A Woman to Know: Evelyn Berezin
At the time, I was too confident and quite insensitive to that kind of man. Worse, I told them what I thought. A loud woman they did not know how to deal with. — Evelyn Berezin
(image via Computer History Museum)
In 1968, Evelyn Berezin began experimenting with a device that would ultimately change the lives of secretaries and assistants — and seriously anyone who could type.
Her machine, the Redactron, eventually made its way into offices around the world, where it gave workers a revolutionary power: now, they could cut text, paste text and delete it, all in a few taps on a keyboard.
"It became obvious to the men that they didn't need their secretaries anymore. They could do most of it themselves ... We learned that if there is anything a man hates, it is to give up his secretary," Evelyn told The New York Times.
Add to your library list:
Track Changes: A Literary History of Word Processing (Matthew G. Kirschenbaum)
Read more:
Evelyn Berezin Pioneered Word Processors and Butted Heads with Men (The Wall Street Journal)
Evelyn Berezin (Computer History Museum)
Evelyn Berezin, 93, Dies (The New York Times)
Hall of Fame: Evelyn Berezin (Women in Technology)
Hear more:
From the Archives: Evelyn Berezin (Computer History Museum)
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