Delilah and the Space Rigger

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"Delilah and the Space Rigger", a science fiction short story by Robert A. Heinlein, is arguably one of the best feminist works of fiction ever written by a male author. One of his Future History stories, it originally appeared in Blue Book in December 1949 and was reprinted in his collection, The Green Hills of Earth (and subsequently The Past Through Tomorrow).

It concerns Gloria Brooks McNye, a Communications Engineer who takes a job as a radio technician and joins the all-male crew building a space station, and her dispute with the construction superintendent who doesn't want any women "sniffing around my boys." The superintendent is constantly putting his foot in his mouth with remarks like, "Mind what [Hammond] tells you. He's a good man," only to hear a brisk, "I know, I trained him." In the end, the superintendent is forced to admit that having a woman on the team has improved morale and efficiency, rather than causing a disruption, and he decides to stop discriminating on the basis of gender. He also asks that a Chaplain be assigned to the station, reasoning, "We may need one anytime."

v • d • e Robert A. Heinlein's Future History Collections The Past Through Tomorrow, The Man Who Sold the Moon, The Green Hills of Earth, Orphans of the Sky, Revolt in 2100, The Worlds of Robert A. Heinlein, Expanded Universe Short stories "Life-Line", "Let There Be Light", "The Roads Must Roll", "Blowups Happen", "The Man Who Sold the Moon", "Delilah and the Space Rigger", "Space Jockey", "Requiem", "The Long Watch", "Gentlemen, Be Seated!", "The Black Pits of Luna", "It's Great to Be Back!", "—We Also Walk Dogs", "Searchlight", "Ordeal in Space", "The Green Hills of Earth", "Logic of Empire", "The Menace from Earth", "If This Goes On—", "Coventry", "Misfit", "Universe", "Common Sense" Novels Methuselah's Children, Time Enough for Love, To Sail Beyond the Sunset