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I/S. 3 ATE TEACHERS COLLEGE LIBRARY UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR W. N. DOAIC, SECRETARY WOMEN’S BUREAU MARY ANDERSON, Director BULLETIN OF THE WOMEN’S BUREAU, NO. 86 ACTIVITIES OF THE WOMEN’S BUREAU OF THE UNITED STATES UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON : 1931 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C. - • Price 5 cents [Public—No. 259—66th Congress] [H. K. 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 bo appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, who shall receive an annual compensa tion 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 advance their opportunities for profitable employ ment. The said bureau shall have authority to investigate and report to the said department upon all matters pertaining to the welfare of women in industry. The director of said bureau may from time to time publish the results of these investigations in such a manner and to such extent as the Secretary of Labor may pre scribe. 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. 4. 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. n CONTENTS Page IV Letter of transmittal__________________________ History_________;___________________ ___ _~1"____ ___ ’ Scope of the bureau’s work_________________________ Methods used by the bureau__________________ I_ State studies__________________________ I_______ ’ Health and safety in employment____________________ Studies of labor legislation___________________________ Studies of particular industries____________________ ™ Earnings and hours of women_______________ I_____ ~~ Studies of special industrial subjects_________________ Studies in cooperation with other agencies or individuals. Public information_________________________________ Plan for broader study______________________________ Conclusion 1 2 3 3 4 6 7 9 9 12 12 13 13 m LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL United States Department of Labor, Women’s Bureau, Washington, February 25,1931. Sir : I have the honor to submit herewith a bulletin describing in small compass the history, methods, and accomplishments of the Women’s Bureau, information for which there is considerable demand. The article was prepared by Miss Agnes L. Peterson, assistant director of the bureau, for presentation to the Pan Pacific Women’s Conference, in session in Honolulu August 9 to 22,1930. It has been amended slightly to make it more suitable for general use. Respectfully submitted. Mart Anderson, Director. Hon. W. N. Doak, Secretary of Labor. IV ACTIVITIES OF THE WOMEN’S BUREAU OF THE UNITED STATES HISTORY The Women’s Bureau of the United States Department of Labor was established for wage-earning women. It was organized by women and has always been staffed by women. Although labor organizations, social workers, and national women’s organizations had petitioned the Congress again and again over a period of years to establish in the Government a special division to do research work on problems of wage-earning women, such petitions met with no success until the World War made necessary a consideration of women’s labor in the Nation’s emergency. When President Wilson selected a committee to advise the Gov ernment, as to a more complete organization of the Department of Labor to enable it to function during the war to the best advantage for wage earners and industry, he appointed to this commission a wage-earning woman—Miss Agnes Nestor, of Chicago. Among the recommendations of the commission was the organization of the Woman in Industry Service, which was established in July, 1918. Miss Mary van Kleeck, director of industrial studies of the Russell Sage Foundation, was appointed the director of the Woman in Industry Service and Miss Mary Anderson became assistant director. Miss van Kleeck resigned in the summer of 1919 and Miss Anderson was appointed director. In June of 1920 the bureau was given a permanent status by the passage of the creative act under which it now functions. President Harding appointed Miss Anderson the director of the newly created bureau, and her appoint ment was approved by the Senate, as required by law. The require ment in the law that the director of the bureau should be a presi dential appointee constituted an important achievement both in the status of the bureau and in the advancement of the position of women. The bureau is charged with a twofold responsibility: (1) “To formulate standards and policies which shall promote the welfare of wage-earning women, improve their working conditions, increase their efficiency, and advance their opportunities for profitable em ployment,” and (2) “ to investigate and report * * * upon all matters pertaining to the welfare of women in industry.” The task assigned the bureau by law, therefore, is stupendous, and it is espe cially complicated by the fact that at no time has the appropriation been commensurate with the duties involved. However, as a result 1 2 ACTIVITIES OF WOMEN’S BUKEATJ OF UNITED STATES of President Hoover’s special interest in human problems, the bureau’s appropriation has been increased to permit a considerable extension of its activities. Despite the handicap of inadequate funds and the consequently restricted scope of its activities, the bureau has collected much val uable information by the sampling method, has formulated a list of minimum standards for the health and safety of women workers, and has focused public attention on a variety of outstanding prob lems related to wage-earning women, problems that are of para mount national significance. In its early days the bureau concen trated on studies of working conditions of women in localities where the State itself did not collect any such information. Later certain States were studied because the officials and organized women of the State requested the collection of data in addition to that which they themselves were equipped to undertake. SCOPE OF THE BUREAU’S WORK The problems to be considered by the bureau present one great difficulty that is not characteristic of other parts of the world—the fact that the United States is practically a little league of nations and is made up of 48 States and additional territories and dependencies. Each State is a sovereign power unto itself in all matters of internal concern. Only those affairs that affect areas wider than that of a single State can be regulated or even legislated for by the Federal Government. Each State has full jurisdiction in regard to the standards of work required and to the extent of interest shown by the State in respect to hours, wages, and working conditions of women. Very few of the States are equipped to undertake studies of the comprehensive nature and upon the special subjects considered by the bureau. Most State departments of labor have neither funds nor personnel to carry on the duties with which they are charged in regard to the single matter of the enforcement of labor laws. As a consequence, only a few of the States find it possible to assemble and prepare comprehensive and organized reports of the work done in the State. Probably there are only a few States—those in which bureaus have been established expressly for the study of problems of working women—that are equipped to undertake special research in regard to women’s problems that develop outside of the regulation of condi tions of work. Therefore it is natural that the local officials or women themselves should request that the Federal Women’s Bureau under take studies within a State. Moreover, the activities of State officials are restricted to the borders of the State they serve, while the Women’s Bureau collects comparable material from a wide range of States and considers matters that are of far-reaching general con cern. It is the only Government agency working along this line for all the working women of the country, regardless of State lines. The magnitude of the problem to be handled by the bureau is in dicated by a resume of the numbers of employed women in the United States. The census of 1920 reported some 8,500,000 women in gainful STATE STUDIES 3 employment,1 *representing an increase of over 3,000,000 women in a 20-year period. It reported women at work in all but 35 of the 572 occupations listed by the census. The proportion of the woman popu lation engaged in gainful occupations had risen by 1920 to one-fifth of all the women in the country who were 10 years of age or over. Of the 8,500,000 women wage earners reported in 1920, over twofifths were less than 25 years of age; more than one-fifth had not yet attained the age of 20 years. . Further analysis of the census data of 1920 shows a great increase m the number of married women in gainful employment—the in crease being 1,150,804, or one and one-half times the total employed 20 years before. In 1920, 1 in 11 of the married-woman population 15 years of age and over were in gainful employment. Many of such women are the sole support of dependents and a large proportion of them must supplement the family income in addition to carrying the burden of home maker. & When so large a number of young girls and so large a number of married women a,re affected by the conditions of their employment, no one can question the statement that reasonable hours and good working conditions for these women are of the greatest importance to the future welfare of the Nation. For the married women this is still further emphasized by the fact that the largest increase in the numbers of married women was shown to be on work in connection with manufacturing processes, where employment frequently is hazardous and exacting. It is not surprising tlien that of the 80-odd bulletins published by the bureau, 36 deal with one or more of the subjects of hours, wages, or working conditions, in many cases with all three. They cover information on one or more of these matters for about 353,000 women employed in approximately 5,000 establishments. METHODS USED BY THE BUREAU The methods used by the bureau in carrying on its work may be divided into two main divisions: Research and the dissemination of information. The former consists of the collection of data, in held or library; the latter includes the assembling and analyzing or such data, the writing and publishing of reports giving informa tion on each project the bureau undertakes, and the presentation of data in popular form in newspapers and magazines as well as by means of charts, graphs, and special exhibits. ' STATE STUDIES , The bureau has made comprehensive reports on women in industry m 20 States. For these, data were secured in the States themselves, including records of wages and hours copied by agents of the bureau from pay rolls of the plants, and definite reports of personal obser vations of working conditions, noted on a schedule by the agents. The State studies cover the hours of work for 281,491 women, and the hours are classified in groups that range from 8 or less a day and to 1 According to an estimate by the Director of the Census, the 1930 figures are expected show about 10,000,000 women in gainful occupations. ' y 4 ACTIVITIES OP WOMEN'S BUREAU OP UNITED STATES 48 or less a week to 10 or more a day and 70 or more a week. As would be expected, the data indicate that low wages are likely to accompany long hours; the progressive and well-equipped plant as a rule pays the highest wages and offers the best hours of work. Space will not permit a discussion here of the variations among the different States studied in regard to conditions of work, except to say that the bulletins show that in some of the plants the conditions of work con stituted a menace to the health and well-being of the workers. On the other hand, in all the States the bureau found establishments of the highest order, offering excellent working conditions. HEALTH AND SAFETY IN EMPLOYMENT Determining what working conditions are necessary for protecting the health and safety of wage-earning women is one of the most important functions of the Women’s Bureau; in fact, a list of stand ards for the employment of women was issued only a few months after the creation of the Woman in Industry Service. With practi cally no change—due largely to the fact that in rough draft they were submitted for criticism and suggestion to every State depart ment of labor, to representative employers, and to working women in a position to speak for national and international trade-unions— these standards are circulated to-day as a guide to persons and organ izations interested in promoting the welfare of wage-earning women. In summary form they are as follows: An adequate wage, based on occupation and not on sex and covering the cost of living of dependents; time for recreation, self-development, leisure, by a workday of not more than 8 hours, including rest periods; not less than 1% days off in the week; no night work; no industrial home work. A clean, well-aired, well-lighted workroom, with adequate provision against excessive heat and cold; a chair for each woman, built on posture lines and adjusted to both worker and job; elimination of constant standing and constant sitting. Guarded machinery and other safety precautions; mechanical devices for the lifting of heavy weights and other operations abnormally fatiguing; pro tection against industrial poisons, dust, and fumes; first-aid equipment; no prohibition of women’s employment, except in industries definitely proved by scientific investigation to be more injurious to women than to men. Adequate and sanitary service facilities as follows: Pure and accessible drinking water, with individual cups or sanitary fountains; convenient wash ing facilities, with hot and cold water, soap, and individual towels; standard toilet facilities, in the ratio of 1 installation for every 15 women; cloak rooms; rest rooms; lunch rooms, and the allowance of sufficient time for lunch. A personnel department charged with responsibility for the selection, assign ment, transfer, or withdrawal of workers and for the establishment of proper working conditions; a woman employment executive and women in supervisory positions in the departments employing women; employees to share in the control of the conditions of employment by means of chosen representatives, some of them women; cooperation with Federal and State agencies dealing with labor and employment conditions; the opportunity for women workers to choose the occupations for which they are best adapted as a means of Insuring success in their work. Many of the bureau surveys have included reports on the sanitary facilities provided for women employees. A summary has been made of some of these records—those on the type of drinking facilities used in the most recent of its State surveys (in 8 States) and in its study of laundries (in 17 States). This bulletin carries also summaries ol HEALTH AND SAFETY IN EMPLOYMENT 5 bacteriological examinations of bubbling drinking fountains, stand ards for their design, and an analysis of State laws, rules, and recom mendations pertaining to drinking facilities in places of employ ment. Another study deals with toilet facilities in places of employ ment, and it presents an analysis of State laws, rules, and regulations of interest in a program to protect the health and welfare of workers by the installation and maintenance of sanitary equipment. It would seem to be an indisputable axiom that all workers should be offered security and safety, yet year by year industry produces a heavy toll of accidents, and very few of the States have paid suf ficient attention to the subject of accidents to women. Even though it is not known how many women annually are injured in industry in the United States, it is certain that the number of serious injuries, many of them to very young women, runs into at least the tens of thousands. The bureau made an intensive study of the accident records of 3,285 women in three States, analyzing such records and holding personal interviews with 385 women who had been permanently dis abled. These interviews revealed the suffering that such accidents had caused. Over 10 per cent of the permanently disabled women had been incapacitated for all available work, and over 40 per cent had been disabled for their former work. More than 28 per cent had never earned as much since their accidents as they had earned before. More recently the bureau has made a special effort to secure cooperation from the States in regard to the reporting of accidents to women, and some progress has been made, in that certain States that had never published accident statistics by sex or that had discon tinued the practice have published figures separate for men and women. The bureau has recently published an analysis of all the data the various official State agencies have reported on accidents by sex during the years 1920 to 1927. This study discloses that only 21 of the 48 States have made public any information on accidents to women during this period, and that most of the data reported are inadequate and noncomparable. In some of the States the informa tion was published but once during the period; in one it pertained only to the age of the injured. Nevertheless, the study revealed important facts about accidents that occur to women. It was found that although accidents to women are both actually and relatively fewer than those to men, the numbers of women injured are large. In one State, for ex ample, as many as 7,000 women had been compensated for industrial accidents in one year, and compensation here was paid only for the accidents so serious as to cause more than a week of lost time. Where comparisons were possible, larger proportions of women than of men received injuries that resulted in permanent partial dis ability, and much larger proportions of women than of men were under 21 years of age. A smaller proportion of the women’s acci dents than of the men’s caused death. In three of the five States reporting the cause of accidents, machinery was the principal cause of accidents to women and falls of persons and the handling of objects also were important causes. 46396°—31---- 2 6 ACTIVITIES OE WOMEN'S BUREAU OF UNITED STATES The bureau hopes that its accident reports, to be published bi ennially, will influence the States to classify accidents by sex, age, industry and occupation, cause, nature and location of injury, and extent of disability, according to the recommendations of the stand ards committee of the International Association of Industrial Acci dent Boards and Commissions, so that the various problems may be studied intelligently and comparisons among States may be made. Differing from accidents in industry, but still under the head of health and safety, are occupational diseases, such as those caused by the handling of poisonous substances. This is a much more insidious type of danger, and many employers and employees do not recognize the need of precaution. Disabilities of this sort are not understood, because many of them are resulting from the use in new industrial processes of unfamiliar substances, such as radium in the watch in dustry and some of the solvents that are appearing in pastes, dyes, and other compounds. Research to prevent or reduce such hazards must keep step with changes in methods. Some work along this line has already been undertaken by the Women’s Bureau, and one bulle tin dealing with women workers and industrial poisons has been pub lished. This article, prepared by Dr. Alice Hamilton, an authority on the subject, discussed the employment of women in trades in which they are more or less exposed to some poisonous material, usually in the form of dust or vapors. Special emphasis is laid on certain poisons, such as benzol and lead, which are proven to have a more detrimental effect upon women than upon men, since the children of women handling these substances are likely to be seriously affected. Also under the direction of Doctor Hamilton, the bureau is making a study of spray enameling, with particular attention to the effects of such process on the economic status of women. STUDIES OF LABOR LEGISLATION In the United States, labor laws for women include not only the fixing of reasonable hours of work but all measures regulating condi tions for the purpose of protecting the health and safety of women and measures prohibiting their employment under conditions or in occupations where health dangers that can not be eliminated have been definitely proven to be more injurious to women than to men. The bureau has made three important special studies dealing with labor legislation. One of these offers a complete history or labor legislation for women in three States. Another reports the chrono logical development of labor legislation for women in the United States, tracing all changes from the time the first labor law was passed and making it possible to see quickly and clearly how exten sive are the labor laws for women in each State and how long they have been in process of development. The third is the most significant of all—a study of the effects of labor legislation on the opportunities of employment for women. The data were collected by interviews with employers, workers, and persons who had participated in support of or opposition to the en actment of such legislation, and by transcribing such records as were found available in a survey of 11 States in regard to changes in establishments involving the dismissal of women because of legis lation applying especially to their sex. STUDIES OP PARTICULAR INDUSTRIES 7 An important study of one type of legislation is the report on the development of minimum-wage laws in the small group of States that at any time have passed such legislation; and a continuous series of bulletins shows by State the existing laws on hours, a minimum wage, and home work. STUDIES OF PARTICULAR INDUSTRIES The bureau has made a number of studies of particular industries, of which mention is made here of only some of the more recent. TextilesTextile mills have been included in at least 16 of the 20 State studies made by the bureau. In addition, a study was made of lost time sind labor turnover in 18 cotton mills—nine in southern States and nine in northern States. Records on the extent of absence from work and on labor turnover were collected for 4,338 women and 6,203 men, and 2,214 of the women visited in their homes reported the causes of absences or of leaving their jobs. The turnover rate for all mills combined was practically the same for men and women, but the rates for all workers varied greatly from one mill to another. From the standpoint of departments, weaving and spinning showed the highest turnover for men and women combined. The data indi cate that more women in the northern mills than in the southern mills leave their jobs because of home duties, insufficient earnings, or slack work, while discontent with the conditions of employment causes more shifting in the South than in the North. The latter may be due to the long hours prevalent in the South, the study offering rather convincing proof that short hours reduce the amount of ab sence. Mills with 56 hours a week had nearly twice as high a turn over rate among women as had the mills where they worked 48 hours. In view of the many married women employed in the cotton mills, it may be significant that the time lost through illness was greater for women than for men. It is quite usual to find married women em ployed in cotton mills, and these women always are likely to carry the double burden of home maker and wage earner. Many of the older workers in the South began work at a very early age, and it is probable that their vitality has been greatly reduced by the longhours of work engaged in from early youth. Laundries. The laundry industry has shown tremendous growth in size and along the lines of scientific operation during recent years as a result of the use of power machines and the development of rough-dry and finished family service, together with the application of efficient man agement to the industry. Accordingly, though not so old as many others, the industry is rapidly becoming one of the major womanemploying industries of the country. The bureau recently made a study covering hours, earnings, working conditions, and personal information for almost 20,000 women in 290 laundries in 16 States. Conditions within the industry were found to vary greatly in the different sections ^he country, the Pacific coast showing consid erably higher wages and shorter hours than did the other sections. Ihe personal facts were supplied by the workers themselves, but all other data were obtained by the bureau’s agents from pay rolls, in- 8 ACTIVITIES OP women’s BUREAU OP UNITED STATES spections of plants, and interviews with employers. In this study valuable assistance was rendered the bureau by the Laundryowners National Association. Pineapple canneries in Hawaii. A study by the bureau of pineapple canneries in Hawaii, although quite localized in character, presents certain features of especial interest. The bureau has always been interested in canning, because it is ah industry in which the seasonal nature of the work is likely to cause much irregularity of employment, and the fact that the product handled is so perishable often means greatly extended hour schedules. In this case, opportunity was offered for a study of women working in canneries that are models of modern equipment and operated almost continuously throughout the year, with a very busy peak season in the summer months. The survey included three plants in Honolulu and four on the Island of Maui. The wage data cover about 4,500 women employed at the peak of the 1928 season. Figures collected on fluctuations in the number of days operating, month to month, as well as in numbers employed, reveal not only seasonal changes but great irregularity of hours from day to day. Meat packing. Upon the request of a group of social workers wTho served com munities in which packing houses are situated and who were dele gates to the National Conference of Social Work in 1928, the bureau undertook a study of women in the meat-packing industry. The study covered the hours, earnings, and working conditions of 6,568 women workers in 34 packing plants in 13 cities in 9 States. Data as to the industrial experience of the women—their employment and unemploy ment—and the economic status of their families were obtained from visits to nearly 900 women in their homes. These are of great value, especially in view of the fact that in many families all the employed members worked in the same industry. Limited-price chain stores. A study of women employed in 5-and-10-cent stores and limitedprice chain department stores gives facts on hours and earnings and some personal information for over 5,000 women in 253 such stores in 18 States. Pay-roll figures for a week in 1928 are given for about 6,000 women in 179 establishments. Cigars and cigarettes. A study of the cigar and cigarette industry, which has for some time employed considerable numbers of women, gives opportunity to discover certain of the effects of the introduction of machinery. The study covers 108 plants in 11 States, employing over 26,000 women, and its purpose is to ascertain the effect of the introduction of ma chinery on women’s employment. Data were obtained from estab lishments operating on the old hand method of manufacture, from others where modern machinery had been installed, and from others in the process of transition in which cigars were made both by hand and by machine. Home visits were made to 1,152 women in eight States. Information also was obtained on hours and earnings of women in the plants visited. STUDIES OF SPECIAL INDUSTRIAL SUBJECTS 9 Radio manufacturing. A study of the extent of unemployment of women in factories making radio tubes and sets was undertaken recently to ascertain what foundation there was for complaints received of undertime and lay-offs in such plants and whether unemployment in this industry was a local condition or was typical of the industry as a whole; also whether or not it was a usual slump, recurring from year to year. Labor audits were obtained from firms located in nine States where much of the industry centers, and the data are said to represent employment conditions in factories that turned out 80 to 90 per cent of the sets and at least 90 per cent of the tubes manufactured in 1929. EARNINGS AND HOURS OF WOMEN Most of the studies made by the bureau include data on the earn ings and hours of women. Several years ago data on the hours worked by women in the various States were assembled in one bul letin, and more recently data on earnings have been so assembled. The latter study covers the earnings of 100,967 white women and 6,120 negro women employed in 1,472 factories, stores, and laundries in 13 States. Since this information was not collected during the same period in all these States and since the fluctuations in the value of money from year to year are considerable, the data in some instances have been translated into 1928 values. STUDIES OF SPECIAL INDUSTRIAL SUBJECTS In addition to its studies of State conditions, legal matters, and situations in particular industries, the bureau has made studies of certain special industrial problems that do not come under any of these heads. Industrial home work. Industrial home work—the custom of sending articles from fac tories into homes to be made or finished—is an old problem that still persists, and many studies have shown that usually it is accompanied lay long hours of labor, low rates of pay, irregular employment, child labor, and unhealthful working conditions. The full extent of home work in the United States is not known, but certain States are attempting to regulate it. In one of these more than 21,000 persons, and in another more than 12,000, were employed on home work in 1927. The bureau has summarized recent studies of this problem in a single bulletin, in which have been incorporated the recommenda tions drawn up by the committee appointed by the Association of Governmental Labor Officials of the United States and Canada to look into the character and extent of this system of labor and the various methods for its regulation. Night work. In view of the fact that night work has been found to have very definite ill effects, such as lowered vitality of the individual worker who engages in it, loss of civic spirit and community interest in sections where it prevails, and lowered efficiency standards in estab lishments employing it, the Women’s Bureau made a special study 10 ACTIVITIES OF WOMEN’S BUREAU OP UNITED STATES of night work from the standpoint of women wage earners. This report is based largely on research of laws and publications already in existence on the subject and consists of the history of night-work legislation in foreign countries as well as in the United States, an analysis of such legislation in this country, and a general discussion of the physiological and psychological consequences of this form of employment. The study also includes the compilation and welding together of material on the subject of night work collected by the bureau during its State investigations. Variations in employment trends. The bureau has compared the fluctuations in employment of the women and the men wage earners in one State for the 11-year period 1914 to 1924. This is the only publication that traces the employ ment of all workers reported in a State and shows graphically when and to what extent trends for the two sexes have differed and coin cided. The study includes figures for employees in stores, hotels, restaurants, laundries, public utilities, clerical occupations, and a great variety of manufacturing industries. Immigrant women. An important problem in America is the adjustment to new con ditions of life and work that must be made by the women who have come from other countries to make America their home. The bureau has made a study of 2,146 such women in one large city and the adjoining section of a State. These women were interviewed in their homes to ascertain how and to what extent they are fitting into American industrial life and what their employment means to them and to their families. Negro women workers. Since the Women’s Bureau has received frequent requests for spe cial information concerning negro women wage earners, it has pub lished two reports on the subject. The more recent of such reports is a compilation of census data pertaining to negro women in gainful occupation, together with the material on negro women collected in 1918 to 1925 in the various State studies of the Women’s Bureau. The latter information covers more than 17,000 negro women in the following 15 States: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. The discussions deal with occupational distribution, hours, earnings, and personal history. Contribution of wage-earning women to family support. The bureau has published several bulletins on the economic re sponsibilities of women wage earners to home and family. One of these is of considerable significance, since in it is assembled and analyzed information from various authentic studies on the extent to which wage-earning women must share the responsibility for the sup port of the family. In 25 studies of the bureau, 169,255 women are reported, and of these nearly one-half were or had been married. The bulletin gives data showing the inadequacy of men’s earnings for support of their families and the large extent to which unmarried daughters give financial help. Of 61,679 women in 22 studies sum marized, over one-half gave all their earnings to the family and over STUDIES OF SPECIAL INDUSTRIAL SUBJECTS 11 one-third gave part of their earnings. Less than one-tenth con tributed nothing. Married women workers. The problem of married women wage earners has grown to be an acute one, in view of the fact that the number and proportion of such workers have increased greatly in the past two decades and because of the prejudice in certain quarters against their employment, on the basis that they take jobs from men and single women. Realizing the need for definite information along this line, the bureau in a num ber of its studies has included data on the home and family responsi bilities of married women in gainful occupations. Studies in this field revealed that discrimination against married women employees is likely to cause injustice and hardship, since the great majority of these women workers have sought remunerative work because of economic necessity. With the higher cost of living and with the irregularity and inadequacy of many men’s wages, married women in a large number of instances must become wage earners to help to meet the family needs. All too frequently the wife, because her hus band is ill, unemployed, or incapacitated, is forced to become the main support. The question of the married woman worker is complicated further by the fact that the double burden of home maker and wage earner that she must carry is a menace not only to her health but, in the final analysis, to the welfare of the race. Moreover, the presence of young children in the homes of many breadwinning women adds to the seriousness of the whole problem and stresses the need of giving it more careful attention. Occupations and opportunities for women. To advance women’s opportunities for profitable employment is a part of the important task assigned to the Women’s Bureau. As a consequence, considerable research and investigation have been under taken with a view to uprooting prejudices against women’s progress in various fields, breaking down barriers, and opening doors of oppor tunity. It is the aim of the bureau to give women the chance for advancement and development to which as individuals they are entitled and thus make their services most effective for their own and the national good. Among the subjects that have been inves tigated and reported upon are what the women of the United States did for industry during the World War and what the war did for the industrial training of women and girls, the effect upon women’s em ployment opportunities of new methods and processes developed through the medium of research and applied in the business and in dustrial fields, and the opportunities these changes have opened up to women. Two valuable publications of the Women’s Bureau consist almost entirely of analyses of census data about women wage earners. The one, a compilation of tables illustrated graphically by charts, con stitutes a veritable treasure trove of facts concerning the age, na tivity, and marital status of women as correlated with their occupa tional distribution. The second, of which intensive use has been made during the past few years, reflects the upward trend of women’s occupational march in the decade from 1910 to 1920. 12 ACTIVITIES OP WOMEN’S BUREAU OP UNITED STATES In the interests of the clerical and professional groups of women two surveys have been conducted of services rendered by, and op portunities open to, women working for the largest single employer in the country—the Federal Government. The first of these, made in 1919, may be cited as the lever that opened up all civil-service jobs to women, who until then had been excluded from certain examina tions and thus from many desirable positions. In 1925, just after the reclassification system had gone into effect, a second survey showed that, though women appointed to positions formerly held only by men were receiving the same salaries as were men, there still existed in regard to appointments to higher positions considerable discrimination against women, the majority of them being massed in the lower-paid jobs. STUDIES IN COOPERATION WITH OTHER AGENCIES OR INDIVIDUALS Other studies represent cooperation on the part of the bureau with agencies or individuals that are interested in specific problems affect ing women and that have sought the aid of the bureau in the prepa ration of their material. Among these are the following: The bureau has tabulated for a graduate student at the University of Chicago data collected from questionnaires of almost 1,000 medical women selected from the directory of the American Medical Associa tion. The investigation included such subjects as the extent to which women are selecting specialized types of practice within the pro fession and the extent to wThich limitations such as sex prejudices, custom, or outside responsibilities affect the nature of their practice. Another piece of work done recently by the bureau was the tabulation of data contained in questionnaires answered by domestic workers and their employers in an extensive study of domestic em ployment conducted by the Philadelphia Council on Household Occupations. At the request of the Young Women’s Christian Association the bureau prepared comprehensive tables of the material collected by this organization in regard to the hours, wages, and working condi tions of the employees doing domestic work in its centers and branches throughout the country. PUBLIC INFORMATION The activities of the Women’s Bureau in broadcasting its findings do not stop with the publication of its bulletins. Since the material these contain is largely of a technical and statistical nature, it is necessary to translate it into popular form, with emphasis on its human interest, so as to make an appeal to the general public and to carry on the educational program necessary to bring about an understanding not only of the function and value of the bureau but of the importance of giving due consideration to all matters pertain ing to wrage-earning women. Exhibits. The preparation and circulation of popular exhibits, such as models, motion pictures, maps, charts, posters, and folders, has PLAN FOB BBOADEB STUDY 13 always formed an important feature in the Women’s Bureau pro gram. These displays are lent free of charge, the borrower paying transportation costs on all material that can not be sent under frank. Certain wall exhibits, however, are not only sent free but given for permanent use. All material is used intensively and exten sively by schools, colleges, universities, churches, employers’ associa tions, labor and industrial groups, and women’s organizations every where in the United States and also in a number of foreign countries, particularly in connection with educational courses, conventions, con ferences, and other meetings. PLAN FOR BROADER STUDY The bureau is undertaking an important study on the subject of human waste in industry that will be wide in scope and of great significance. One of the main purposes of this survey will be to study, from the viewpoint of the women workers, the effects of changed methods of industry in a country in which such changes are being rapidly introduced, the extent of unemployment resulting from such changes, and the plans and systems used by wise manage ments to guard against throwing employees out of work by the shift from one method to another, through careful absorption and adjust ment of displaced workers within the plant or industry or within other industries. CONCLUSION In conclusion it may be said that the data handled by the Women’s Bureau of the United States are loaded with the interests and prob lems of human beings. Its clerical staff takes a keen interest in the material handled and thinks in terms of human beings rather than of assembled statistics. Its personnel includes a number of indus trial economists of wide experience, each having qualified by civilservice examination for the particular work involved. It has been most fortunate in its efforts to secure the cooperation of employers and to win and hold the confidence of the many types of person with whom it must deal. The bureau enforces no law but seeks to carry out effectively its twofold purpose: To furnish accurate information that will serve those who desire to know the truth on matters of interest to employed women; and to establish standards based on such exact knowledge. It has had 12 years to demonstrate that its work is necessary as a fundamental factor of sound economy in a Nation in which a very highly organized industrial society lias developed. The influence of the bureau has been a wide one, for a threefold reason: It can speak with the authority of a Government body; it is known as an agency that employs scientific methods, presents accurate data, and establishes standards on the basis of ascertained facts; the character of the expert knowledge and the wide human interest of its staff is well known and has proven an inspiration to many seekers after knowledge of the wage-earning woman and to workers for the better ment of the conditions under which her labor is performed. PUBLICATIONS OF THE WOMEN’S BUREAU [Any of these bulletins still available will be sent free of charge upon requestl *No. 1. Proposed Employment of Women During the War in the Industries of Niagara Falls, N. Y. 16 pp. 1918. 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. Fourth ed., 1928. 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. 6 pp. Revised, 1931. 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. No. 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.• • Supply exhausted. 14 PUBLICATIONS OP THE WOMEN’S BUBEAU 15 Iso. 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. 1026. 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. ?J0m0St rr5nle ancl Labor Turnover in Cotton Mills. 203 pp. 1926. No. o3. 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 in the United States 1912 to 1927. 635 pp. 1928. ’ No. 62. Women’s Employment In Vegetable Canneries in Delaware. 47 pp. 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; Chronologica1 Development of Labor Legislation for Women in the United States. 288 pp. 1929. No. 67. Women Workers in Flint, Mich. 80 pp 1929 No. 68. Summary: The Effects of Labor Legislation on the Employment Opportunities of Women. (Reprint of Chapter 2 of Bulletin 65.) 2^2 PP* J-92o. 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. ^JL Selected References on the Health of Women in Industry. 8 nn 1929 No. 72. Conditions of Work in Spin Rooms. 41 pp 1929 ' S°in Employment Trends Women No. l3/ 74. Variations The Immigrant Woman and Her ofJob. 179 and'Men. pp. 1930, 143 pp 1 1930' No. 75. What the Wage-Earning Woman Contributes to Family Support. 21 pp. 1929. No. 76. Womenjn o^and-lO-eent Stores and Limited-Price Chain Department No. 77. A Study of Two Groups of Denver Married Women Applying for Jobs. 11 pp. 1929. No. 78. A Survey of Laundries and Their Women Workers in 23 Cities. 166 pp. 1930. No. 79. Industrial Home Work. 20 pp. 1930. No. 80. Women in Florida Industries. 115 pp. 1930. No. 81. Industrial Accidents to Men and Women. 48 pp. 1930. No. 82. The Employment of Women in the Pineapple Canneries of Hawaii. oO pp. I960. * No. 83. Fluctuation of Employment in the Radio Industry. 66 nn 1931 No. 84. Fact Finding with the Women’s Bureau. 37 pp, 1931 ' ' No. 85. Wages of Women in 13 States. 213 pp, 1931 ' £°- «■ £eti.yities °f Women’s Bureau of the United States. 15 pp. 1931 No. 87. Sanitary Drinking Facilities, with Special Reference to Drinking Fountains. (In press.) b Pamphlet. Women’s Place in Industry in 10 Southern States. (In press 1 Annual Reports of the Director, 1919*, 1920*, 1921*, 1922 19‘>3 19‘>4* 1925 1926, 1927*, 1928*, 1929, 1930. ’ la“4 ’ Supply exhausted. o
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