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U. S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
JAMES J. DAVIS. Sccieluy
WOMEN'S BUREAU
N I N T H ANNUAL REPORT OF THE
DIRECTOR OF THE
WOMEN'S BUREAU
FISCAL
YEAR
E N D E D J U N E 30
1927
UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON
1927
CONTENTS
Page
Introduction
Number of women g a i n f u l l y employed.^
Standards f o r tlie employment of women
Hour legislation during the past year
State studies
Mississippi
Tennessee
,
Delaware
Special studies
The effects of special legislation on the employment of women
H i s t o r y of the development of minimum-wage legislation i n the
United States
—
I n d u s t r i a l accidents to women i n New Jersey, Ohio, and Wisconsin—
Women workers i n F l i n t , M i c h
Women's employment i n vegetable canneries i n Delaware
Fatigue and lost t i m e i n cotton mills
Foreign-bom women i n industry
Trend of employment f o r women
—
Wages i n 13 States
Library research
Educational w o r k
Short t a l k s about w o r k i n g women
Women workers and i n d u s t r i a l poisons
1
Exhibits
Publications
—
Comment and recommendations
I n d u s t r i a l poisons
The piecework system
M a r r i e d women i n i n d u s t r y
III
1
2
4
5
5
5
6
6
7
7
10
12
13
14
16
16
16
16
16
17
17
17
17
18
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19
NINTH ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
DIRECTOR OF THE WOMEN'S BUREAU
U N I T E D S T A T E S D E P A K T M E N T OF L A B O R ,
WOMEN'S
BUREAU,
Wa^Mngton^ July
1927.
H o n . JAMES J . DAVIS,
Secretary of Labor.
SIR: The ninth annual report of the Women's Bureau, for the
fiscal year ended June 30, 1927, is submitted herewith.
INTRODUCTION
The Women's Bureau has to report for the year 1926-27 the completion of several extensive and important studies made in the interest of wage-earning women and i n accordance with the authority of
the bureau to "investigate and rejjort • * • upon all matters
pertaining to the welfare of women in industry."
The field investigations of the effects of special legislation on the
Wployment of women were practically completed i n December, and
the report' w i l l shortly be turned over to the editorial division for
prejjaration for printing. I n January a preliminary report of the
findings of this study as regards 48-hour and 50-hour laws was presented, by request, to the Industrial Survey Commission of New York,
appointed by the legislature of that State; and i n May an address
the subject of the investigation was delivered before the section
fin industrial and economic problems of the National Conference of
Social Work, i n convention at Des Moines. A brief statement of the
'imdings of the survey forms part of this report.^
. ' The history of minimum-wage laws i n the United States, 191S to
1927, which has occupied'the research division of the bureau for a
long fime^ was completed and the report has been sent to the printer
since the 1st of July. I t is the most thorough analysis of this important subject which has been made and constitutes a record which
wHl have permanent value.®
\ ^ .
The study of industrial accidents to women in New Jersey, Ohio,
and Wisconsin—made primarily to ascertain the facts about injured
women's industrial rehabilitation after a decade under compensation
laws and reporting also tipon the causes, frequency, and severity of
accidents, their prevention, and the le^slation and administration of
compensation acts—will shortly be delivered from the press.®
^ Seep. 7.
,
®For f u r t h e r details see p. 10.
••See p. 12.
2
EEPOET OF T H E DIEECTOK OF T H E W O M E N ^S BTJEEAU
Several interesting studies remain to be completed as the larger
reports are got out of the way. The ideal of only a few months
elapsing between the collection of data and their appearance in bulletin form still is far from attainment i n this bureau, as in most
bureaus of the Government service, but i t is never lost sight of. I f
it be true, as evidence seems to prove, that women are employed in
industry in an increasing proportion, however slow the actual rate of
increase, their employers, their fellow workers, and the public as a
whole naturally are interested in that fact and i n the conditions of
their employment. I t is the purpose of the bureau to collect, correlate, and make available for reference a mass of information which
shall be accepted by employers, employees, health authorities,
women's organizations—in fact, all interested persons—in their combined efforts to .have the working conditions and employment relations of American women the best in the world.
,NUMBER OF WOMEN GAXNTHTLLT EMBLOYEB
Again the only figure for total numbers of women gainfully emDloyed in the United States is the eight and a half million reported
3y the Census of Occupations of 1920 and quoted by the Women's
Bureau in each succeeding year. By now that, number. ,niay l ^ a -con^derable underestimate. Unfortunately, not naaiiy figuries.are availlable which. show by sex the trend of employment. , '!Even the United
,State3 Census of Manufactures, now .taken Jbieii^^
not collected figures oh the sex,of employees since
tabulation and
.publipatipn of the more, general figures being as jin^
.handle/in the two-y^ar. period. , I t would ,seeiA, however,"that' an
.l^xc^ptioh inight have been made for the year|19255 lallihg'halfway
between the decennial:censuses..
•
,'
.
' !
./.AJI. example pf the evidence referred to in regard to women's
advance in industry since the latest Federal censiib may be mentioned
here. J The'Women's Bureau is in possession ot'the ^1914 to 1924
employment ^gui^es for Ohio, the third State in'the Union ;as regards
•number of wage earners in manufacturing,. and. these show that
wpmen fared, better, proportionally, than did men between 1919 and
1924. That period witnessed the very severe depression of 1920-21^
during which women lost employment to a less degree than did men,
and ai^other bad year for manufacturing, 1924, niore' serious for
men than for women. As a consequence, women, who in 1919 constituted 15.8 per cent of all wage earnjsrs, and who recovered somewhat
from the depression following, though men did not, were 16.8 per
cent of all wage earners in 1924. They lost some thousands in manufacturing, but men lost more heavily in proportion and women
advanced from 14.9 per cent of the total in 1919 to 15.9 per cent of
the total in 1924. I n the various lines grouped as " service " both
sexes made large gains, but women advanced i n the five years from
p . 7 to 40.3 per cent of the total. I n clerical occupations, where again
both sexes increased in numbers, women slightly more than held
their own, being 49.3 per cent of the total in 1919 and 49.4 per cent
of the total m 1924, Trade, especially employment as sales persons,^
tells a different story, women declining during the five years from
52.1 per cent to 45 per cent of all sales persons employed, but among all
EEPOET OF T H E DIREOTOR OF T H E W O M E N ^S BUREATJ
employees in all industries—wage earners, clerks, and sales personswomen were 21.2 per cent in 1919 and 22.6 per cent in 1924. A t the
end of the five years men still were some 1,500 behind their 1919
figure, while women were something over 18,000 in advance of theirs.
Ohio was of tremendous importance industrially during the .World
War, and yet contributed many thousands of men to military service.
Women replaced men i n industry in an almost spectacular way, and
the pre-war status has not been resumed. Of wageiCarners in manufacturing, women constituted 13.1 per cent in 1917 and rose to 15 per
cent in 1918, the year of the d r a f t ; six years later they formed 15.9
per cent of the wage earners in manufacturing. Of all wage earners,
women constituted 13.9 per cent i n 1917 and rose to 15.7 per cent in
1918; by 1924 they had advanced to 16.8 per cent of all wage earners.
Of all persons employed—^wage earners, clerks, and sales persons—
women comprised 17.9 per cent in 1917 and jumped to 20.5 per cent
in 1918; i n 1924 they constituted; 22.6 per cent of aU persons employed.
There would seem to be no reason why Ohio should differ from
other industrial States in regard to the trend,, of employment, of
women, and i f these .figures are,typical p f Amesricah:industry as a
whole they merit respectful attention and analysis. , ..
I t may be assumed that the Government w i l l again call for the sex
of wage earners in its Census of Manufactures in J.929, ^pHo^ing a
lapse of 10 years since the last enumeration of these important data
and to be used i n conjunction with the less exact statistics of the 1930
Census of Occupations. The war-ridden countries of ^JJ^rbpe may be
excused for gaps i n what should be a continuous ^eijife/of. statistics,
but there would seem to be no reason why our own prosperous country should a;ll6w so regrettable a lapse.
'4
REPORT OF T H E DIRECTOR OF T H E WOMEN'S BtTBEAU
SXANDAEDS FOR THE EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN
->
^ ^ The bureau continues to recommend its reasonable standards of
hours, wages, working conditions, and employment relations, and
ieels a growing confidence in its ability to furnish guidance and be
of genuine assistance in putting such suggestions into practice.
These standards, agreed upon for the employment of women on Government contracts during the war, and indorsed by representative
employers and working women alike, are briefly as follows:
Hours.
. , :;
A day not longer than ieight liours.
A half hoUday on Saturday.
One day*s rest i n seven.
A t least 30 minutes allowed for a meal.
•
A 10-minute rest period i n the middle of each h a l f day without lengthenhig
the day.
,
^
No employment of women between midnight and 6 a. m.
Wages,
Bates based on occupation and not on sex nor race, the minimum to cover
ieost of healthful and decent living and to allow, for dependents.
Working conditions.
Cleanliness.
Good lighting, ventilation, and heating.
Machine guards, handrails, safe condition of floors, devices f o r drawing off
fdust and fumes. ,
F i r e protection.
First-aid equipment.
A chair for each woman. Change of posture—neither constant standing nor
constant sitting.
Prevention of overstrain and of overexposure to dust, fumes, iwisong, extremes
of temperature.
Sanitary drinking and washing facilities.
Dressing rooms, rest rooms, lunch rooms.
Adequate toilet arrangements—one toilet to each 15 workers.
General.
A personnel department, responsible f o r the selection, assignment, and
transfer or discharge of employees.
Women i n supervisory positions and as employment executives where women
are employed.
Provision for workers to share In control of conditions of employment.
Opportunity for workers to choose occupations for which best adapted. No
prohibition of women's employment except i n occupations proved to be more
injurious to women than to men.
No work to be given out to be done at home.
Application to and cooperation w i t h Federal and State agencies dealing with
labor and conditions of employment*
REPOBT OF T H E DIREOTOB OF T H E W O M E N ' S BUEEAXT *
5
HOUE LEGISLATION BTJEING THE PAST YEAE
I n two States—^Arizona and New York—laws of importance affecting the hours of work of women have been passed during the legislative session of 1927. I n Arizona the 8-hour day continues, but
the week has been shortened to 6 days and 48 hours. The amended
law is all-inclusive, certain customary exemptions only being allowedI n New York, after attempts covering a period of 14 years to
shorten the hours of women workers, the law, as far as i t applies
to factories and mercantile establishments, has iDeen amended to provide 48 houi's a week and 8 hours a day, or 4 9 ^ hours a week i f not
more than 9 hours are worked on five days and
hours on the
sixth day. A n additional 78 hours in any calendar year will be
permitted. These amendments become effective January 1 1928.
North Dakota's hour law has been reenacted and amended slightly.
I n Minnesota, since the hour law of 1923 was declared by the attorney
general to have been unconstitutionally enacted, the old law of 1913
is again i n force. This law the legislature of 1927 has amended to
provide exemption for canning factories for a period of 75 days i n
each year, the previous period of exemption havmg been 6 weefe. ,
Unsuccessful efforts have been made in other States to revise existing laws or to secure the passage of new ones. Again in Massachusetts an attempt to modify the 48-hour law, this time to allow 10
hours a day and 54 hours a week in cotton mills during rush seasojis^
met with defeat.
STATE STirriES
This Women's Bureau has always made investigations of tHe conditions of employment of women in individual States an important
part of its work, having conducted 18 such surveys in the nine, years
of its existence. Each of these surveys has been undertaken at the
request of some group in the State, either the department of labor or
some organization interested in the problems of wage-earning wonien.
In this way the bureau renders a valuable service to the States in
which the surveys are made and to the country as a whole in presenting data representative of women in industry that are comparable for various sections of the country. ,
Owing to the limited appropriation available and the pressure of
studies already under way, surveys of this type could not be undertaken during the past year, i n spite of certain requests to do so, but
the work on two studies—^^Vomeh in Delaware Industries and
W'omen.in Tennessee IndustriesTr-was. completed, . These two reports
and one other—Women in. Mississippi Industries—came' from the
press,during the year.
The survey i n Mississippi, made early in 1925, covered 2,85^
women, practically 2 in,10 being negro and almost none being foreign
born..^. They, were employed in 81 establishments, in 25 cities and
towns. ,Something oyer two-thirds of the women werean factories,
one-fifth, were in stores, and the remainder were in laundries. ,
More than.35 pei: cent of the women had a. day of more than 10
bonrs and 26'.per .cent had a weekrof at l^ast.6Q h o u r s . ^ ^ p e r
5S971—27
2
6
REPORT OF T H E DIRECTOR OF THJE W O M E K ^ ' S B U R E A t J
cent had a day of 8 or less than 8 hours and less than 5 per cent had
a week as short as 48 hours. One-half the women lost some time
during the week scheduled.
For white women the median of the week's earnings—one-half the
women earning more and one-half earning less—was $8.60. For
negro women this figure was $5.75. Pay-roll figures for women who
had been a year with the employer showed the median of the year's
earnings to be $464 for white women and $300 for negro women.
Of b^oth races 22 per cent of the women were married. Of the
white women one in six was widowed, separated, or divorced, and
more than a third of the negro women were in this classification.
Of all the women 38 per cent were 20 and under 30 years of age,
but only 14.5 per cent of the white women, compared to 18.5 per cent
of the negro women, were 40 years or more.
The great majority of the women were living with their families.
As is true of all States surveyed by the bureau, working conditions
were good in some plants and bad in others. I n the matter of sanitation they were not wholly adequate, and service facilities were far
from satisfactory.
Tennessee.
The survey in Tennessee, also made in the spring of 1925, was much
the larger, covering 16,596 wpmen—8.6 per cent of them negro and a
negligible proportion foreign born—^in 216 establishments in 28 cities
and towns. More than four-fifths of the women were in factories,
one-tenth were in stores, and the remainder were in laundries.
Forty-five per cent of the women had a day of 10 hours or more
,and 49 per cent had a week of at least 55 hours. Only about 6 per
.cent-had a day of 8 hours or less, and fewer than 1 in 10 had a week
as sliort as 48 hours. The records show that 44 per cent of the
women lost some time during the week scheduled.
For white women the median of the week's earnings—one-half the
women earning more and one-half earning less—was $11.10. For
negro women this figure was $6.95. Pay-roll figures for women who
had been a year with the firm showed the median of the year's earnings to be $629 for white women and $386 for negro.
Of all women, white and negro, 30 per cent were married, 20 per
cent were widowed, separated, or divorced, and just under 50 per
cent were single.
Sixty-eight per cent of all women were under 30 years of age, well
over one-half being under 25. Only 15 per cent were as much as 40
years of age.
. '
The great majority of the women were reported to be living at
home.
Worldng conditions were not uniformly good, and drinking, washing, and toilet facilities were far below standard.
Belaware.
The survey in Delaware, conducted in the summer of 1924, covered
4,176 women—6.5 per cent being negro and a small proportion foreign born. These women were employed in 146 establishments in 29
cities and towns. Fifty-six per cent of the women were in factories,
26 per cent were in canneries, 11 per cent were in stores, and the
remainder were in laundries and hotels and restaurants.
REPOKT OF T H E DIRECTOR OF T H E W O M E N ^S B U R E A U
7
Less than 10 per cent of the women in factories, stores, and laundries had a day of as much as 10 hours and less than 10 per cent had
a week of as much as 55 hours. Fifteen per cent had a day of 8 hours
or less and 21 per cent a week of 48 hours or less. Sixty-two per cent
of the women lost some time during the week scheduled, more than
the usual proportion of lost time being due to the depressed business
conditions of 1924.
For white women in factories, stores, and laundries, the median of
the week's earnings—one-half the women earning more and one-half
earning less—was $11.05., For white women in hotels and restaurants it was $10.15 and for those in canneries it was $9.40. For negro
women i n hotels and restaurants (only 21 women) the median was
$10.75, and for those in canneries it was $5.55. Pay-roll figures for
white women in factories, stores, and laundries who had been a year
with the employer showed the median of the year's earnings to be
$67o.
One-third of the white women were married and one-eighth were
widowed, separated, or divorced. Sixty per cent of the white women
and 58 per cent of the negro women were under 30 years of age, 14,5
per cent of the white and 11.7 per cent of the negro being under 18.
Most of them were living with their families.
Working conditions, particularly those in canneries, varied from
excellent to very bad.
SPECIAL STUDIES
During the past year the Women's Bureau has continued or completed a number of special studies relating to the problems of wageearning women.
The effects of special legfislation on the employment of women.
The investigation of the effects of special legislation on the employment of Avomen, the inception and method of which were outlined in the eighth annual report of the bureau, has been completed
and the report on the study is being prepared.
Though the complete findings are not yet ready for circulation,
certain aspects of the conclusions have been made public. The first
report was made in January before the Industrial Survey Commission of the State of New York. This commission was appointed by
the New York State Legislature to study the need for labor legislation in that State. A t the request of the commission the Women's
Bureau submitted a preliminary statement showing the findings of
its investigation i n regard to the effect of 48-hour and 50-hour laws
on the employment of women. I n May a more comprehensive report
on the general findings of the investigation was made to the members
of the industrial section of the National Conference of Social Work
meeting in Des Moines, Iowa.
The scope of the study has been very extensive and many different
sections of the country have been covered i n the effort to secure
information regarding different types of women's employment and
any relation which could be found between opportunities for such
employment and legislative regulation. The field work was begun
in March and completed in December, 1926. During that time the
8
KEPORT OF T H E DIEECTOR OF T H E W O M B I T ' S B U R E A U
agents of the Women's Bureau collected information from establishments and women workers i n California, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio,
Massachusetts, 'New Hampshire, New York, and Khode Island.
Information regarding the employment of' women in stores in
Pennsylvania was supplied to the Women's Bureau by the bureau of
women and children of the department of labor of that State, and
i n New York State the bureau of women and children in industry
made a special study of the employment of women in newspaper
offices as proof readers, monotypists, 'and linotypists.
Information was secured also from the Industrial Survey Commission of the State of New York. This commission, appointed—as
already stated—to investigate the need for labor legislation in that
State, conducted its investigation largely by means of public hearings, at which interested persons reported their experiences and
recommendations regarding the various laws under consideration.
A considerable part of the testimony presented to the commission
was in regard to a proposed 48-hour law for women. After the
hearings were over and the recommendations of the commission had
been made to the legislature the Women's Bureau was given access
to the transcript of the testimony presented, to the commission and
secured copies of those sections which were pertinent to the investigation of the effects of special legislation. By this means the bureau
was able to examine and evaluate data which it might have been
obliged to secure by some other method. W i t h the exceptions noted,
all the data secured during the course of this investigation have
been collected by the agents of the Women's Bureau.
The employment of women in many different types of industry
was studied, but special emphasis was laid on five manufacturing
industries which are typical of the. different conditions of w^omen's
employment—boots and shoes, hosiery, electrical apparatus and
supplies, paper boxes, and clothing. For this group of industries
a very detailed study was made of all the factors affecting women's
employment in two or more States having different standards of
legal regulation. A careful study was made also of women in stores
and restaurants.
I n addition to the detailed information secured from these industries data were gathered from a very large number of establishments which em^oyed women at night, or which employed men
longer hours than were legally permitted for women. From these
establishments i t was possible to get a general idea of the policies
of employers regarding women's employment and the extent to
which opportunity for women was affected by hour and night-work
legislation.
As much of the special legislation that has been enacted for the
regulation of women's employment applies to specific occupations, it
seemed desirable to include studies of certain typical occupations for
women in addition to the general problems of their employment in
industry. The occupations included for study were elevator operating, the work of pharmacists, and a large group of occupations that
are prohibited for women in one or more States. I n all a total of not
I'ar from 1,500 establishments were visited during the course of the
EEPORT OF T H E DIKECTOK OF T H E W O M E N ^S BUREAXT
9
survey and more than 1,000 women workers were interviewed for
their personal experiences of the effect of laws on their conditions of
employment.
I n getting the information desired in each State the Women's
Bureau received the fullest cooperation from State, departments of
labor and other interested groups. I n several instances the Slate
departments of labor circularized their inspecting agents to get the
data necessary for the successful blocking out of the work of the
bureau's agents. Women's organizations and trade-imion organizations also cooperated to the fullest extent in supplying names of individuals who could give pertinent information and in advising as to
local problems which should be examined.
Before deciding that an adequate amount of material had been
secured in the field the bureau submitted an outline of the data collected to its technical committee, consisting of Miss Mary Van
Kleeck, director of industrial studies of the Russell Sage Foundation; Mrs. Frank B. Gilbreth, industrial engineer; and Dr. Charles
P. Xeill, formerly Commissioner of Labor of the United States.
Though i t was recognized that the material collected was at best
only a sampling of the information available, i t seemed to this committee and to the Women's Bureau that the information was sufficient
to give an adequate basis for drawing deductions.
I t is expected that the report w i l l be ready for circulation during
. the coming winter. I n addition to the details of the investigation
made, i t w i l l include a chronological study of the laws and amendments to laws regulating the employment of women i n each State;
a history of the labor legislation affecting women in New York, Massachusetts, and California, showing the origin of the various laws
and the forces that proposed and opposed them; and a special study
of trade-unions in relation to labor legislation for women.
The most important conclusions that can be drawn from this
investigation are these:
The regulatory laws as applied to the great bulk of women wage
earners, those who are engaged in the manufacturing processes of
industry, do not handicap women, but serve to regularize employment and to establish the accepted standards of modern efficient
industrial management. When applied to specific occupations not
closely akin to the industrial occupations for which the laws were
drawn, this regulatory legislation has proved in a few instances to be
a handicap to women.
Laws prohibiting night work for women in industry seem generally to be merely a reflection of the usual attitude of employers
regarding such work, but occasionally they result in a limitation of
women's employment. When applied indiscriminately to certain special occupations that are professional or semiprofessional in type,
night-work prohibition or regulation has resulted in restrictions of
women's employment which do not seem to be entirely warranted by
the conditions of work.
The laws that prohibit women's employment in certain occupations
have been found i n a number of instances to be an unnecessary
restriction.
REPORT OF T H E DIRECTOR OF T H E W O M E N ' sB U R E A I J10
The most satisfactory future policy for legislation affecting women
probably w i l l be a more careful adjustment of laws to the requirements of certain occupations, a more specific stipulation of the type
of worker covered by the law, and a replacement of prohibition by
regulation except for such occupations as are shown to be more
hazardous for women than for men.
History of the development of minimum-wage legislation in the United
States.
The research study of the various State minimum-wage laws, based
on the text of the laws and the publications and records of the State
minimum-wage commissions, has been completed in the past year.
I n this report the provisions of the laws are analyzed and methods
of carrying out these provisions are summarized. A l l orders issued
under the laws are analyzed in detail. Methods of enforcing these
orders are illustrated and results of the orders are studied from the
figures on rates and earnings presented by the commissions. I n addition, the relation of the courts to these laws, and the influence of the
size of the appropriations that have been available for the work, are
discussed.
Minimum-wage legislation had been tried in Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand before any law was passed in the United
States, but this type of legislation still was largely an experiment
when it began to receive serious attention in the United States.
From 1912 to 1923, 15 States-™-Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota,
Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin—
and the District of Columbia and Porto Rico passed minimum-wage
Jaws. I n four cases—^Arizona, Porto Eico, South Dakota, and
Utah—a minimum rate of pay for women workers was established in
the law. A l l the other States set up the machinery for establishing
such a rate through orders issued by the body administering the law.
Arkansas provided both a rate in the law and the means of setting
other rates.
I n two States, Colorado and Nebraska, no orders ever were issued.
I n the 11 other States, 226 separate orders setting rates of pay were
issued over a period of 14 years, 1913 to 1927. I n all the States
except Massachusetts and Nebraska these orders had the force of law.
I n Massachusetts and Nebraska the only means of enforcing the
rates was public opinion, through the publication of the names of
such firms as failed to comply with the orders. The differences in the
very fundamentals of these laws show how unformed were the ideas
of minimum wage and indicate how largely this law was an experiment.
A t present, because of three adverse decisions of the United States
Supreme Court, when the constitutionality of the laws of the District
of Columbia, Arizona, and Arkansas was questioned, the compulsory
type among these laws seems likely to disappear before i t has been
fully developed.
The present bulletin is primarily a report of the ways in which the
various States have worked out the machinery for carrying on this
new t j i i e of law, rather than a report on the results of the law. Tins
legislation has been in effect for such a relatively short time, its
administration and enforcement have been developed along such
E E P O R T OF T H E DIEECTOR OP T H E W O M E K ' S BUKEAXT
11
diverse lines in the different States, the number of women for whom
rates have been set is so small in comparison with the total number,
of gainfully occupied women in. the United States, and, most important of all, the Avar and postwar periods during which the laws have
functioned have been influenced by abnormal economic forces so
much stronger than they, that any sweeping judgments as to positive
effects of the laws must be guarded against. The report shows
clearly that statements as to the laws' bad effects can find no general
support. I t shows also that statements as to their good effects must
be careful not to consider the minimum-wage laws much more powerful than is actually the case, nor to attribute to the laws situations
brought about by a combination of economic factors.
I n the discussion of the laws' administration,. the most apparent
point is that every act connected with these laws has been in the
nature of an experiment. One State will handle a given problem in
one way ; another State w i l l t r y a method exactly opposed to the
first. AVithin a State, a situation w i l l be met in one way at one time
and in another way at a later date. Moreover, the commissions have
had to learn slowly, through actual experience, just what must be
done to carry out the law. Even to-day there are many problems,
particularly those that relate to applying the decrees to actual industrial conditions, that have never been touched by certain commissions.
Among the interesting points brought out by the report is the
fact that the activities of the bodies administering the laws seem
to show that a minimum-wage law generally is most carefully and
thoroughly applied by a commission organized especially to taWe care
of this law, and particularly when such commission has a woman
member. I n another chapter of the report a careful study of the
cost-of-li-snng .figures prepared as an aid to setting rates and of the
rates themselves shows that no State has equaled the announced
cost of living in all its decrees, and that only one State, California,
has ever had all its women workers who were covered by decrees
paid at rates which might be said to equal the cost of livmg for a
self-supporting woman. A f t e r thus considering how adequately or
inadequately the decrees have provided adult experienced women
with the necessary cost of proper living, the report considers the
treatment accorded to minors, apprentices or learners, and substandard workers. The most striking fact brought out by this part of
the study is that the commissions quite generally have allowed
learning periods, at rates well below the minimum, long enough to
enable a woman to master a skilled trade, though at the end of this
time the order required only that she be i^aid a minimum rate, based
not on skill but on the minimum cost of living.
Continuing the analysis of the decrees, the report makes i t clear
that most decrees have not contained adequate rules for applying
the rates to the actual conditions of industrial life. Few decrees
have ruled how many hours of work per week were necessary to
obtain the minimum rate. Few have given complete rales for applying the special rates for apprentices. The situation of how to
handle workers who are paid piece rates has not been met, l ^ e
report points out that all these problems had to be met i n practice
and should have had careful consideration by the commissions and
uniform treatment.
12
KEPORT OF T H E DIRECTOR OF T H E W O M E N ^S B i n i E A T J
I n all the fields covered by the report it is shown that California
outranks the other States having the best practice. Individual
good points are found in almost every State, but the highest general level is in the State with an independent commission created
for this particular law, with a woman member of this commission,
and with appropriations several times as large as those found in
the other States. The inference can not fail to be drawn that
minimum-wage laws on the whole have not had sufficient support
to develop their real possibilities. Their flexibility and adaptability
particularly have been lost sight of because in most cases money
and in some cases proper interest in utilizing fully the potential
values of these laws have been lacking.
Industrial accidents to women in New Jersey, Ohio; and Wisconsin.
I n the spring of 1923 the Women's Bureau undertook to make a
study of the effects , of accidents to wage-earning women. I t was
the pui-pose of the study to examine " the relative importance ot
various factors in accident causation, the regulations passed by
legislatures to relieve the victims of industrial accidents, as far as
possible, of the burdens inflicted by wage loss and by permanent
physical incapacity, and the procedure by which these regulations
are being enforced."
The survey was limited to three States—New Jersey, Ohio, and
Wisconsin—^but i n each of these States the industries are diversified and employ a considerable number of women and the accident
records are so, kept as to make possible their statistical u?e. I n
each State the compensation law has been in force long enough to be
fairly well worked out.
Material was taken from the records of the three States for the
period between July 1, 1919, and June ,30, 1920. This time was
selected because of the advantage in being able to consider the number of accidents in relation to the Federal census figures on numbers
of women working in the various occupations. Also, enough time
Imd elapsed between the accidents recorded and the date of the study
for interviews, with permanently disabled. women to show what
adjustments they had been able to niake.
.
The records showed 1,096 compensable accidents to women in New
Jersey in the year covered, 1,545 in Ohio, and 644 in Wisconsin, makr
ing a total of 3,285 accident records studied. I n addition to a study
of the detailed, records in the files, 385 women who had suffered some
degree of permanent disability were interviewed. The majority of
ihe accidents reported (over three-fourths) had occurred in manufacturing industries, and 15 per cent,pf the women injured had been
working in clerical occupations.. The others were. scattered among
transportation, agriculture, public utilities, and trade. Considerably
over one-half of the accidents to women in manufacturing establishments were due directly to machinery, while falls and the handling
of heavy, sharp, or. rough objects togkher were responsible for more
than one-fourth of. the factory accidents to women.. ,
.-The. fig,ui;^ ,of;,the. report givef some indication of tlie relative
hazard in the different industries employing women in the States surveyed, The manufacture of metal products had a much higher frer:
quency rate than had any other industry—40 accidents-in the ye^ir
EEPORT OF T H E DIRECTOR OF T H E W O M E N ' s B U R E A U
^
13
for every 1,000 women employed. I n iron and ^teel plants there were
27 accidents and i n establishments preparing food products there
were 22 accidents per 1,000 women employed.
There were only 15 fatalities among the 3,285 cases reported, but
in 536 cases the worker had been left w i t b some permanent disability.
Over four-fifths of the cases were recorded , as causing only-a temporary disability. Well over one-half of the permanent disability
cases involved only one finger.
The problem of the person who has suffered a permanent disability
is the most difficult of solution, and a satisfactory adjustment of
indemnity, medical aid, and rehabilitation iii cases of injury resulting in permanent disability has not been evolved. This is why the
survey included interviews w i t h women who had suffered permanent
disabilities, to discover what adjustments individual women had been
able to make. The interviews showed that many of the women had
found i t difficult or impossible to regain their preaccident status.
As stated, 385 women were visited. Almost half of- these were
responsible for the support of other persons in addition to themselves. Over one-third of the women had been working less than six
months at the occupations they were engaged upon when injured.
Two-fifths of the women were disabled for their former work; onetenth were disabled for all available work. Of those who returned to
industry 79.6 per cent went back to their, former; employer, but almost
one-fourth of these were laid oflE soon or found i t necessary to quit on
account of the disability. Over one-fourth of the women who
returned to work had not at any time since the accident earned as
much as they had earned before.
Women workers in Flint, Mich.
The study of the women i n industry i n Flint, Michi, has been completed and w i l l soon be ready to go to press. A preliminary report
of the findings was sent i n October to the agencies which requested
the survey. The study has a general significance in that i t presents
the problems of a one-industry city. F l i n t is a city whose population
has shown a tremendous increase during the past 30 years, and this
unusual growth has been due entirely to one industry—^the manufacture of automobiles and their acciessories,'employing a small proportion of women. A n y violent change in production in the automobile
industry affects the prosperity of the whole town.
,
The data of the report were obtained i n two ways: First, from
visits to industrial establishments anil from their records; and second, from a house-to-house canvass i n a representative industrial
neighborhood.
.
• ^ .
' ^^
The plant study included 138 establishments employmg 2,814
women. More than one-third of these were mercantile i n character,
and over one-fourth were restaurants.. Nevertheless, not far from
two-thirds of the women included in the survey were employed i n
plants manufacturing automobiles or automobile accessories. A
day of 9 hours, or one of more than 8 but less than 9 hours, was the
most common for the F l i n t women who worked in factories,;stores,
or laundries—55.1 per cent of the women working on the schedule
first named and 39.8 per cent working on.the second. Very few had
a schedule of 8 hours and less or one of more than 9 hours.
14
KEPOIiT
OF T H E DIRECTOR OF T H E W O M E N ' s
BUREAU
Wage records could be obtained for only a little over one-third of
the women employed in the establishments visited. The median of
the week's earnings of the 899 women for whom wages were reported
was $15.10.
The actual daily hours of restaurant workers in some cases were
shorter than those of the other women workers in Flint. Because
restaurant workers frequently have very different hours on different
days of the week, i t is easier to take the individual working day as
the unit rather than the individual worker. There were 169 women
for whom hour information was obtained and the total number
of'working-days for these women in the week surveyed was 1,128.
Almost three-tenths of these employee-days were shorter than 8
hours, and slightly more than that proportion were 8 hours in
length. Days of more than 9 hours were more common in restaurants than in other establishments surveyed. I t must be remembered that the restaurant: worker often has the inconvenience of
scattered hours within a long over-all working period. Furthermore, over two-thirds of these restaurant employees had a seven-day
week, while mercantile workers had a six-day week and most factory
and laundry workers had one of five and a half days.
^ The earnings of restaurant employees were tabulated separately
from those'of the other workers because tips and meals increased
their earnings to some extent. The median of their pay-roll earnings
-was $12.25. -"-/^"=. ;
Attention was' ^ v e n to-the working conditions in the establishments visited/ Lighting was found to be more satisfactory than was
ventilation. I n laundries and restaurants, particularly, hoods'with
exhausts over machines and stoves are especially important, and
seldom had adequate attention been given to such provision. Sanitary SaciUties frequently were unsatisfactory, for common drinking
^cups, common towels, and inad^uat^
equipment were found in
a number of'instances.
• ' ! '
*
' r I n the neighborhood studjr 3,648 living units were included, either
families or ^ o u p s of other people living together, and the number
of adult women in these groups was 4,844. Of these practically onefifth'were working or had worked during the year. One in 20 of
those not working was interested in getting work. Jobs were desired
also by most of the women who had worked during the year but
were not working at the time of the survey.
-Women's employment in vegetable canneries in Delaware.
During the summer and autumn months canning forms an important part of the industrial activity of Delaware. The material
i n the bureau's report on canneries was obtained as part of the general study of tours, wages, and working conditions of the women
employed in that State. Because of the seasonal nature of the
canning industry and its special problems i t seemed that the material in the report which related to canneries would be of interest
outside the State, and i t has been presented in a separate bulletin.
Thirty-four canneries were visited. Of these, 3 were equipped
for handling com only, 1 for lima beans only, and 2 for both corn
and tomatoes. I n 28 of them, however, tomatoes alone were being
handled. A t the time of the survey these 34 canneries employed
approximately 1,700 women workers.
EEPORT OF T H E DIRECTOR OF T H E W O M E N ' s B U R E A U
^15
The outstanding features of cannery work are its seasonal character and the irregularity of work, even during the busy season. The
crop may not have come on rapidly enough to keep all hands busy
a f u l l day or the cannery may run over-long hours to avoid loss
from spoilage. Dependence on the ripening of the crop and poor
planning in contracting ahead cause slack days and days on which
there is excessive overtime. State laws regulating women's working hours generally recognize this irregularity and exempt canneries
from the provisions of the law.
Most of the plants visited i n Delaware could not be said to have
any regular schedule of working hours. During the week for which
records were taken almost one-third of the women for whom the
number of hours worked was reported had been on duty more than
55 hours, the maximum set by law for othfr industries. On the
other hand, not far from onle-half of the women had worked for less
than 40 hours or on less than four days of the week.
..
im-! ' r.
Individual pay-roll records were available for 8 M fwhite women
and 252 negro women. The median of the week's earnings of i the
former was $9.40 and of the latter i t was .$5.55,,,, I n , 12, canneries
individual earnings were not reportied for tomato peelers and only
figures on average earning^ cm,be given, for these.wonierij , I i i 'one
cannery the women had averaged; only $4,15
recorded, while in another the average earnings were $14.04.' These
two represent the extremes' and the averages for the other 10
canneries f a l l between.
li-' '
The buildings in which the work was done ordinarily, were,: low
frame buildings, only semiinclos^.: I n many cases only (haphazard
attention had been given to seating, and in the . majo^-ity >of the
establishments the workers had not even .platforms io,.stand upon
which would keep them off the wet floor. Few of the canneries
made any satisfactory provision^ of-drinking water and only nine
canneries provided a special place for the workers' convenience
in^ washing. Thirteen supplied soap and 15 suppliisd' individual
towels of some type. Practically all the. canneries h^d 'outside
toilets, and many of these were iri'bad condition;,only nine were
fly-prool
. ^
.
. .
I n many cases canneries ar^ ^ located that there is no labor
supply near at hand and some provision must be made for housing
migrant workers. Fourteen of the 34 canneries visited had housing
accommodations for all or part of their employees. • The people
in over one-half of these camps dame from Baltimore; in several
they were negroes from near Norfolk or from the ea^rn-shore
of Maryland. There was one group of Italians from Philadelphia.
The camps ordinarily were very near to the cannery buildings
themselves, and w i t h few exceptions hardly met even the simplest
standards of housing.
Less than one-fifth of the white, women i n the canneries, who.
reported their ages were under 20, more than two-fifths were between
20 and 40, while almost as many were 40 or over. ,The negro women
were somewhat younger bri the whole. The majority of the white
women (85.7 per cent) were native born. Exactly three-fourths were
or had been married.
16
REPORT OF T H E DIRECTOR OF THJE W O M E K ^ ' S B U R E A t J
Patigue and lost time in cotton mills.
The bureau is continuing the collection of fibres on time lost by
men and women employed in certain textile mills covered in the
study on that subject published in 1926i The original study showed
an excessively high rate of absence in the spinning rooms of the
cotton mills, and for that reason special attention is being given to
the problems of temperature and fatigue in that department. Certain mills have introduced new methods in their spin rooms which
may have some effect on fatigue^ and a study of absence and turnover figures in relation to such changes is under consideration.
Poreign-bom women in industry;
This study, based on interviews with foreign-born women in and
near Philadelphia and in the Lehigh Valley, is nearing completion.
Information was obtained concerning the ages of the women, their
residence in the United States, jnarital status, size of the famly,
niunber of wage earners in the family, and their industrial experience
in their native countries and in the United States.
Trend of employment for women.
This is an analysis of the enmloyment statistics for men and
womeri collected by the State of Ohio during a period of 11 years,
1914 ^ to 1924, but not published by that State since 1915.. I t will
constitute an important contribution to the subject of employment
fluctuation.
Wages in 13 States.
A compilation of the material already collected by the bureaii on
earnings of women workers in 13 States is being pushed to completion as other work permits.
IIBEAET EESEABCH
As in previous years research activities have constituted an important part of the work of the bureau.' Functioning as the bureau
does, as a source of information, the research division has supplied
data on the subject of wage-earning women to many individuals and
organizations for educational or legislative purposes. Extensive
library work has been necessary to fill such requests and to meet the
demands of the bureati i n connection w i t h its publicity and exhibit
work, its surveys and reports.
The study of the operation of minimum-wage laws has been completed; much research in different fields has been necessary for the
study of the ^ effects of special, .legislation on the employment of
women, including a history of such legislation, by States; a brief
siUnmary of the laws affecting women in a selected group of European countries has been prepared; and for the International Labor
Office a;^ summary has been made of existing legislation for women in
the United States, covering chieflyvhour and night-work laws, minimum-wage laws, and laws prohibiting or regulating the employment
of women in certain occupations or under specified conations. Work
has continued on the bibliography of women in industry, tlie minimum-wage section of which has already been published. That part
REPORT OF T H E DIRECTOR OF T H E W O M E N ' s BUREAXT
17
of the bibliography now i n progress deals with central European
literature.
Publication of the News-Letter was resumed duiing the year. This
publication, inaugurated in 1921 at the request of the Association of
Governmental Labor Officials, reports current activities relating to
working women in this and other countries, and serves as a clearing
house of such information. I t is a source of copy for newspapers and
periodicals. Effort is made to report through this channel the progress of legislation i n the various States and countries, the findings
of investigations relative to women at work, here and abroad, notes
on conferences and meetings of interest, changes i n personnel among
State labor officials, and all matters of importance and general interest which come to the attention of the bureau through constant
research and observation.
EDUCATIONAL WOEK
Practically all the activities of the bureau might properly he considered as educational work—the bulletins and the news releases on
their findings, the News-Letter compiled by the research division, the
addresses and conferences by the director and members of the staff,
special articles on the work of the bureau and on the problems of
women workers, and the information supplied by letter to correspondents each constituting an essential feature of the work for
which the bureau was created.
Short talks about working women.
For general educational purposes the bureau has published i n pamphlet form a group of short talks relating to women's progress i n
industry, their ^wages and. hours, and the conditions under which
they work.
Women workers and industrial poisons.
The address to the Women's Industrial Conference in January,
1926, by D r . Alice Hamilton, professor of industrial medicine at
Harvard, on the subject of the employment of women in poisonous
trades, has \ieen made available for distribution because of the
importance of its subject and the authority of the speaker.
Exhibits.
The exhibit at the National Sesquicentennial Exposition at Philadelphia was dismantled in December. A number of the factory
chairs and certain other things which had been lent to the bureau for
display were presented to the bureau and now form part of its permanent exhibit in Washington for inspection by anyone who cares
to see them. As in other years, the bureau's portable exhibit material—comprising paintings, models, motion pictures, slide films, an
automatic book, charts, posters, ^ n d .maps, including machines for
showing the motion pictures and the slide films^was lent to organizations making application therefor and meeting the costs of transportation. The material is sent by freight, express, or post, according to size and weight. 1
18'
K E P O M OF T H E DIREOTOIt O F - T H E W O M E N ^S BTJBEAU
PUBUCATIONS
toiiring the year the following bulletins have come from the press:
K o 52. Lost T i m e and t a b o r Turnover i n ' C o t t o n MiUs.
NO. 53.'The Status of W o m e n i n the Government Service i n 192o.
No.54. Changing Jobs.
.
^ o . 55. Women i n Mississippi I n d u s t r i e s .
No. 56., Women i n Tennessee Industries.
No. 57J Woinen 'IVorkers and I n d u s t r i a l Poisons.
No. oS. 'Wonleii i n Delaware > Industries.
NO.-59: Shorte Talks about W o r k i n g TVomen.
The following bulletins are i n the printing office:
No! 60? I n d u s t r i a l ' A c c i d e n t s to W o m ^ n i n N e w Jersey, Ohio, and Wisconsin
No'
Tiie Development of Minimum-Wage L a w s i n the U n i t e d States, l U l ^
t o 1927.
No. 62. Women's Employment i n Vegetable Canneries i n Delaware.
The following bulletins^ "are Tin process of preparation for the
printer:
Women W^^^ers i n F l i n t ; Mich.
Statfe LsiWs Affecting W o r k i n g Women.
(Revision.)
Oregon l e g i s l a t i o n for. W o m e n i n I n d u s t r y .
^CO^tkl^iT
ANJ) EECOlVtMENDATIONS
The decreases , in./the bureau appropriation in recent years and
the expenses due to reclassification and a higher per diem for agents
are seriously retarding the progress of the bureau and closing the
door on opportunities for great service to women. Each year the
bufea!u niust postpone important studies and decline requests for
assistance' in problen^ connected with wage-earning women asked for
by employers and employees, public and private organizations, and
other pei^sona interested i n women's employment. The present
appropriation means an expenditure of slightly over one penny for
each of ;fhe eight and a .half million women gainfully employed
at the 'tiine of the 1920 Census of Occupations. I n contrast to the
number and the variety of the problems related to the employment of
women and the need to safeguard these workers, the mothers of
the citizens of to-morrow, this appropriation is small indeed. The
women now at work in America's factories, stores, and laundries are
home makers, mothers, and potential mothers, and what is their
concern necessarily is the concern of the Nation.
For years the bureau has made recommendations for stud^r of
certain aspects of women's employment. T h e s e recommendations
still stand, and projects which e i l l for immediate attention are
these:
Iniiiistrial poisons,
A subject requiring careful and scientific investigation is that
of industrial poisons as related to women workers. A great many
new and unfamiliar industrial poisons have come into use since the
war.. That women are more susceptible to certain poisons than are
men has been proved scientifically. Moreover, when pregnant
women are exposed to such conditions there is danger not only
that the mothers w i l l be poisoned but that the offspring w i l l suffer
bad effects. That the Women's Bureau is the national organization
REPORT O ^ T H E DIRECTOR OF T H E W O M E N ^S jBXJREATI
19;
which should make investigations of this sort ds logical, but to make
such a study i t would require the services of 1 experts; trained ,t,ol
handle more efficiently this type of scientific investigation.;
The piecework system.
»^ ^
i
Another matter that should be carefuHy coiiside^^ is the piecework system, by which wages are^basedfpn output'/rathW than oil'
time at work. The question is so clearly rdated. W
of hedltK'
and efficiency and is of such paramount jinipbrt^^^^ to
Worker'
and to the employer that a careful and scientific.analy^^
adva^xi-'
tages and disadvantages of the system arid a 'cohipari'^oH of this
method of work with that of timework should be made.
Married women in industry.
I n the United States at the present time there exists in many
quarters a strong feeling against the married woman worker, a
prejudice due largely to a lack of understanding of the problems
surrounding this type of wage earner, to the belief that married
women workers take jobs from single women or from men, and
to the fear that the employment of married women w i l l tend to
break up the home. Consequently there is pressing need to present
to the public authentic information and facts entirely divorced from
prejudice.
Additional information on the subject of. married women in industry would seem to be called for by the great increase in their numbers. The census of 1920 reported almost 2,000,000 married women
in gainful occupations, and w o ^ n occupy a larger place in industry
lo-day than they did i n 1920. fFhe subject of married women workers is extremely complex, linkCT^o closely, as i t is, w i t h the welfare
of the home and the family, and related so definitely in the long run
to the health of the race and the progress of the Nation. I n order
that injustices may not be worked in any direction i t is imperative to
make a comprehensive study of this subject. Information gathered
by the Women's Bureau shows that most women are at work to supplement the family income, and there is need for definite data, gathered at first hand", giving current information on this and other
phases of the problem. Such a study would require considerable field
work and would be extensive in scope, but it would prove of infinite
value to the country by presenting truths of much vital importance
and settling a much-disputed question.
I n addition to the projects recommended there is an aspect of
women's employment which the bureau has had neither time nor
funds to inquire into—^that of the employment of women in semiprofessional and professional pursuits. The bureau is continually
being asked for information along such lines, and i t is serving to the
best of its ability. I f the bureau is to function successfully in this
direction i t should have an addition to its staff conversant with the
aspects of this type of employment for women.
I n the editorial division there should be an increased force to expedite the writing and editing of the reports and the preparation of
reports for the press. I t is imperative that bulletins on current matters be published as quickly as possible i n order that they may be of
{greatest value to interested forces, and the delays i n connection with
the preparation and publication of reports that the bureau is com
20
E E P O B T OP - T H E DIREOTOE OF T H E TVIOMEK^S BXJEEAU,
pelled to put up w i t h at the present time, because of its small staff,
should be eliminated.
Another type of activity in which there should be considerable
expansion is the educational work, especially in the number of news
releases about the purpose and activities of the bureau and of popular
articles on all subjects pertaining to women workers. A n increase in
the exhibit material is highly desirable, since by such popular educational methods a certain part of the public to whom technical
material makes little appeal can be reached.
Kespectfully submitted.
MART
ANDERSON,
Director.
@FedFRASER