120 Years of Women in Hardware

We’re Celebrating Women in Hardware this Month.

To celebrate women this month, we’re highlighting none other than Mary Bittorf. Mary Bittorf started with National Manufacturing in 1905. She was one of the very first women to work in the workplace, let alone a factory, making National Manufacturing one of the first places to hire women in the United States. Mary ran the women’s department for nearly six decades. She paved the way for many of our women leaders in hardware today.

Our Hardware Reimagined campaign was inspired by the life of Mary Bittorf. Watch her-story unfold.

Mary is sixth from the left in the back row in the image above.

Mary’s legacy continued with women taking an active role in the day-to-day operations of National Hardware. Meet the women who have made the brand what it is today.

Top Row Left to Right: Karen Betz (1970) becomes the first woman to work in plating and goes on to work as a chemist in the lab and as a timekeeper; Genevieve Wright, Gloria Lamberson, Pat Tompkins (first timekeepers*) (1970s)

Second Row Left to Right: Irene Scroggins (first timekeeper* 1970s), Judy Drinkwater (1987) becomes National’s first female sales representative; Mary Durham, (1993) becomes VP-Human Resources; Jamie Dorman, Director of Marketing

Third Row Left to Right: Amanda Ambriz, Sr. Brand Marketing Manager; Melissa Zellner, Sr. Product Marketing Manager; Camille Henningsen, Project Manager - Brand Equity; Audrea Bonnet, Product Manager

Fourth Row Left to Right: Haley Hunt, Marketing Coordinator; Indigo Halverson, Digital Marketing Specialist; Kavitha Chedalawada, Sr. Online Systems Developer; Silvia Morales, Assistant Manager- Marketing Content Coordination

Fifth Row Left to Right: Dawn Owen, Key Account Manager (here since 1997); Beth Livesay, Digital Copywriter; Kara Wagner, National Account Manager (here since 2008); Amy White, Customer Service Manager (here since 1998)

About National Hardware

Hardware and Home Improvement (HHI) is a major manufacturer and supplier of residential locksets, residential builders’ hardware and plumbing with a portfolio of renowned brands, including Kwikset®, Weiser®, Baldwin®, National Hardware®, Stanley®, Pfister® and EZSET®. HHI is a division of Spectrum Brands Holdings. HHI is a leader in its key markets with #1 positions in U.S. residential locksets (Kwikset), Canada residential locksets (Weiser), U.S. luxury locksets (Baldwin), and U.S. builder’s hardware (National Hardware), and #3 in U.S. retail plumbing (Pfister). Headquartered in Orange County, California, HHI has a global sales force and operates manufacturing and distribution facilities in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Asia. To learn more about National Hardware, visit https://www.national-hardware.com.