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GRINNELL COLLEGE
LIBRARY
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
JAMES J. DAVIS, SECRETARY

WOMEN’S BUREAU
MARY ANDERSON, Director

BULLETIN OF THE WOMEN’S BUREAU, No. 77

A STUDY OF TWO GROUPS OF
DENVER MARRIED WOMEN
APPLYING FOR JOBS

By EMILY

C.

BROWN

fyCs

UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 1929

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C*




-

Price 5 cents

[Public—No.

259—66th

Congress]

[H. R. 13229]
An Act To establish in the Department of Labor a bureau to be known as the
Women’s Bureau

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, That there shall
be established in the Department of Labor a bureau to be known as
the Women’s Bureau.
Sec. 2. That the said bureau shall be in charge of a director, a
woman, to be appointed by the President, by and with the advice
and consent of the Senate, who shall receive an annual compensation
of $5,000. It shall be the duty of said bureau to formulate standards
and policies which shall promote the welfare of wage-earning women,
improve their working conditions, increase their efficiency, and ad­
vance their opportunities for profitable employment. The said bu­
reau shall have authority to investigate and report to the said de­
partment upon all matters pertaining to the welfare of women in
industry. The director of said bureau may from time to time pub­
lish the results of these investigations in such a manner and to such
extent as the Secretary of Labor may prescribe.
Sec. 3. That there shall be in said bureau an assistant director,
to be appointed by the Secretary of Labor, who shall receive an an­
nual compensation of $3,500 and shall perform such duties as shall
be prescribed by the director and approved by the Secretary of
Labor.
Sec. i. That there is hereby authorized to be employed by said
bureau a chief clerk and such special agents, assistants, clerks, and
other employees at such rates of compensation and in such numbers
as Congress may from time to time provide by appropriations.
Sec. 5. That the Secretary of Labor is hereby directed to furnish
sufficient quarters, office furniture and equipment, for the work of
this bureau.
Sec. 6. That this act shall take effect and be in force from and
after its passage.
Approved, June 5, 1920.
ii




CONTENTS
Letter of transmittal _
v
Introduction_____________________________________
Part I. Applicants to the Young Women’s Christian Association"'"'"
2
Summary
2
Reason for seeking work
2
Placement’ ”
4
Age........................................... .......... ..I____"."""""I"
5
Marital status
5
Education and trainingg
Occupational history
g
II. Applicants to a department store””
8
TABLES
Table 1.

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Reason for seeking work, by marital status and age__________
Reason for seeking work, by situation as to support by husband.
Reason for seeking work, by source of income other than woman’s
earnings
Placement and type of work secured, by age of woman_______
Occupational history of 157 women who were placed in positions.
Reason for seeking work, by situation as to support of husband—
Store applicants
Reason for seeking work, by source of income other than woman’s
earnings—Store applicants




in

2

3
4
5
7
9
9

r




1

i

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
United States Department of Labor,
Women’s Bureau,

Washington, October 1, 1929.
Sir : I have the honor to transmit herewith the bulletin A Study
of Two Groups of Denver Married Women Applying for Jobs.
The material presented here was collected in two studies, each
made in conjunction with a Denver agency. The first of these was
the employment service of the Young Women’s Christian Associa­
tion in Denver, which cooperates with the United States Employ­
ment Service and which kept records of married women applying
for work during May, June, July, and August, 1928; the second
was a large department store in Denver, which kept similar records
during May, June, and July, 192S. I wish to express appreciation
of the cooperation of Mary R. Patton, employment secretary of the
Young Women’s Christian Association, and of these two agencies
in supplying the data.
The material was assembled and the report written by Emily C.
Brown, formerly associate industrial economist of the Women’s
Bureau.
Respectfully submitted.
Mart Anderson, Director.
Hon. James J. Davis,
Secretary of Labor.
v




i

A STUDY OF TWO GROUPS OF DENVER MARRIED
WOMEN APPLYING FOR JOBS
INTRODUCTION
In these times in which the numbers of married women who are
employed outside their homes have so strikingly increased, each bit
of evidence on the forces behind this phenomenon is valuable. In
the small studies reported here of two groups of applicants for
work—all women who were or had been married—a very great ma­
jority stated that they sought work because of economic necessity.
Women who were without a husband’s support were considerably
more numerous than those who had husbands who contributed to
their support, and more than two-fifths of those whose sources of
income were ascertained had none except their own earnings.
The first part of the study was made by the Women’s Bureau in
conjunction with the employment service of the Young Women’s
Christian Association in Denver, which cooperates with the United
States Employment Service. The employment office during the
months of May, June, July, and August, 1928, endeavored to fill in
a schedule for each of the married women who applied for work.
From a total of 762 registrants, schedules for 345 married women
were secured and have been analyzed by the Women’s Bureau.
The second part of the study was made by the cooperation of the
Women s Bureau and the employment manager of a large depart­
ment store from the records of women who applied for work dur­
ing the months of May, June, and July, 1928. Applications were
received from 630 women, of whom 103 were married, widowed, sep­
arated, or divorced. Information was secured from this group of
103. While the group is small it includes all who applied during
these months and may be taken as a small cross section of Denver’s
married women desiring work of this type.
While the data are fragmentary in character, they afford an illus­
tration of a type of study that can be made with profit by such
agencies in a community, often with comparatively little change in
the kind of record ordinarily kept for handling their own business.
When such data have been secured by agencies in many communities
a valuable contribution will be made toward the building up of a
body of knowledge upon the reasons why married women seek em­
ployment and toward the answering of this social question in a
manner beyond the realm of speculation.
However, if such a study is to have complete significance, it should
form a part of a fuller study of the employment opportunities and
needs in the community, and it should bo supplemented by a further
study of the women not placed, of family composition, and of certain
other data.
l




PART I
APPLICANTS TO THE YOUNG WOMEN’S CHRISTIAN
ASSOCIATION
Summary.
In brief, the survey shows the conditions that brought into the
labor market the group of 345 women who were or had been mar­
ried and who were among those wrho applied for work to the Young
Women’s Christian Association during the months stated. It was a
group ranging from less than 18 to more than 80 years of age, but
over two-thirds of the women reporting were 30 years old or more.
On the wdiole the women were untrained, less than 30 per cent hav­
ing completed high school, and a large proportion having engaged in
personal or domestic service. There were, however, a number of
clerical workers and a few factory workers and others. Ninety per
cent of the women reporting worked because of economic necessity:
74 per cent of them were without a husband’s support, while more
than one-half of those whose husbands contributed found the con­
tributions irregular or inadequate to needs. One-half of the women
reporting had no income but their own earnings; almost half had
children under 16. In spite of this evidence of the need for em­
ployment, only 45 per cent of the applicants found positions through
this office.
Reason for seeking work.
What were the reasons why these women sought employment?
Table 1 shows that while 34 failed to report, 281, or 90 per cent, of
those reporting said economic necessity forced them to seek oppor­
tunity to earn. Preference was given as the reason by only 30 of the
women. Of those who worked from preference 22 were married, all
of these being 25 years old or more, and 1 did not report her marital
status. Seven widows, all 50 years of age or over, said that they
worked from preference, and in connection with these the employ­
ment secretary stated:
This I feel sure was clue to an attack of family pride. Perhaps they did have
children who could support them, hut for some reason they did not feel like
accepting their help.
Table 1.-—Reason

for seeking work, l)y marital status and age
Number of women who were—

Total
18
16
20
25
30
40
50
Age
60
Reason for seeking work and marital num­ and and and and and and and
not
ber of under under under under under under under years re­
status
and
women 18
20
30
25
40
50
60
port­
ed
years years years years years years years over
11
Total.............. ...................................
345
1
41
56
81
81
42
21
11
Total reported...................... .........

311

1

11

39

54

74

71

34

18

9

Economic necessity.,..............................
Married...................................................

281
109
69
35
45
23

1
1

11
5

39
23
2
4
7
3

47
25
4
6
9
3

66
29
12
10
13
2

65
17
20
12
7
9

29
5'
17
1
2
4

14
2
10
1
1

9
2

7
7

8
7

6
6

1
4
1

30

90
7

2




34

4

4

8

3

1

1

Reason not reported .......... ......... ..........

5
21
3

2

2

2

7

10

2

APPLICANTS TO YOUNG WOMEN’S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION

3

Of the 281 women who said it was economic necessity that made
them seek work, 109, or 42 per cent of those who gave their marital
status, were married, 29 of those reporting on age being under 25
years of age. The 149 who were widowed, divorced, separated, or
deserted formed a group of rather older women. Of those reporting
age, only 18 were under 25, while 71 gave their ages as 40 or over.
The sources of income of these women tell much of the story of
why they were applicants for work. Table 2 shows the situation as
to the support received from the husbands.
Table 2.—Reason for seeking work, by situation as to support by husband
Women receiving no support from husband
Women
receiv­
Total
ing
No re­
Husband
Reason for seeking work number
support
port
Hus­ divorced, Husband Hus­ Hus­
of
from Total band separated,
band
band
as to
ill or
women hus­
in
reason
dead or desert­ crippled unem­
band
ployed prison for non­
ing
support

No
as to
sup­
port
by
hus­
band

345

•78

221

91

68

23

28

4

7

46

281
30
34

54
22
2

194
7
20

69
7
15

63

23

28

4

7

33
1
12

5

i Contributions were inadequate for needs, however, in 45 cases as follows: 6 received partial support
from separated or divorced husbands, for 12 the husband’s earnings were inadequate, for 17 the husband’s
work was irregular, in 9 cases financial emergency such as poor crops or unusual bills required the wife’s
assistance, and in 1 case the wife needed to assist her parents.

Of the 345 women, 46 failed to report as to such support. There
were 221 women—74 per cent of those reporting—who had no sup­
port from their husbands. In 91 cases the husband was dead; in
68 he was divorced, separated, or deserting; in 23 he was ill or
physically incapacitated;' in 28 unemployed; and in 4 in prison.
Seventy-eight of the women—26 per cent—had some support from
their husbands, but 12 of these said that their husband’s earnings
were inadequate, and 17 that his work was irregular, while 9 wanted
to help him in some financial emergency, and 1 worked to help
support her parents. In 6 cases only partial support was received
from a separated or divorced husband. Of the women who worked
from preference, only 7 had no support from a husband, while 22
had such support although in 3 cases it was irregular. Of the
women who worked of necessity the great majority were without a
husband’s support. Only 54—a little over one-fifth of those report­
ing—had support from their husbands, and a large proportion of
these qualified that statement by indicating the inadequacy or
irregularity of the husband’s earnings.
The presence of young children gave added responsibility to many
of these women. One-half of those who reported that they were
without a husband’s support had children under 16, nearly a fifth
of them having two children or more. Less than 40 per cent of
the widows had young children, but of the women whose husbands
were divorced, separated, or deserting, ill, unemployed, or in prison
over 60 per cent had children under 16. In the case of those who had
.some support from their husbands, 45 per cent had young children.
77199°—29-----2




4

MARRIED WOMEN APPLYING FOR JOBS

A few of these women who were seeking employment had sources
of income other than from their own labor or from their husbands’
contributions. As can be seen from Table 3 a considerable number
failed to report on this point.
Table 3.—Reason for seeking ivork, by source of income other than woman’s

earnings

Reason for seeking work

Economic necessity___
Preference_______ _______
Reason not reported

Women
having
Total no in­
number come
of
but
women own
earn­
ings

Women having income from source as specified
No re­
port as
Total
Hus­ Sons’ or
having bands’ daugh­ House Insur­ Source to other
ters’ or room
not re­ income
other
earn­
ance ported
rent
earn­
income ings
ings

345

90

90

i 78

7

2

2

1

165

281
30
34

89
21

62
24
4

54
22
2

4
2
1

2

1

1

130
5
30

1

1 See footnote, Table 2, on inadequacy of the contributions.
2 Support self to be independent of children.

Of those who reported, exactly one-half had no income but their
own earnings, while the others had other income from their husbands
or other sources. Income from sons and daughters or other sources
was reported in only 11 of the 90 cases having income other than the
woman’s own earnings.
Such facts as these, although not complete, furnish incontrovertible
evidence of the necessity for a large proportion of these women who
were or had been married to contribute to the support of themselves
or their families, if indeed they were not solely dependent upon their
own earnings. It remains to be seen how many of them secured
positions through their applications to this employment service.
Placement.
From a total of 345 applicants, 157—45 per cent—secured positions,
while 41 were referred to positions which they did not accept, and
147 others were not placed. Even of the group who considered it a
necessity to earn, only 46 per cent were placed by this agency.
Some of the explanations of the lack of success of over half of the
applicants lie in work preferences, obligations or handicaps, and in­
stability or incapacity. There were some who would accept only a
type of work for which they were not fitted, some who desired house­
work where they could have one or two children with them. Some
women came once but did not return or did not keep appointments
made for them to interview employers. Some were handicapped by
ill health, mental deficiency, deafness, inability to speak English, or
other difficulties.
The data presented in Table 4 show that the younger women were
at an advantage in the search for employment. Almost one-half of
the applicants under 30 were placed. Of those from 30 to 50 only
46 per cent were placed, while of those 50 years old or more only 37
per cent found employment. Of the women of 30 years or older who




APPLICANTS TO YOUNG WOMEN'S CHBISTIAN ASSOCIATION

5

were placed the great majority found jobs in housework or hotels
and restaurants. Among 21 women 60 years of age or over, only 8
found positions through this agency, and these ranged in age from
60 to 68 years, and all found housework jobs. Among the 13 women
60 years or over who were not placed, 4 were from 68 to 72 years,
while 1 woman of 88 was unsuccessful in her application. A partial
explanation of the fact that more married women are placed in
housework than any other occupation may lie in the fact that Denver
is not primarily an industrial city and this is one type of work to
which these workers can easily adapt themselves.
Table 4.—Placement and type of work secured, by age of woman
N umber of wo men of each a ge
Placement and type of work secured

Total.....................................
Women who were placed

.

Domestic and personal service:
Housework___________
Hotel or restaurant...........
Laundry_________
Nursemaid or practical nurse
Companion_____
Clerical_________ ____
M anufacturing............. .
Women referred to places which were
not accepted ____
Other women not placed___

Total
Age
16
18
20
25
30
40
num­
50
60 not re­
ber of and and and and and and and
ported
women under under under under under under under years
and
18
20
25
30
40
50
60
years years years years years years years over
345

1

11

41

56

81

81

42

21

11

157

8

23

23

38

37

15

8

5

74
26

4

6

1
1
2

4
2
2

7

2
1

1

1
4

29

33

35

11
1
19
10

41
147

2
1
2

3

4
5

13

1

]

20

g
10

4

Age.
1 liese seekers for employment, all of whom were or had been mar­
ried, were by no means a group of young women unburdened by
responsibility. Only 53 of the 334 who reported on age were under
25; less than a third were under 30. In each of the decades begin­
ning at 30 and 40 there were 81 women; 42 were in the next decade,
and 20 were from 60 to 72. One old nurse, 88 years of age, sought
opportunity to support herself and her blind husband. Of the 11
who reported that they had been employed in factories during the
past year, all but 1 were under 40 years of age. The clerical workers
as a whole were a young group, only 7 out of 34 being as much as
40. Of the 100 who had engaged in domestic and personal service,
on the other hand, 43 were 40 or over.
Marital status.
Information on their present marital status was given by 317
women, of whom 137 were married, 91 widowed, 49"separated or
deserted, and 40 divorced. Although nearly one-half of the married
women were under 30, three-fourths of those widowed, divorced,
separated, or deserted were 30 or over.




6

MARRIED WOMEN APPLYING FOR JOBS

Nearly one-half of the women who reported had children under
16. Of 129 married women, 55, or 43 per cent, had young children,
while of 174 women who were widowed, divorced, separated, or de­
serted, 92, or 53 per cent, had young children. Ninety-four of these
women who sought employment had only one child under 16, but
36 of them had two children, 23 had three or four, 3 had five, and
1 had six children. For 259 children of these applicants the ages
were reported, and of these nearly 61—one-fourth—were under 4
years, while 131—more than one-half—were under 8 years of age,
and only 31 were 14 or more.
Education and training.
A wide range was found in the educational background of these
applicants. Of the 299 women who reported on their education, 42
had not completed grade school, while 87 left school after the eighth
grade; 81 had some high-school work, while 48 others had com­
pleted the high-school course; 28 had gone to college, but only 6 of
them had completed the course and graduated; 13 had attended
normal school. To summarize, only 89—less than 30 per cent—had
completed a high-school course or gone beyond it in academic train­
ing. Business training in addition was reported by 49 women and
other special training by 4.
For the women studied education appeared to make little differ­
ence in their chance of getting employment. Of those who had not
finished high school about the same proportion—45 per cent—was
placed as of the smaller groups who had finished high school or had
had further education. Only 18 of the 49 women who reported busi­
ness training were placed. Of course, no generalizations can be made
from these facts, since such a large proportion of the positions filled
by this employment service are in domestic and personal service.
Special training of some sort was reported by 75 women, business
school by 49, normal school by 13, nursing by 10, and training in
dancing and sewing by 1 and 2, respectively. Of the entire 75, only
14 were placed in positions to which their training directly led, while
16 were placed in other types of work. Of the 49 with business
training, 10 found business positions, and 8 went into other kinds of
employment. Six of the 13 with normal-school training secured
nonteaching positions. Of the 10 nurses, 4 took nursing positions,
and 2 other jobs. The 3 women with other training were not placed.
Occupational history.
The reports of these women on their occupations are very incom­
plete. By grouping them according to the occupation in which they
were placed by the employment service, or, in the case of those not
placed, grouping them according to their employment in the past
year when they reported on that point, indication of occupation is
secured for 236 of the 345 women. Two-thirds of the group were
engaged in domestic and personal service, and of these 100 _ did
housework, and 11 laundry work, 31 held hotel and restaurant jobs,
and 16 did other work of this general classification. In addition, 42
were in clerical work, 16 in manufacturing, and 20 in miscellaneous
occupations including selling, telephone operating, managing an
apartment house, and dancing and school teaching.




APPLICANTS TO YOUNG WOMEN’S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION

7

Table 5.—Occupational history of 157 women who were placed in positions
Number of women
Occupation in first job

Occupation in past year
Occupation in which placed
Total

Domestic and personal serv­
ice:

Nursemaid or practical

re­ None
Other Not
ported

Same
occu­
pation

Other

Not re­
ported

71

2

54

34

67

U3
4
2

31
12
3

1

21
10
3

10
28
3

42
8
1

1

8

2

5

1
3
3

7
6
4

1

14
2
2

1
5
2

4
1
3
3
5

None

Same
occu• pation

157

4

55

27

74
26
7

1
1

29
9
2

2

2
1
9
1
2

11
1
19
10
9

____

1 5 were in hotels, 1 was a companion, 2 were practical nurses.
2 6 did housework.

Table 5 shows the occupational history of the 157 women who se­
cured positions through this service, 86 of whom reported their
work during the preceding year. For 55 of these the positions se­
cured were in the same occupation in which they had been working,
while for 27 the occupation was different, and 4 had not worked in
the year before. The first job held was in the same occupation as
that now accepted according to the reports of 54 women, although
67 did not report on this point, and 2 had never been employed
before.
In addition 54 women who were not placed, but who had been
employed in the year preceding, reported on their occupational his­
tory. For 44 of the 54 women, their first job was in the same
occupation as that of the past year.
For 29 women who had difficulty in finding work during the pre­
ceding 12 months, information is available as to the sources of
this difficulty. While the information is only fragmentary it shows
some of the problems faced by such a group and indicates reasons
which may account for the small proportion of the entire group of
345 who were placed. Ten of these women found it hard to get
work because of the general unemployment situation, and all but 1
of the 10 were under 40 years of age. Lack of training and experi­
ence was reported by 6 women, of whom 3 were 40 or more and 2
had completed high school or gone further with their education.
Age or physical defects were the hampering facts for 4 of the 29
women, 3 of them being 50 years or over in age. Special family
circumstances—such as the need to keep children with them, stranger
in the city, and low salary—were difficulties in 9 of the cases. Of
the 29 women who reported on difficulties in finding work, 17 were
under 40 and 12 were 40 or more. While 6 did not report on their
education, 17 had less than a complete high-school training and 6
were high-school graduates or had gone further in academic
education.




PART II
APPLICANTS TO A DEPARTMENT STORE
A consideration of the data from the employment division of the
cooperating department store shows that 103 of the women applying
for work were or had been married, and these ranged in age from
18 to 61; 21 of them were under 25 and 30 under 30; 28 were 30 and
less than 40, 18 were 40 and less than 50, and 10 were 50 and over,
while for 17 the age was not reported. Of those who reported on
their marital status, 50 were married, 18 widowed, and 26 divorced
or separated. Though nearly one-half of the married women seek­
ing work who reported their age were under 30, four-fifths of those
widowed, divorced, or separated were 30 or over.
A substantial proportion of these applicants for work who re­
ported on this subject had young children. About one-half of those
widowed, divorced, or separated had children under 16, while 12 of
the 40 married women who reported had children under 16. Of the
35 women with young children, 22 had one child only, but 3 had
four children, and 2, both of them divorced or separated, had five
children each.
The occupations of the husbands were reported in only 31 of the
cases. The occupations ranged from unskilled labor up to pro­
fessional work, but the most frequently occurring were in commer­
cial occupations, manufacturing, and in the building trades.
Practically all those reporting had attended grade school. Over
half reported some high-school work and 13 had had some college
work. Their occupations, as indicated by their employment during
the previous 12 months, included needlework, millinery, and sew­
ing-machine operation reported by 15; sales work reported by 17;
office work by 5; domestic service by 6; and a miscellaneous list of
other occupations, such as telephone operating, keeping a rooming
house, and acting as demonstrator, as a doctor’s assistant, and as a
rural mail carrier.
What were the reasons why these women sought employment?
Eight declared that they worked from preference, but 86 said it was
economic necessity that forced them to seek work. Nine did not
report on this point. Of those who worked from preference, all
were married and five were under 25 years of age. Of those whose
economic needs forced them to seek opportunity to earn, 36 were
married, all but 9 of the 31 reporting age being 25 or over. Fortytwo women who were widowed, divorced, or separated from their
husbands were forced by economic necessity to seek work; they were
an older group, only 7 of those reporting age being under 30.
The sources of income of these women, as shown in Table 6, throw
light on the problems that drove them to hunt for jobs. Of the 8
women who worked from preference, all received support from their
husbands. Thirty-two women whose husbands contributed to the
3




9

APPLICANTS TO A DEPARTMENT STORE

family income reported that it was necessary for them to work,
while 40 were without a husband’s support because of his death, ill­
ness, divorce, or desertion, or other reasons and so were obliged to
seek work. In all, 45 women received support from husbands, but
in 3 of these cases the husband was out of work at the time of the
study. Of the 43 cases in which there was no husband’s support,
18 of the husbands were dead, 14 were divorced, separated, or
deserting, and 7 were ill; in the case of 4 who failed to contribute,
the reason was not stated. Fifteen women did not report as to any
support from their husbands.
Other high lights are given to this picture when we see that of
these women who sought work, although their husbands were con­
tributing to the family income, nearly one-third of those reporting
had children under 16, while of those without a husband’s support
45 per cent had young children.
Table 6.—Reason for seeking loork, by situation as to support by husband—

Store applicants
Women receiving no support from hus­
band, for reason specified
Reason for seeking work

Total
num­
ber of
won en

Preference___ ________ ____ _____
Reason not reported..........................

Women
receiving
support
from
husband Total

Husband
Hus­ divorced, Hus­
band separated, band
dead
or de­
ill
serting

No re­
port
as to
sup­
port
No
hus­
report by
band

103

1 45

43

18

14

7

4

15

86
8
9

32
8
5

40

16

14

7

3

14

3

2

1

1

1 Three of these husbands were out of work and not contributing at time of study.
port was alimony from a divorced husband.

In one case the sup­

Table 7 gives information on sources of income other than earn­
ings of the women who were seeking employment. Sixteen of the
women who reported had no other source of income whatsoever, 44
received contributions from the husband, and 3 from sons and daugh­
ters, and 1 received alimony; 39 failed to report on other source of
income.
Table 7.—Reason for seeking work, by source of income other than womans

earnings—Store applicants

Reason for seeking work

Women
having
Total
number of no in­
come
women but
own
earnings

Women having income from source as
specified

Total

Husbands’ Alimony Sons’ and
daughters’
earnings
earnings

Total.............................

103

16

48

1 44

1

3

Economic necessity...............
Preference_________ ______
Reason not reported...........

86
8
9

16

34
8
6

31
8
5

1

2

13 of these husbands were out of work and not contributing at time of study.




No re­
port
as to
other
income

39

3

10

MARRIED WOMEN APPLYING FOR JOBS

Information on living arrangements was secured from practically
all these women, and it is sufficient to show the double task of home­
making and outside employment carried by many of them. Nineteen
women were boarding and 31 lived with relatives, but 47 kept house.
Six women did not report on this. Housework was done by others
in the case of 13 women who reported; but 40 women, 16 of whom
reported having children under 16 years, did the housework
themselves.
Eighty-three of the 103 women applying reported on their employ­
ment status during the previous year. Only 54 had been employed.
Of the 67 seeking work because of economic necessity, 49 had been
employed in the past 12 months. Six of the eight seeking work from
preference had had no employment in the 12 months.
Of the 103 applications, only 6 were successful. Four women were
given temporary positions, and two became permanent members of the
force. How the other 97 met the problems that drove them to seek
for work is unanswerable from these records.




PUBLICATIONS OF THE WOMEN’S BUREAU
[Any of these bulletins still available will be sent free of charge upon request.1
No. 1. Proposed Employment of Women During the War in the Industries of Niagara Falls, N. Y
16 pp. 1913.
No. 2. Labor Laws for Women in Industry in Indiana. 29 pp 1919.
No. 3 Standards for the Employment of Women in Industry. 8 pp. Third ed., 1921
No 4. Wages of Candy Makers in Philadelphia in 1919. 46 pp. 1919.
•No. 5. The Eight-Hour Day in Federal and State Legislation. 19 pp. 1919.
No. 6. The Employment of Women in Hazardous Industries in the United States. 8 pp. 1921.
No 7. Night-Work Laws in the United States. (1919). 4 pp. 1920.
*No 8. Women in the Government Service. 37 pp. 1920.
•No 9. Home Work in Bridgeport, Conn 35 pp. 1920.
*No. 10. Hours and Conditions of Work for Women in Industry in Virginia. 32 pp. 1920.
No 11. Women Street Car Conductors and Ticket Agents. 90 pp. 1921.
*No. 12. The New Position of Women in American Industry. 158 pp. 1920.
No. 13. Industrial Opportunities and Training for Women and Girls. 48 pp. 1921.
*No. 14. A Physiological Basis for the Shorter Working Day for Women. 20 pp. 1921.
No. 15. Some Effects of Legislation Limiting Hours of Work for Women. 26 pp. 1921.
No. 16. (See Bulletin 63.)
No. 17 Women’s Wages in Kansas. 104 pp 1921.
No. 18. Health Problems of Women in Industry. 11 pp. 1921.
No. 19. Iowa Women in Industry. 73 pp. 1922.
*No 20. Negro Women in Industry 65 pp 1922.
,
No. 21. Women in Rhode Island Industries 73 pp. 1922
*No 22. Women in Georgia Industries. 89 pp. 1922.
No. 23 The Family Status of Breadwinning Women. 43 pp. 1922.
No 24. Women in Maryland Industries 96 pp. 1922.
No. 25. Women in the Candy Industry in Chicago and St. Louis. 72 pp 1923.
No. 26. Women in Arkansas Industries. 86 pp. 1923
No. 27. The Occupational Progress of Women. 37 pp. 1922.
No. 28. Women’s Contributions in the Field of Invention. 51 pp. 1923.
No 29. Women in Kentucky Industries 114 pp. 1923.
No. 30. The Share of Wage-Earning Women in Family Support. 170 pp. 1923.
No. 31. What Industry Means to Women Workers. 10 pp. 1923.
Nc. 32 Women in South Carolina Industries. 128 pp. 1923
No 33 Proceedings of the Women’s Industrial Conference 190 pp 1923.
No. 34. Women in Alabama Industries. 86 pp. 1924.
No. 35. Women in Missouri Industries. 127 pp. 1924.
No 36. Radio Talks on Women in Industry. 34 pp. 1924.
No. 37. Women in New Jersey Industries. 99 pp. 1924.
No. 38. Married Women in Industry. 8 pp. 1924.
No. 39. Domestic Workers and their Employment Relations. 87 pp. 1924.
No. 40. (See Bulletin 63.)
No. 41. Family Status of Breadwinning Women in Four Selected Cities. 145 pp. 1925.
No. 42. List of References on Minimum Wage for Women in the United States and Canada. 42 pp. 1925.
No. 43. Standard and Scheduled Hours of Work for Women in Industry. 68 pp. 1925.
No. 44. Women in Ohio Industries. 137 pp. 1925.
No. 45. Home Environment and Employment Opportunities of Women in Coal-Mine Workers’ Families.
61 pp. 1925.
No. 46, Facts about Working Women—A Graphic Presentation Based on Census Statistics. 64 pp. 1925.
No. 47. Women in the Fruit-Growing and Canning Industries in the State of Washington. 223 pp. 1926.
•No. 48. Women in Oklahoma Industries. 118 pp. 1926.
No. 49. Women Workers and Family Support. 10 pp. 1925.
No. 50. Effects of Applied Research upon the Employment Opportunities of American Women. 54 pp.
1926.
•No. 51. Women in Illinois Industries. 108 pp. 1926.
No. 52. Lost Time and Labor Turnover in Cotton Mills. 203 pp. 1926.
No. 53. The Status of Women in the Government Service in 1925. 103 pp. 1926.
No. 54. Changing Jobs. 12 pp. 1926.
No. 55. Women in Mississippi Industries. 89 pp. 1926.
No. 56. Women in Tennessee Industries. 120 pp. 1927.
No. 57. Women Workers and Industrial Poisons. 5 pp. 1926.
No. 58. Women in Delaware Industries. 156 pp. 1927.
No. 59. Short Talks About Working Women. 24 pp. 1927.
No. 60. Industrial Accidents to Women in New Jersey, Ohio, and Wisconsin. 316 pp. 1927.
No. 61. The Development of Minimum-Wage Laws iu the United States, 1912 to 1927. 635 pp. 1928.
Price 90 cents.
No. 62. Women’s Employment in Vegetable Canneries in Delaware. 47 pp. 1927.
No. 63. State Laws Affecting Working Women. 51 pp. 1927. (Revision of Bulletins 16 and 40.)
No. 64. The Employment of Women at Night. 86 pp. > 1928.
•No. 65. The Effects of Labor Legislation on the Employment Opportunities of Women. 498 pp. 1928.
No. 66. History of Labor Legislation for Women in Three States; Chronological Development of Labor
Legislation for Women in the United States. 288 pp. 1929.
No. 67. Women Workers in Flint, Mich. 80 pp. 1928.
No. 68. Summary: The Effects of Labor Legislation on the Employment Opportunities of Women.
(Reprint of Chapter II of Bulletin 65.) 22 pp. 1928.
No. 69. Causes of Absence for Men and for Women in Four Cotton Mills. 24 pp. 1929.
No. 70. Negro Women in Industry in 15 States. 74 pp. 1929.
No. 71. Selected References on the Health of Women in Industry. 8 pp. 1929.
No. 72. Conditions of Work in Spin Rooms. 41 pp. 1929.
No. 73. Variations in Employment Trends of Women and Men. (In press.)
No. 74. The Immigrant Woman and Her Job. (In press.)
No. 75. What the Wage-Earning Woman Contributes to Family Support. 20 pp. 1929.
No. 76. Women in 5-and-10-cent Stores and Limited-Price Chain Department Stores. (In press.)
No. 77. A Study of Two Groups of Denver Married Women Applying for Jobs. (In press )
Annual reports of the Director, 1919*, 1920*. 1921*, 1922, 1923, 1924*, 1925, 1926, 1927*. 1928, 1929
'Supply exhausted.




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ii