o:p></o:p>Purdue University, Indiana, Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons<o:p></o:p>Hoover Medal, aimehq.org<o:p></o:p>

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