During the late nineteenth century, a visitor to the city of Chicago would have looked in wonder at the many strange, new, and exciting sights: the nation's first skyscrapers, the bustling and congested streets, the large department stores teeming with goods for sale, the noise, the smoke, and the business girls. The Souls of the Skyscraper documents and explains the transformation of clerical work from a male to a female occupation amidst the industrialization and urbanization of the United States. Using literary, organizational, statistical, cinematic, and archival evidence primarily from Chicago, Lisa M. Fine explains the historical reasons why clerical work became women's work.

The author also explores the realms where the gender definition of clerical work was discussed, debated, and negotiated: among technical experts, in the popular culture, in the prescriptions and actions of civic leaders, and in the private worlds of clerical workers themselves. She reveals the dynamics of change within the clerical sector and provides us with the fullest explanation for why this gender shift occurred. By emphasizing the active role of women in choosing clerical work, this study adds a new dimension to our understanding of occupational sex-typing.