Full text of Facts on Women Workers : April 30, 1951

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FACTS

on Women Workers
U. S. Department of Labor

Maurice J. Tobin,

Women's Bureau

Frieda S. Miller,

Secretary

Director

------- WASHINGTON 25, D. c. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

April 30, 1951
EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN MARCH 1951

More than a million women were added to the civilian labor force between
March 1950 and March 1951* Over 1/2 million of these women were between the
ages of 25 and 44* Unemployment of all women fell by 1/4 million.

Between February and March 1951, more than half a million women entered the
civilian labor force. The great majority of these women were housewives who
are now entering the labor force to take defense and other nonfarm jobs.

____________________________ March 1951______________________ . .
Number of
Percent women
Change since
Change since
women_____ of all persons
February 1951 March 1950.
Civilian population
(14 years and over)
56,856,000
Civilian labor force 18,946,000
18,077,000
Employed
754,000
In agriculture
In nonagricultural
17,322,000
industries
Unemployed
870,000
37,909,000
Nonworkers

$2.2
30.4
30.0
11.8

♦ 63,000
♦ 527,000
♦ 472,000
♦ 144,000

♦
673,000
♦ 1,150,000
♦ 1,403,000
66,000
♦

32.2
40.5
81.3

♦ 326,000
♦ 57,000
- 465,000

♦ 1,335,000
251,000
478,000

(U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census)

MINIMUM WAGE
Washington revised its food processing and fruit and vegetable packing minimumwage orders, setting a minimum hourly wage rate of 65 cents for each. The
new orders became effective March 12 and April 16, respectively.

Massachusetts1 revised order for personal services, effective December 14, 1950,
replaces its beauty culture order of 1943* It establishes 70 cents an hour as
the highest basic minimum-wage in the occupations covered.

>•

In two States—Connecticut and Kentucky—court action was taken on the temporary
injunctions against enforcement of minimum wage orders. On December 19,1950,
a Connecticut court set aside the mandatory orders (No. 4A and No. 4B) for
restaurants on technical grounds, making It clear, however, that the minimumwage law was not unconstitutional. In Kentucky, the court dissolved a
temporary order which had made the hotel and restaurant order inoperativej the
order then became directory, effective February 26, 1951*

33 f. 4



LIBRARY
i. J W

COLLEGE OF TEXAS

FEDERAL EQUAL PAY BILL

*
On April 5 Representative Edna F. Kelly of New York introduced in the 82d Congress
a bill, HR 3550, to provide equal pay for equal work for women; it was referred
to the House Committee on Education and Labor. The bill is substantially identical
with those introduced in previous Congresses.
STATE LABOR LEGISLATION

Equal Pay — Massachusetts amended its equal pay law to broaden its application
to "work of like or comparable character or work on like or comparable operations"
and to eliminate all variations in rates of pay except those based on seniority.
Attorneys’ fees and costs are again collectible in employees’ suits for unpaid
wages, and the time limitation on such suits has been extended from 6 months
to 1 year.
1 Homs ox Work — In New York stores, women over 21 may now be employed until
i midnight; - this rakes permanent a previous temporary authority. ...The preChristmas (December 18-24) relaxation of hours in New York stores may be extended
i by the employer to any week in the December 4-24 period upon notice to the
, commissioner; this provision applies to females over 16. ...Under certain coni ditions, the commissioner may permit females 21 and over to work in dining rooms

and kitchens of New York restaurants after midnight.
Emergency Relaxations — Indiana has again suspended its law relating to hours
of work for women 18 and over. The suspension is effective until March 15, 1961.
.. .Utah will permit employment of women 18 and over at mines and in smelters,
except underground, until February 15, 1953, or the end of the national emergency,
whichever is earlier. ...Massachusetts has extended until July 1, 1952, the
commissioner’s authority to suspend the labor laws covering women, minors, or
both. .♦ .Washington amended its maximum hour law to establish a commission with
authority to relax certain State practices or standards for the purpose of
increasing defense and war production. Defense production permits, as they are
called, are valid only during the specified emergency for which they are issued.
The existence of the commission is limited to the duration of the emergency as
proclaimed by the President.

Unemployment Compensation — Oregon amended its unemployment compensation law to
provide that a pregnant woman Is unavailable for work 6 weeks prior to her
expected confinement in addition to the present 4 weeks1 period after her
pregnancy has terminated. A pregnant woman, therefore, would not be eligible
for unemployment compensation within the 10-week period specified.
HRS. ROOSEVELT RESIGNS AS CHAIRMAN QF UN HUMAN RIGHTS COIMSSION
I
! Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt withdrew on April 16 as chairman of the Human Rights
i Commission of the United Nations, but will continue as a member. She had served
as head of the Commission since Its establishment in 1946. As her successor, she
nominated Dr. Charles Malik of Lebanon, who was elected unanimously.
4

In withdrawing from her position, Mrs. Roosevelt said, "I don’t think it right
for a commission as Important as this to remain under the chairmanship of one
particular country for such a long time, especially of one from one of the
larger countries.”



JURY SERVICE
Tennessee is the 40th State to permit women to serve on Stete juries, under an
optional type law effective in March 1951.
There are still 8 States in which

women are barred from jury service in State courts—Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi,
New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Vest Virginia.
SALARIES OF CITY PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS

From 1925 to 1949, average salary of public school teachers in large communities
rose approximately 84 percent according to a study made by the U. S. Department
of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.
This rise was slightly higher than the
increase in policemen’s and firemen’s salaries, but much less than the 125-percent
increase in weekly earnings of production workers in manufacturing.
Geographically
f
there were sharp differences in rate of salary increases.
The Middle Atlantic
States had the smal2.est rise;
salaries in the Southeast more than doubled, and in
the Southwest almost doubled.
...According to the National Education Association,
the estimated average salary of all public school teachers in the U. S. for the
1950-51 school year was $3,080.

NURSING EDUCATION EXPANSION PROVIDED IN NEW BILL
A long-range plan for nursing education was outlined in a bill introduced in
January by Representative lYances P. Dolton, of Ohio.
Mrs. Bolton was the author
of the Act establishing the Cadet Nurse Corps during World War II, and has a long
record of successful efforts on behalf of nursing and nursing education.
Tfre new
bill would earmark $44,000,000 during the first year of operation for educating

registered nurses under administration of the U. S. Public Health Service, and
about $3 ,000,000 for training practical nurses under the vocational education
division of the Office of Education.
WOMEN IN THE CIVIL AIR PATROL

Women and girls make up about 20 percent of the total membership of the Nation’s
Civil Air Patrol (CAP).
An auxiliary of the U. S. Air Force, the CAP has a total

of 183,000 members, all unpaid volunteers, standing ready to help in times of
emergency by searching for lost planes, dropping supplies to communities isolated
by flood, patrolling forest areas to detect fire, etc.
The women are serving not
only as pilots but as administrators and technicians, including radio operators
for CAP’s amateur radio stations.

WOMEN HEADS OF FAMILIES
In March 1950, according to recent reports from the Bureau of the Census, there
were 3,637,000 families with a female head.
Most of these, 2,740,000, lived in
urban areas.
Nearly half (1,687,000) of the families were 2-person families;
963,000 were 3-person families;
473,000 were 4-person families.
The median size

of families headed by women was 2.64 persons. Rou^ily half (48 percent) of the
families headed by women had 1 or more related children under 18.
Median age of the women heads was 53.9.
Slightly over a fourth were 65 years of
age or over.
Most (2,324,000) of the women heads of families were widows;
561,000 were married with husband absent; 437,000 were divorced; 315,000 were

single.



WOMEN APPOINTED TO NATIONAL SCIENCE BOARD
To develop and encourage the formation of a national policy for the promotion of
basic research and education in the sciences, the National Science Foundation was
created by Congress last year. The Act establishing the Foundation called for the
appointment of a National Science Board of 24 persons eminent in the fields of the
basic sciences—medicine, engineering, agriculture, education, or public affairs—
to be selected on the basis of distinguished service. Among the 24 persons appointed
by President Truman to serve on this Board were 2 women: Sophie D. Aberle, special
research director, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, N. M., and Gerti Theresa
Cori, professor of biological chemistry, Washington University Medical School,
St. Louis, Mo.
WOMAN DOCTOR NAMED TO FOREIGN PUBLIC HEALTH MISSION
Dr. Estella F. Warner was recently named regional health representative to the
Near East, under the Point Four program of lending technical assistance to
underdeveloped areas. She will help to set up a school of public health at the
American University in Beirut, Lebanon; this will be the first public health
training facility in the area. Dr. Warner has been chief of the Division of State
Grants,Public Health Service, since 1949* She received her conmission in the
Public Health Service in 1932, the first woman ever commissioned in this
Service.

LEGAL STATUS OF WOMEN ABOUND THE WORLD

*
The United Nations has recently released two reports on women*s status in countries
throughout the world: "Civil Liberties for Women," and "Fiscal Laws As They Affect
Women." The report on civil liberties shows that among the 34 governments report­
ing, women have about the same rights as men in the basic freedoms. Variations in
civil liberties for women are primarily in access to courts of law. Eleven
countries reported limitations on the right of a wife to sue or be sued in civil
suits, usually a requirement that the husband consent to such action. In Argentina,
the husband represents his wife as administrator of the "conjugal partnership";
in Chile a married woman must have her husband’s written permission before she can
appear in court; the Netherlands, Bolivia, Belgium, the Philippines, Thailand,
and South Africa are among those requiring some indication of the husband’s
approval. India and Pakistan provide that women who are veiled need not appear
in court, but may give testimony to special examiners In their homes. Some
provisions in United States law favor the wife; for example, in some States a
wife entitled to a divorce, but without funds, may prosecute her suit without
court costs.
The report on fiscal laws shows many exceptions in favor of women, especially
widows. In Sweden a married woman who is working or engaged in a business or
profession and who lives with the husband has the benefit of a special exemption
of 200 crowns a year in respect of local taxation, intended as a compensation
for domestic help needed on account of her occupation. The majority of countries
permit a married woman who has independent property to make a separate income tax
return if she wishes to do so.




(The printing of this publication has been approved by

the Director of the Bureau of the Budget, March 9, 1950.)