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https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis U. S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR James P. Mitchell, Secretary WOMEN'S BUREAU Alice K. Leopold, Director Washington 25, D. C. WOMEN'S BUREAU LEAFLET No. 19, January 1954 Material for this pamphlet was obtained from various sources, chiefly Census reports. The information was selected, ana- lyzed, and the report written by Miriam Keeler, Chief, Editorial Branch of the Women's Bureau's . Special Services and Publications Division, directed by Adelia B. Kloak. For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office Washington 25, D. C. Price 10 cents https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis CONTENTS NEGRO WOMEN IN THE POPULATION . ... .. . Page 1 One in ten . . . . 1 Their life span . . 1 Their education . . 2 NEGRO WOMEN IN ·T HE LABOR FORCE • • One in eight . . • . . Occupational grouping • . Unemployment . . . Marital status . . . . Child-care problems . . EARNINGS AND INCOME . . 6 Earnings . . . . 6 Family income • . 6 0 ASI benefits . . 6 FIELDS OF WORK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • • . • WHERE TO GET INFORMATION . . . • • • • • • https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis .. ... . iii 7 9 NEGRO WOMEN AND THEIR JOBS NEGRO WOMEN IN THE POPULATION One in Ten In the United States as a whole, about 1 woman in 10 is a Negro. This was true 30 years ago, and it is true today. From 1940 to 1950 the decennial census showed an increase of more than a million in the Negro female population, but the rate of increase was very little higher for Negro than for white females: Negro females__ _______________ _________ White females____ _______ _______________ 1940 6,596,480 58,766,322 1950 7,744,645 67,812, 836 Percent change +17. 4 +15. 4 In some cities, however, the proportion of Negroes in the population increased rapidly. The plentiful jobs created by World War II encouraged rural Negroes to move to the cities, thus speeding up the shift from farm to urban areas which accompanies industrialization. In 44 large cities, chiefly in the North Atlantic, East North Central, and Pacific Coast States, the Negro population more than doubled between 1940 and 1950. Their Life Span For Negro women and girls as _for white, the population increase from 1940 to 1950 was greatest among.l!athose under 10 and over 45 years of age: Percent change, 1940-1950 All ages _______ _____________ ____ ____ ____________ _ Under 10 years ________________________________________ _ 10 through 14 years ___ ___ __________ _______ _____ ________ _ 15 through 19 years ___ ___ ___ _____ ____________ __ _______ __ 20 through 24 years _________ _____ ___ ___________________ _ 25 through 44 years ______________________ ______________ _ 45 through 64 years ____________________________________ _ 65 years and over ___ _____________ _________ ___ _________ __ 285745-54 https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis White females +15. 4 +11. 4 +33. 7 +38. 5 -6. 7 +1. 2 -14. 7 -6. 3 -1. 0 +3. 5 +15. 2 +14.1 +19. 6 +31. 3 +45. 3 +39. 9 Negro females 1 2 Negro Women and Their Jobs Births among Negroes, however, decreased less than among white persons during the economic depression of the 1930's and rose less during the war boom of the 1940's. This is indicated by the 1950 figures for age group 15 through 19 years, which showed a slighter decrease for Negro than for white women; and by the figures for age group under 10, which showed a somewhat smaller increase for Negro than for white. Among young adults, 25 through 44 years, the population growth from 1940 to 1950, for both Negro and white women, was about the same as the average for all ages. The large increases among women 45 and over, both Negro and white, reflect the added years of life gained through advances in health and sanitation and through improved standards of living. Life expectancy of persons in the United States has been increasing rapidly for many years. But the increase has been greater for nonwhite women 1 than for nonwhite men, or for white persons of either sex, according to the National Office of Vital Statistics. For example, a Negro girl baby born in 1919-21 had an average life expectancy of only 4 7 years; her daughter born in 1949 could expect to live for 63 years. Thus within a single generation the life span for Negro women was lengthened by 16 years. For a Negro woman or man who was 60 years of age in 1919-21, the average number of years of life remaining was 14.7. In 1949, the average number of years remaining for a Negro woman of 60 was 17. 7, an increase of three full years; for a Negro man of the same age, the average number of years remaining was 15.4, an increase of about half a year. The survival of Negro women now exceeds that of Negro men to an extent that calls for new planning and new adjustments. One thing that might happen is that many Negro women would remain in the labor force to a later age than was formerly customary. Evidence of this is found in the fact that, in 1951, twofifths of the nonwhite women were in the labor force at ages 55 to 64, and even among those 65 years and over, one-seventh were working. Their Education The importance of education as a means of improving their economic status is widely recognized by Negroes. Half of all Negro women 25 years of age and over in 1950 had received more than a seventh-grade education. This represents a 1 Where the term "nonwhite" is used, it ls because the source does not give figures for Negro women separately from other nonwhite women. However, more than 96 percent of all nonwhite femal es in the United States are Negro. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Negro Women and Their Jobs 3 gain of 1 year compared with 1940, as the accompanying summary shows. Median school Net years com- ga ·n pleted i 1950 1940 Negro: Women ______ ______________ ____________________ _ Men __ ____________ . --------- - ------- - ----------White: Women ____________________ _______ ______________ Men________ ___ __________ ____ ___ __ _____ ___ ______ 7. 1 6. 4 6. 1 5. 3 +1. 0 +1. 1 10.0 9.3 8.8 8.7 +1.2 +.6 The number of Negro women graduated from college is substantial. In colleges primarily for Negroes, in the year 1951-52, U.S. Office of Education reports that the bachelor's degree was conferred on 6,757 women students, as compared with 4,508 men; and the master's degree was conferred on 518 women and 350 men. No figures on degrees granted to Negroes were available from colleges and universities that admit both white and Negro students. NEGRO WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE One in Eight About 2}~ million of the Nation's workers were nonwhite women in 1953. They account for 13 percent of the woman labor force-or about 1 in every 8 women workers. The percentage of women who work is higher among nonwhites than among white persons, although the difference has been diminishing in recent years, as white women have entered the labor force in larger numbers. Census Bureau estimates show that 32.4 percent of all women 14 years of age and over were in the labor force in April 1953. For nonwhite women the figure was 39.5 percent, compared with 31.5 percent for white women. Occupational Grouping Some Negro women are employed in all major occupational groups listed by the Bureau of the Census (see page 4). Three-fourths of them are found in three broad groups: Private household workers; service workers not in private households; and operatives in factories, laundries, and other work places. Between 1940 and 1950, however, there was a strong trend away from private household employment, which decreased from three-fifths to two-fifths of the total, and toward the "other service" and the clerical and operative groups. The professional and technical, sales, and craftsmen groups also increased, from a combined total of 4.9 percent to 7.5 percent of all Negro women employed. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 4 Negro Women and Their Jobs OccUPA'IIONS OF EMPLOYED NEGRO WOMEN: Occupational group 1950 Number employed, 1950 AND Percent distribution 1950 All occupation groups ______________ _ 1,869,956 Professional, technical and kindred workers __ Farmers and farm managers ________ ____ __ _ Managers, officials, and proprietors, except farm __________________________________ Clerical and kindred workers ______________ Sales workers _________________ __ ________ _ Craftsmen, foremen, and kindred workers ___ Operatives and kindred workers ____ ________ Private household workers _________________ Service workers, except private household __ _ Farm laborers, unpaid family workers _______ Farm laborers, except unpaid and foremen __ Laborers, except farm and mine ____________ Occupation not reported _________________ _ 1940 1940 100 100 104,728 30,949 6 2 4 3 24, 557 74, 255 25,492 11, 629 274,000 773,590 351,856 72,751 66,906 28,414 30,829 1 4 1 1 15 41 19 4 3 1 2 1 1 1 (1) 6 60 10 8 5 1 1 1 Percent not shown where less than 1. Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1950 Census of Population, P-C 1, U.S. Summary. Unemployment Unemployment is somewhat more frequent among nonwhite women workers than among white women. For example, recent estimates, for April 1953, show that 3.2 percent of the nonwhite women in the labor force were unemployed. This was higher than the un,employment rate for white women and men but lower than that for nonwhitE men. Marital Status Among married women and women who are widowed or divorced, the proportion who work is higher for nonwhite than for white women. Among single women, however, the proportion who work is not so high for nonwhite as for white women. Census Bureau estimates for April 1953 are as follows: Marital status All women 14 years and over __ ___ __ ____ ________ __ __ Single _______________________________ ______ ______ _____ _ Married _________________ ________ __ __ •- __ ________ - - - - - Widowed and divorced ______________ __ - _- _- - - - - - - - - - - - - - https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis •P ercent of women in labor force Nonwhite White 39. 1 31. 2 38.6 48.8 37. 0 26.0 45.9 33. 2 5 Negro Women and Their Jobs For mothers, the difference in labor-force participation between nonwhite and white women is especially marked: Percent of mothers who are in labor force: 1952 Nonwhite White With some children 6 to 17 years but none younger ________ _ With some children under 6 years (with or without children 6 to 17) ____________________________________________ _ 48.3 34. 1 24. 6 14. 8 In age, there is not much difference between nonwhite and white women workers. The single women are a young group, with a median age in the early twenties. The married women have a median age in the late thirties, about the same as the median for all women workers. The women of other marital status are, on the average, in their forties. Among nonwhite married couples, the percent of couples with both husband and wife in the labor force increased from 23 percent in 1940 to 34 percent in 1950; among white couples, the increase was from 10 percent to 21 percent. The proportion of wives who work remains higher among nonwhite couples than among white couples, but there was less difference in 1950 than in 1940. Child-Care Problems A major problem for many working mothers-especially if their children are too young for school-is the difficulty of making satisfactory arrangements for the care of their children during working hours. The Women's Bureau recently made a survey of child-care facilities available to working mothers, both Negro and white, in 28 industrial communities. It was found that working mothers often re'iy on the help of relatives or neighbors for the care of their children. Others pay private homes to take the children for daytime care. Many such homes caring for a small number of children are unlicensed, unsupervised, and uninspected. In many of the communities visited, some day-care centers meeting State standards for licensing, staff, program, and equipment were found. However, there are seldom enough of these centers, and those in operation are often overcrowded, or inconveniently located, or do not provide care during the desired hours, or cost more than the mother can afford, or for some other reason are unavailable to the working mothers who need them. In most of these cities child-care resources available to Negro mothers appeared to be even less adequate than those available to white mothers. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 6 Negro Women and Their Jobs EARNINGS AND INCOME Earnings The majority of Negro women workers are still concentrated in occupational groups where part-time work is widespread and where annual earnings are relatively low. The median amount earned in 1952 by nonwhite women receiving wage or salary earnings, was estimated to be $814. This was larger than the median amount earned by white women in 1939, and over three times as large as the median amount earned by nonwhite women in 1939. However, it is small compared with the earnings of white women in 1952, as the following summary shows: Median earnings of women with earnings Nonwhite 1952____________________________________________ ______ 1939____________________________________________ ______ $814 246 White $1,976 676 Family Income The median income of nonwhite families in 1951 was $2,032. This was only about one-half that of white families. More than half of the nonwhite children who were living with both parents, as compared with only one-fifth of the white children, were in families with incomes of less than $2,000 in 1949, according to census estimates. Only about one-twelfth of the nonwhite children, compared with one-third of the white children, were in families with incomes of $4,000 or more. OASI Benefits The provisions of the Social Security Act apply to both men and women, regardless of race, color, or religion. Under the old-age and survivors insurance provisions as amended in 1950 and 1952, women of any age may earn credits toward old-age benefits through their own earnings in many types of work not formerly covered. Thousands of women employed in private households, employed on farms, or selfemployed, are now earning OASI credits that will entitle them to monthly benefits of $25 or more each month on retirement, at the age of 65 or older. Women operating their own business can obtain coverage as selfemployed persons if they earn as much as $400 in a year; this applies, for example, to women who operate a beauty shop, or a lodging house, or a restaurant. A private household worker can obtain OASI credits https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Negro Women and Their Jobs 7 in any calendar quarter (3 months) if she works as much as 24 days or part days for 1 employer who pays her at least $50 for the quarter. In the case of a woman whose husband is dependent on her for support, the monthly benefit is larger, the minimum being $37.50. In case of the death of an insured woman, a lump sum equal to 3 months' benefits is paid; and if she had children dependent on her they receive survivors' monthly benefits until they reach the age of 18. The benefits for retired insured men with dependent wives and for . widows of insured men were also increased slightly in 1952. FIELDS OF WORK Traditional fields of work for Negro women range from occupations that require extensive educational preparation, to those where training is usually done on the job. Some gifted women have made their mark in the creative arts; some have distinguished themselves through their interest in the political field and civic betterment; but most Negro women workers have in the past been concentrated in relatively few occupations. Labor shortages during World War II and since have opened up employment opportunities for women, both Negro and white, in many new fields. Some Important Occupations The occupations in which Negro women have found employment in increasing numbers since 1940 (see table on p. 4) include the professional and technical group, the clerical and sales group, the operatives, and service workers (not in private households). Professional and technical occupations include all branches of teaching, professional nursing, and many other occupations for which extensive training is necessary, such as social work and dietetics. In this group also are physicians and surgeons, lawyers and judges, therapists, authors, artists, athletes, personnel workers, photographers, religious workers, and a wide variety of other specialized people. Of nearly 105,000 Negro women employed in the professional group in 1950, about two-thirds (68,000) were teachers and another 1,500 were presidents, professors, or instructors in colleges. Professional nurses came second with 12,500; social, welfare, and recreation workers https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 8 Negro Women and Their Jobs third with 4,500; musicians and music teachers fourth with 3,000. At the top professional level were 257 Negro women listed as physicians and surgeons and 83 as lawyers and judges. Clerical workers include stenographers, typists, secretaries, bookkeepers, and cashiers; also attendants in libraries and in doctors' and dentists' offices, messengers, and receiving clerks. The training d'epends on the type of job desired. Secretarial courses usually require a year or more of specialized work either in a public vocational or high school or in a commercial school for secretaries. Of 74,000 Negro women in clerical occupations in 1950, more than 21,500 were stenographers, typists, and secretaries; another 9,000 were bookkeepers, cashiers, or telephone operators. Operatives are usually thought of as production workers, but may work in laundries, dry cleaning establishments, packing houses, or other establishments. A good public school education is desirable, but production workers usually start as learners and acquire their skills on the job. Many large companies have their own training courses. The 274,000 Negro women employed as operatives in 1950 amounted to 9 percent of all women operatives; 136,000 were in manufacturing industries, and 99,000 were laundry and dry cleaning operatives. Service occupations include some, such as practical nurse and beauty operator, for which special training is needed; and many, such as waitress, elevator operator, and hospital attendant, where training can be obtained on the job. In order to obtain a State license as a beauty operator, for example, training may be obtained either in a public vocational course or in a commercial beauty school. In 1950, some 27,000 beauty workers were included among 352,000 Negro women service workers, not in private households. Government Service When workers are classified by industry instead of by occupation, one of the most significant areas of advance is found in Government service. In 1940, only 0.6 percent of nonwhite women workers had Government jobs. By 1950 this figure had risen to 2.5 percent, and in 1952 it was 3.5 percent. This includes civilian and military personnel, whether professional, clerical, technical, or custodial, in the executive agencies, and also in the legislative and judicial branches of Federal, State, and local governments. It does not include teachers or nurses in general, nor workers employed in activities commonly carried on by private agencies. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Negro Women and Their Jobs 9 WHERE TO GET INFORMATION Vocational counseling.-Public high and vocational schools in many large cities and some smaller communities offer vocational counseling services for their students and sometimes for former students. Information on free courses in vocational schools can be obtained from your local school superintendent. Job finding.-State and local offices of the public employment service offer job finding and placement services. The public employment office is open to everyone and its services, including its job counseling, are free. Scholarship information.-The National Scholarship Service and Fund for Negro Students (31 West 110th St., New York 26, N. Y.) was established several years ago to assist Negro students, both men and women, to obtain a college education. During 1952-53, 500 students counseled by the Service applied for admission in interracial colleges and universities, and 474 were accepted in 224 different institutions, including most of the top-ranking universities. Scholarships were awarded to 165 of these students. Half or more of the students counseled were women. Women's Bureau materials.-The Women's Bureau has bulletins published or in press o~ the outlook for all women in a number of professional and semiprofessional fields, among them social wor~, home economics occupations, physical and occupational therapy, professional nursing, practical nursing, and medical technicians. These reports contain information on demand and supply, training, salaries, and conditions of work; and suggestions for girls and women wishing to enter the field. These bulletins can be purchased from the U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D. C. Write to the Women's Bureau, U. S. Department of Labor, Washington 25, D. C., ,for a list of its publications on employment opportunities for women. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Negro Women and Their Jobs SOURCES U. S. Department of Labor: Bureau of Labor Statistics: Negroes in the United States (Bull. 1119). Occupational Outlook ·Handbook, 1951 edition (Bull . .998). Women's Bureau: Employed Mothers and Child Care (Bull. 246). 1952 Handbook of Facts on Women Workers (Bull. 242). Negro Women War Workers (Bull. 205. U. S. Department of Commerce: Bureau of the Census: 1950 Census of Population, U. S. Summary and other reports. Current Population Reports (Labor Force). U. S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare: Office of Education: Earned Degrees Conferred by Higher Educational Institutions. Bureau of Old Age and Survivors Insurance: Your Social Security, 1953. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 195 4
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