The Woman behind Integrity in the Workplace

While doing research I came across the biography of Alice Hamilton. It made me realize that I knew so little about the people behind some of our most important advances in integrity. Hamilton was born in 1869 into a highly educated family. She received her medical degree from the University of Michigan and took a teaching position in Chicago at Northwestern University. It was in Chicago while living at Hull House with Jane Addams that she started her work which transformed the American workplace.

Hamilton began to wonder why so many workers had curious illnesses and often sickened and died. She began to read research on workplace illness which was being done in Europe but at the time not in the United States. She decided to travel the nation, visiting mines and factories to report on the state of health and workplace practices. Her research was considered so remarkable because it was meticulous, impartial and eye opening. She became the pioneer of occupational health and our laws promoting workplace safety today are the direct result of her work. Incidentally, Hamilton was recognized as a trailblazer and hired in 1918 by Harvard Medical School. She was Harvard’s first female faculty member. In 1935 she retired from Harvard and served as a consultant to the US division of labor standards. She died in 1970.

Hamilton is an important reminder that integrity doesn’t just happen by itself. It takes the effort of individuals and governments over many years. The best part though is that the payoff can last for generations.