Ruth Leach Amonette

Ruth Leach Amonette (September 24, 1916 – June 21, 2004) was an American businesswoman, author, and educator. She was appointed as the first female executive and vice president at IBM in 1943, at age 27, becoming one of only a few women in high-ranking corporate positions in the US at the time. She was renowned nationally for her work in business and as an educator.[1]

Ruth Leach Amonette
Born(1916-09-24)September 24, 1916
DiedJune 21, 2004(2004-06-21) (aged 87)
Carmel, California, United States
NationalityAmerican
Other namesRuth Leach, Ruth Pollock, Ruth Amonette
EducationUniversity of California
EmployerIBM
Known forFirst female VP at IBM
Home townOakland
Spouse(s)Walter W. Pollock, Jr., Wilbur K. Amonette
ChildrenElizabeth Pollock Scimone
RelativesHelen Hurst

Early life and education

Ruth Leach was born in 1916 in Oakland, California.[2] She had one sister. She attended Piedmont High School in Piedmont, California.[3] She attended the University of California, Berkeley starting in 1933.[1] [2] She was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma.[3] While in school, she played tennis. She was a camp counselor, too. After graduating in 1937 with a degree in political science, she worked as a dental assistant. Eventually, she quit to work at the Golden Gate International Exposition.[2]

IBM

She started working at IBM in February, 1939. She worked at the Golden Gate International Exposition, presenting demos of IBM typewriters.[1][2] She trained in service system work for IBM and was sent to work at IBM's Atlanta, Georgia office. She became a teacher for IBM at the United States Department of Education in Endicott, New York, in July, 1940. In October, she became the Secretary of Education for Women for IBM.[1] That position had her training women throughout IBM about selling IBM products throughout North America.[2]

Amonette became vice president of IBM on November 16, 1943. She credited Thomas J. Watson providing the "vision and foresight" to employ her in a high-level position.[2] This position made her one of the few women in corporate "power" positions in the United States and one of the youngest people in the nation to hold a high-level position.[3] In 1947, she recovered from tuberculosis, for which she had to take leave from IBM. She started work back at IBM that year. From 1947 to 1953, she was a board member for the Camp Fire Girls, the New York Public Library, the Professional Women's Club of New York, the American Association of University Women, and other organizations.[2] In 1946, she served on the New York State Women's Council. She retired in 1953.[2]

Later life and legacy

After retiring, she married Walter Bill Pollock in 1954. They lived near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was a board member of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. She and Pollock adopted a daughter in 1956. They relocated to Switzerland and then to California. Pollock died in 1977. Amonette remarried in 1988 to Wilbur K. Amonette. She published an autobiography in 1999.[2] Amonette died in 1999.[3] She died in Carmel, California in 2004.[1]

Recognition

gollark: https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/800373244162867234/834118984370487366/unknown.png
gollark: Yes, it is IN NO WAY subliminal pizza advertising because I DO NOT work for pizza companies in any form.
gollark: And you are isomorphic to 26 dodecahedra.
gollark: This isn't really a justification. Do you *have* one?
gollark: (Technically I think this makes more sense the other way round)

References

  1. "Ruth Leach Amonette". Featured Profile. Women In Technology International. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  2. "Amonette, Ruth Leach". Facts on File. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  3. "AMONETTE, Ruth Leach". Obituary. SFGate. 26 June 2004. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
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