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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR WOMEN’S BUREAU WASHINGTON. D.C. 20210 EXPANDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR GIRLS: Their Special Counseling Needs In 1967, when Women are employed in every occupation and profession listed in the decennial census, Federal legislation assures equal opportunity and equal pay in employment to a substantial majority, and Financial assistance for advanced courses and higher education is becoming increasingly available; We find that 9 out of 10 girls will work some time during their lives. Nearly half the women in the population between the ages of 18 and 65 are in the labor force, and the percentage continues to rise rapidly But the career ’’sights” of all too many of our girls are still limited and unrealistic. Most girls have a romantic image of life: school, marriage, a family—and they live happily ever after. But this is not the complete picture. A more accurate life pattern of the modern woman includes school, work and/or marriage, rearing a family (sometimes continuing to work by either choice or necessity) and a return to work when the young est child is in school. This "quiet revolution" in the life pattern of American women presents a special challenge to those responsible for the counseling of girls. Today we are concerned with developing and utilizing all our human resources. The counselor can help girls to consider seriously the sig nificant facts, can encourage them to prepare for their dual role as homemakers and workers, and can assist them to plan now for a total life. What are the elements in this new life pattern? The life expectancy of women is constantly rising. in 1964 had a life expectancy of 74 years. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis A girl born The increase in teenage marriages means that about half of today’s women are married by age 21; they have their last child at about age 30; by the time her youngest child is in school, a mother may have 30 to 35 more years of active life before her. Labor force projections through the 1980’s indicate that women and youth will provide the largest source of new entrants into the labor force. Today 28 million women are in the labor force. of every 3 workers is a woman. More than 1 out Almost 3 out of 5 women workers are married (57 percent); 23 per cent are single; and 21 percent are widowed, divorced, or separated. About 2.5 million women workers are heads of their families. And finally, Analysis of the data that show the extent of women’s partici pation in the labor force by age group indicates that a high proportion of women are employed in the early working years; then there is a marked decrease during the childbearing child rearing years, followed by a progressive increase in each age category thereafter until age 55 or 60. The two periods when women are most likely to work are during the ages of 20 through 24 and 45 through 54. Fifty-two per cent of all women in these age groups are in the labor force. This ’’split-level” characteristic of the working life of the American woman is the basic reason why girls* career plans should be made early and in the light of a total life plan that anticipates discontinuity in employment. Girls in school should prepare for careers or jobs in which they would like to work for the remainder of their lives, if necessary— careers that can be taken up again when they reenter the world of work. To be satisfied when they return to work, both psychologically and fi nancially, they should select fields that will challenge their talents and help them realize their full potential. Girls and women now in the labor force work for many reasons: Single women work to support themselves. Widows, divorcees, and other women heads of families may have to work to support themselves and their dependents or to sup plement their incomes. Married women work in many instances from compelling economic need. Many of them must supplement their husbands’ earnings, insufficient for the families' basic needs. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis - 2 - The need for increased family income to help meet the rising cost of educating children, health and medical care, and the wider variety of goods and services considered essential to today’s standard of living has led many more women to return to work. Some women work for self-fulfillment. In addition, Laborsaving household devices and prepared foods shorten the time needed for domestic chores. Increasingly, women are seeking the right to choose how they will make their contribution to the family and to the com munity—how they will use the years between caring for young children and retirement. Since so many women are working—and we need this womanpower to help meet the many and growing needs of our economy—why do we find them clustered in the lower paying, less skilled occupations? Is it lack of education? The facts are that In 1965, 74 percent of the girls of graduating age received their high school diplomas; 16 percent of the appropriate age group graduated from college. In 1965 all women workers (18 years and over) had completed, on the average, 12.3 years of school; nonwhite women workers, 11.1 years. Nevertheless, Although women worked in all occupations in 1966, most (8.5 million) were employed in clerical jobs. About 4.1 million were operatives, 4.1 million were service workers (excluding private-household), and some 3.5 million were in professional and technical occupations. And In 1965 women workers (14 years and over) had median wage and salary incomes of $2,098 compared with $5,194 for men. The median for full-time year-round women workers was $3,823 compared with $6,375 for men. An important part of the answer to the disparity in women’s edu cational attainment and earnings lies in the goals and aspirations of https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis - 3 - these women when they were girls. Counselors particularly, but teachers and parents as well, can help girls recognize the new realities. Girls need help and guidance in planning and preparing for their roles as homemakers and workers so they can realize their fullest potential in both spheres. Girls’ talents, in whatever field, should be permitted to develop to the optimum—be it in secretarial work, mathematics, science or engi neering, teaching, cosmetology, or dentistry. Why not a lady plumber, like ’’Cluny Brown,” if that’s her bent? Have you noted or read about the women in all sectors of government—not only the secretaries and clerks but, also the administrators, statisticians, programers, lawyers, social scientists, physical and biological scientists, and appointed and elected officials? The entire world of work is open to qualified women. We are well past the stage when only the highly motivated girl would challenge society to fulfill herself vocationally. We recognize an obligation to help fi nancially our less affluent, talented youth to utilize their potential through award of grants and scholarships. If college is not possible financially, or even not a wise choice, girls still can prepare for the career job ladder in many fields—in the health or programing occupations, for example. Counselors, teachers, and parents need to help girls realize they can qualify, and then help them to prepare themselves with appropriate courses so that they do qualify to meet the needs of our total society. Our goal is to help girls—the women of tomorrow—contribute at their highest potential whether, in addition to their roles in the home, they work for pay or as volunteers. April 1967 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Women’s Bureau Washington, D.C. 20210 OFFICIAL MAIL https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis - 4 - WB 67-281 POSTAGE AND FEES PAID U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR