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STATE COLLEGELIBRARY
THE OUTLOOK
FOR WOMEN
Am/
GEOLOGY, GEOGRAPHY
AND METEOROLOGY
Bulletin No. 223-7
U. S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
WOMEN’S BUREAU
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
L. B. SCHWELLENBACH, SECRETARY
WOMEN’S BUREAU
FRIEDA S. MILLER, DIRECTOR
The Outlook for Women
in
Geology, Geography
and
Meteorology
Bulletin of the Women’s Bureau No. 223—7
U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 1948
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government
Printing Office, Washington 25, D. C.
Price 15 cents
This bulletin is No. 233-7 in the following series onTHE OUTLOOK FOR WOMEN IN SCIENCE
No. 223-1 The Outlook for Women in Science
No. 223-2 The Outlook for Women in Chemistry
No. 223-3 The Outlook for Women in the Biological Sciences
No. 223-4 The Outlook for Women in Mathematics and Statistics
No. 223-5 The Outlook for Women in Architecture and Engineering
No. 223-6 The Outlook for Women in Physics and Astronomy
No. 223-7 The Outlook for Women in Geology, Geography, and
Meteorology
No. 223-8 The Outlook for Women in Occupations Related to Science
Note on Pagination.—Throughout the series, page numbers show both the
volume number arid the page number in that volume. For example, page 24
in volume 3 is shown as 3-24; in volume 6, as 6-24.
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
United States Department of Labor,
Women’s Bureau,
Washington, December 22, 19lfl.
Sir : I have the honor of transmitting a description of the outlook
for women in geology, geography, and meteorology which has been
prepared as a part of a study on the outlook for women in science. The
extraordinary demand for women with scientific training during
World War II and the resulting questions which came to the Women’s
Bureau prompted us to undertake this study. The paucity of pub
lished information on women in science and the encouragement of the
scientists and educators who were consulted in the course of this study
confirmed the need for the information here assembled and synthe
sized. The study was planned and directed by Marguerite Wykoff
Zapoleon and completed with the assistance of Elsie Katcher Good
man and Mary H. Brilla of the Employment Opportunities Section
of the Bureau’s Research Division. Other members of the Bureau
staff who helped to broaden the coverage of this study through inter
views in the field were regional representatives Margaret Kay Ander
son, Martha J. Ziegler, Rebecca G. Smaltz, and another member of
the research staff, Jennie Mohr. Corinne La Barre, Research Assistant
of the Western Personnel Institute, Pasadena, Calif., furnished the
information obtained from western colleges.
The part of the study here transmitted was written by Elsie Katcher
Goodman.
Respectfully submitted.
Frieda S. Mieeer, Director.
Hon. L. B. SoHWELLENBACH,
Secretary of Labor.
7-111
—
Courtesy Standard Oil Co. (N. J.)
Figure 1.—A geologist examining a sandstone outcrop in Mississippi
where she is employed by an oil company.
7-IV
FOREWORD
Much has been written about science and scientists, but little has
been told about the work women trained in science have done and can
do hi the future.
Although these women are few in number when compared to men
in science or to women in such occupations as teaching and nursing,
their contribution to the national welfare, so strikingly demonstrated
in World War II, goes forward daily in the laboratories, classrooms,
offices, and plants in which they work.
The every-day story of where these women work, of what kind of
work they are doing, and of what other young women who join their
ranks in the future may do has been the subject of this report on the
outlook for women in science. Unlike the usual monograph which
describes an occupation in detail at a particular point in time, this
study, like the Women’s Bureau series on occupations in the medical
and health services which preceded it, is concerned primarily with
changes and trends.
Although more than 800 books, articles, or pamphlets were culled
for background information, the principal raw material for the entire
study of which this bulletin is a part came from such primary sources
as scientific organizations, employers and trainers of women scientists,
and men and women scientists themselves. Principal sources were
as follows:
Scientific organizations: The National Research Council supplied
useful directories of scientific laboratories and organizations.
Helpful criticism and direction to other authorities were ob
tained from its Office of Scientific Personnel. Sixty separate
organizations of scientists supplied information on their women
members, by interview or correspondence.
Federal agencies: Unpublished information on personnel in
scientific fields was supplied by:
The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics,
The National Roster of Scientific and Specialized Personnel,
The United States Office of Education,
The United States Civil Service Commission, and
The United States Public Health Service.
7-V
FOREWORD
7-VI
In addition, 52 separate bureaus, offices, or other operating units
of the Federal Government known to employ scientists were
solicited for information regarding the number of women em
ployed on jobs requiring scientific training and the type of work
they were doing. Detailed statistics over a period of years were
available from some agencies, while only fragmentary data were
obtained from others. The women’s military services likewise
supplied information on the wartime use of women trained in
science in the WAC, WAVES, and the Marine Corps.
Private industry: One hundred industrial firms were visited in
1945 and 1946 to obtain information, usually by interview with
the director of research or the personnel director, on the women
employed by any part of the organization in any capacity re
quiring scientific training of college level. Prewar, wartime,
and postwar statistics were obtained where available, as well as
suggestions and comments. In many instances, some of the
women in scientific work were interviewed on the job. The
firms visited included:
Seventy-eight firms listed in the National Kesearch Council’s
1946 directory of 2,443 firms having research laboratories.
The firms visited are listed in the directory as employing
24,816 persons as scientific or technical personnel in their
laboratories. This number represented 28 percent of the
total personnel of this type estimated as employed in all the
laboratories listed. In addition to this numerical coverage,
an attempt was made to include among the 78 firms visited
small as well as large firms, plants in all parts of the United
States, and a variety of industries. However, the intricate
industrial organization, inter-relationships, and variety of
research revealed in the directory, added to the fact that
some firms did not report personnel statistics and none re
ported women separately, made the selection of a true sam
ple complicated beyond its value for this purpose. The
firms visited were chosen rather as a clue to industrial firms
most likely to be engaged in the type of work in which
women trained in science are used. In all firms, informa
tion was requested for the entire organization rather than
for the research laboratory only.
Eighteen commercial testing laboratories which offer testing
services to industry and individuals and which employed
women were also visited. Seven others contacted did not
employ women. These 25 laboratories represented 10 per
cent of the 244 commercial testing laboratories listed in
the National Bureau of Standard’s 1942 Directory of Com
FOREWORD
7-VII
mercial Testing and College Research Laboratories. Since
personnel is not reported in the Directory, there is no clue
to the coverage of workers.
Three large additional industrial firms which employed
women in laboratory work but were not listed as having
research laboratories were visited, as was one biological
supply house.
Research institutions: Eight research institutions or centers, some
of them identified with a particular college or university, also
supplied information on women members of the scientific staff.
Colleges and universities: Statistical information on the number
of women graduated with degrees in science, mathematics, and
engineering over a period of years from 1039—TO to 1946 was
obtained from 30 colleges and universities and from 9 engineer
ing schools. Again an attempt was made to obtain wide geo
graphical coverage and to cover different types of institutions,
such as women’s colleges, State universities, and small liberal
arts colleges. The information available from these sources,
too, varied. .Placement bureaus and heads of science depart
ments as well as deans of women at these institutions and at 6
other colleges contributed reports on the demand for women
trained in the sciences. The Western Personnel Institute made
possible the inclusion of data which it collected for the Bureau
from its affiliated colleges and universities in the far West.
Since no recent data were available on the number of women
teaching science in the colleges, a count was made in 1947 of the
women identifiable by name who were listed on science facul
ties in the catalogs of 330 institutions of higher learning
which were then available in the United States Office of Educa
tion Library. These institutions were selected because they are
believed by the United States Office of Education to be repre
sentative in their enrollments of the 1,749 institutions of higher
education in the United States and, therefore, are likely to
have faculties equally representative.
Other sources: In addition, 97 individuals not included in the
afore-mentioned sources, most of them women scientists, con
tributed information, suggestions, or helpful criticisms of the
preliminary manuscripts circulated before revision for publica
tion.
While every effort has been made to obtain wide coverage, there
remain some dark corners still unexplored because of the range and
variety of these fields and the difficulty of obtaining inform at ion from
widely scattered sources. Perhaps this beginning will result in further
additions to our so-little knowledge.
772330°—48----- 2
CONTENTS
Page
Letter of transmittal____________________________ 7-III
Foreword__
7-V
The outlook for women in geology____ _______________________________
7-1
Prewar distribution
7-1
Annual addition to the supply
7-2
Wartime changes
7-2
Earnings, hours, and advancement
7-5
Organizations.
7-6
The outlook
7-7
Suggestions to women considering geology as an occupation________
7-11
The outlook for women in geography_____
7 -14
Prewar distribution 7-14
Annual addition to the supply 7-15
Wartime changes!_______________________________________________
7-15
Earnings and advancement 7-19
Organizations___________________________________________________ 7-20
The outlook____________________________________________________ 7-21
The outlook for women in meteorology 7-28
Prewar distribution 7-28
Annual addition to the supply 7-29
Wartime changes_________________
7-29
Earnings and advancement 7-33
Organizations 7-34
The outlook 7-35
Appendix:
Minimum education and experience requirements for application for
beginning Federal civil service positions as:
Geologist 7-40
Geographer 7-41
Minimum requirements for fellows and members of the Geological
Society of America, Inc 7-41
Minimum requirements for membership in the American Association
of Petroleum Geologists____________________
7-42
Minimum requirements for membership in the American Geophysical
Union__________________________________________ 7-42
Minimum requirements for membership in the Association of American
Geographers________________
7-42
Minimum requirements for membership in the American Society for
Professional Geographers 7-43
Minimum requirements for membership in the National Council of
Geography Teachers 7-43
Minimum requirements for membership in the American Meteorological
Society'________________________________ L 7-43
List of colleges and universities which had granted the Ph. D. in geog
raphy, June 1935 to June 1946, and those at which work for the Ph.
D. in geography was in progress December 1946
7-44
List of colleges and universities offering graduate training in meteor
ology________________________________________________________ 7-44
7-VIII
CONTENTS
7-IX
Page
Sources to which reference is made in the text-------------------------------------Tables:
1. Type of employment of 203 women geologists in 1946 compared
with that of 6,000 men and women geologists in 1945________
2. Distribution by highest academic degree held of geologists regis
tered with the National Roster of Scientific and Specialized Per
sonnel, 1946----------------------------------------------------------------------3. Type of employment of 149 women members of the American
Society for Professional Geographers reporting employment,
November 1946
4. Major interests in geography of 110 women members of the Ameri
can Society for Professional Geographers, November 1946____
Illustrations:
1. Geologist examining sandstone outcrop 7-1V
2. Geologist at work on map in office of oil company______________
3. Prof. Ellen Churchill Semple in her office at ClarkUniversity____
4. Meteorological aids and meteorologist at work 7-26
7-45
7-9
7-12
7-21
7-24
7-8
7-13
Geologist as Defined by the National Roster of Scientific and
Specialized Personnel (62)
“Geologists study the constitution, structure, and history of the
earth as it is disclosed by the sequence of formations and deformations
of rock layers, and by the fossil or mineral content of such layers.
Geologists may specialize in some phase of economic geology, or in an
aspect of historical or physical geology. The economic geologist
deals with the exploration, exploitation, and study of useful mineral
deposits, and the study of sites for dams and foundations.
“Geologists who specialize in physical or dynamic geology deal with
the formation and arrangement of rocks and with the agencies and
processes of geological change, especially great pressures and temper
atures. The specialties of mineralogy, petrology, structural, and surficial geology are included here.
“Geologists who specialize in historical geology study the successive
development of rock formations and the fossil remains of animal and
plant life in their relation to rock formations. The specialties of
stratigraphy and paleontology are included here.”
7-X
THE OUTLOOK FOR WOMEN IN GEOLOGY
Geology is a science in which relatively few persons are employed.
During the past few decades, the period of the greatest development
and application of geological knowledge, some women have entered
this field. They are, however, a very small minority of those active in
the profession, about 3 percent (61) of the 10,000-12,000 geologists
estimated as employed in the United States in 1946. This is less than
half the proportion women form in all the physical sciences combined,
one-fourth the proportion they form in mathematics. Only in meteor
ology and in the applied fields of engineering and architecture is there
a smaller proportion of women in relation to the total number em
ployed in each of these fields.
Prewar Distribution
The prewar demand for women trained in geology was very small,
apparently even less than the small supply of women graduating with
a degree in geology. One large eastern college for women reported
16 graduates with the bachelor’s degree in geology during 1939-1941, of
whom only 5 were placed in positions in which they were able to utilize
their professional training. Another college for women reported only
occasional museum jobs.
Before the war, the greatest number of geologists were in the petro
leum and mining industries (&£). Included among them were the
3,250 geologists who were members of the American Association of
Petroleum Geologists in 1940 (£).
Although some women with geological training were engaged in in
dustrial work before the war, they were largely limited to office and
laboratory jobs with petroleum and mining companies. There they
were engaged almost exclusively in such desk work as cataloging, main
taining exploration maps, analyzing field data, or assisting in research
(2If.). A few women with specialized training in paleontology or
mineralogy were given the chance to engage in self-directed research in
industry, but such women were scarce and such opportunities even
more rare.
Before the war, there were about 650 instructors in geology in col
leges and universities, among whom were some women, their exact
number not known (61). Among the 650 were almost 200 men and
7-1
7-2
WOMEN IN GEOLOGY, GEOGRAPHY, METEOROLOGY
women who had secured their doctorates in geology in the decade pre
ceding the war. Forty percent of all those receiving their doctorate
in geology in this period went into teaching or combined teaching with
research or administrative duties, while about half were engaged in
full-time research (23), primarily in industry or the Federal and State
geological surveys.
A few women were employed in the United States Geological Survey
in Washington, D. C., before the war, most of whom had been there for
many years. Some women were also with State geological surveys.
At least seven eastern States were known to have employed women
geologists, both in active and in office capacity.
Writing and editing offered only limited opportunity for women
trained in geology, but one woman geologist was editing a technical
journal, and another collaborated with her husband, also a geologist,
in the writing of popular books on geology.
Annual Addition to the Supply
In 1941, according to the National Roster of Scientific and Special
ized Personnel, senior college students majoring in geology numbered
1,300. Graduate students totaled 750 (61). From 1935 to 1940 only
an average of 55 persons annually secured their Ph. D. in geology and
11 in paleontology (71). Women were about 3 percent of those receiv
ing the doctorate degree in geology during the decade 1931-40 (3,9) —
approximately the same proportion as that women comprised among
all geologists.
The number of those leaving the profession each year was believed
to be very small. Most of the geologists who had ever worked in the
petroleum industry, for example, remained in the profession, since
both the applications of the science and those employed were young
(75).
Wartime Changes
During the war the number of students majoring in geology declined
sharply. By 1944, senior classes throughout the country had reached
a low of 170. Although women represented 60 percent of that group,
they too had actually decreased in number to 102. Women graduate
students, too, were fewer, although they represented 45 percent of the
89 graduate students enrolled in 1944 (67).
The reduction in the number of potential male geologists was due,
of course, to their entering military service either before or after
graduation. Women, on the other hand, were attracted to war
industry.
WOMEN IN GEOLOGY
7-3
A special effort to provide emergency wartime training for women
was begun at the University of Michigan. In 1943 a concentrated
one-year course in petroleum geology was planned to train women
with a science background for jobs in the petroleum industry. But
the total capacity of this class was only 20-30 women (J/i).
In some measure the war years were a testing period for women
geologists, for they were given opportunity to secure responsible posi
tions where they could prove their effectiveness.
During the war, the demand for women graduates in geology was
very active, as about 2,000 men with geological training were serving in
the armed forces, for the most part, on nongeological work (37).
Women wdio wTere willing to move to locations in which jobs existed
could secure work as research assistants, junior geologists, and labora
tory technologists. At 1 large eastern college for women, of the 14
girls who were graduated in 1942-45, 9 were placed in positions con
nected with their field, and 2 went on to graduate studies. Even
women trained before the war who had taken clerical jobs in the
intervening period were able to secure professional appointments in
industry or government.
Opportunities were greatest in government, according to an analysis
by Prof. Caroline E. Heminway of the women registered in geology
with the National Roster of Scientific and Specialized Personnel.
Near the end of the war, almost 40 percent of the women actively en
gaged in geology were employed by Federal or State geological
surveys (19).
In the Federal Government, the work of the United States Geologi
cal Survey expanded after Pearl Harbor. Wartime assignments in
cluded the preparation of military maps, technical reports on foreign
terrain, and estimates of the Nation’s reserves of strategic mineral re
sources. As many as 50 women trained in geology found employment
here during the war.
A few additional women geologists were hired by other Federal
agencies such as the Engineer Corps in the War Department, the
Bureau of Reclamation in the Department of Interior, and the Divi
sion of Metals and Minerals in the Foreign Economic Administration.
But during the wrar the Geological Survey was the principal Federal
agency in which a woman could use her training in geology.
Young women employed by the Geological Survey had at least a
bachelor’s degree in geology and were hired at the beginning profes
sional level of junior geologist. They were assigned to jobs assisting
staff members (usually men) who were analyzing field data and
preparing reports. Women were also drafting maps and cross-sec-
7-4
WOMEN IN GEOLOGY, GEOGRAPHY, METEOROLOGY
tions from field data and preparing diagrams and charts. Due to
the general shortage of clerical help in the Government, they generally
performed clerical as well as professional functions. Others were
engaged in the microscopic examination of minerals and the analysis
of metals. One or two women spent brief periods in field service
engaged in such work as the mapping of mineral deposits.
But the general policy of the Geological Survey of not sending
women into the field continued. Consequently, women geologists
have come to be thought of as “office geologists,” whose functions are
limited, and whose professional development is retarded by lack of
field experience. Nevertheless, the work that women did in office
geology during the war has created greater recognition of women’s
abilities in this growing field of geological work.
During the war opportunities in office geology and in cartography
also became available to women in the military services. The Navy,
for example, trained women with a background in geology or geog
raphy for cartographic work in its Hydrographic Office. One woman,
with a bachelor’s degree in geology and experience in teaching, who
completed this training became a WAVE officer engaged in the com
pilation and revision of hydrographic charts.
After 1942, when the oil and mining companies began to face the
depletion of their technically trained men, most of whom were of draft
age, they began to place women in jobs where they had formerly
employed men. For the first time oil companies, which employed
more than half of all geologists during the war (61), informed the
colleges that they had openings on their staffs for which women could
apply. For the most part these were jobs involving drafting, carto
graphy, assisting senior geologists in the preparation of technical
reports, and laboratory work in research departments. Some women
were employed as junior geologists, however, even in outlying district
offices, but they were not given duties which were likely to include
field exploration. Although one-third of the geologists were engaged
in field exploration during the war, this type of work remained almost
completely closed to women (61). This barrier has always repre
sented the greatest handicap women geologists face in employment
or advancement in industry. Toward the end of the war, however,
about one-third of the women actively engaged in geology were em
ployed in industry, according to the analysis by Professor Heminway
of women registered in geology with the National Roster (19).
In 1942, 46 women represented 7 percent of the college teachers of
geology (60). Teaching appointments for women were found mainly
in women’s colleges and in some coeducational institutions. The
dearth of men graduate students made more teaching fellowships
available to women for continuing their graduate training toward
WOMEN IN GEOLOGY
7-5
the Ph. D. In spite of this, fewer women than before the war were
enrolled as candidates for that degree.
It is doubtful whether there was much increase in opportunity for
women in full-time teaching posts in this field during the war, in view
of the drop in student enrollments in geology, although there is no
adequate estimate of the extent to which women teachers replaced
men in these years.
Universities and other research agencies that accepted war contracts
with the Government, however, increased their staffs many times over.
This demand was reflected in college placement bureaus which received
calls for women with bachelor’s degrees in geology for work as research
assistants to prepare technical reports for military use. Experience
in the compilation, writing, and editing of data was gained by the
women who accepted these temporary war jobs. Indications are that
about one-fourth of the active women geologists were in teaching and
research jobs of this sort toward the end of the war period {19).
Earnings, Hours, and Advancement
Before the war, entering jobs in industry paid from $1,200 to $1,800
a year, according to the National Roster {61). The salary paid to
women was probably lower than that paid to men, since women were
forced to compete for jobs at a lower level. At the same time teaching
positions at the college level began at about $125 a month ($1,250 for
a 10-month school year) {63). Highest beginning salaries were paid
by the Federal Government, which, in 1940 started junior geologists
at $2,000 a year.
With the general increase in earnings during the war, salaries paid
by industry ranged from $1,680 to $2,400 a year for beginning jobs.
College teaching began at about $150 a month ($1,500 for a 10-month
school year), and State government jobs started at about $1,500 to
$1,800 {61). In 1947 basic salaries remained at the war level and
in teaching are believed to have increased. In 1947 junior geologists
in Federal service received $2,644 a year. (See p. 7-41 for require
ments for entrance.)
The woman geologist who works in an office or laboratory is likely
to have regular hours, although she may frequently work overtime.
Hours of the college teacher may be longer but can be more easily
arranged to suit personal convenience. Only in field work are hours
certain to be irregular, and few women desire or have the opportunity
for such work.
The road to advancement for the woman geologist appears to lie in
the field of laboratory research. Here and in teaching, too, field work
is sometimes necessary, but the college training in field work, supple772330°—48----- 3
7-6
WOMEN IN GEOLOGY, GEOGRAPHY, METEOROLOGY
merited by brief periods of work in the field, are usually sufficient for
fundamental background experience. In many of the geological posi
tions in the oil industry, work in the field is not an important part of
the geologist’s duties, and in some positions it is not required.
Graduate training will give a woman better foundation for re
search as well as for teaching than will entrance jobs in industry as
clerical or laboratory assistants. The disadvantage of being almost
completely barred from field exploration must be overcome by other
qualifications. That this can be done has been proved by a few women
who even before the war occupied such positions as chief geologist and
executive geologist with oil companies. Ability as business executive
also aided these women to secure top jobs.
In professional recognition, too, a few women have reached high
levels. Early in 1946, a woman served as chairman of a geological
research committee in the National Research Council. A woman
paleontologist, with the United States Geological Survey for many
years, has received high recognition and is considered to be the foremost
authority on her particular specialty in the United States. The Geo
logical Survey also employs a woman mineralogist recognized as out
standing in her field. In the past, the Survey had had on its staff two
women eminent in petrology and structural geology respectively.
But, by and large, most women find themselves at a disadvantage in
attaining advancement in this field, where only the exceptional woman
is likely to gain distinction.
Organizations
The Geological Society of America, Inc., organized in 1888 (IS),
in 1941 had 1,056 Fellows, including 23 women, about 2 percent of
the total, who have demonstrated outstanding ability in research
or in contributions to the literature of geology. In 1947, the newly
created classification of “member” was expected to increase the pro
portion of women participants. (See p. 7-41 for requirements for
membership.) The Society serves as a coordinating group for the
6 specialized geological societies that are members of its council,
which include: The Paleontological Society, Mineralogical Society
of America, Society of Economic Geologists, Society of Vertebrate
Paleontology, Seismological Society of America, and Section E
(Geology and Geography) of the American Association for the Ad
vancement of Science. In 1946, members of these organizations to
taled 6,000, although there was undoubtedly some overlapping of
membership.
The American Association of Petroleum Geologists was the largest
and fastest growing organization of economic geologists in 1940 (£),
WOMEN IN GEOLOGY
7-7
and by 1947 the Association had over 5,000 members including 118
women, who again formed 2 percent of the total. (See p. 7-42 for
requirements for membership.)
Another society to which many geologists belong is the American
Geophysical Union, which also includes a number of women in its
membership. (See p. 7-42 for requirements for membership.)
The Outlook
The over-all demand for geologists is an expanding one. Our de
pendence on natural resources and the wartime reduction in the supply
of many strategic minerals require the advancement of geological
field exploration and research by industry and government in the
coming years. Besides the gradual increase in popular interest in
geology, its study is an essential part of the preparation of such
scientists as meteorologists and civil, mining, and metallurgical
engineers (75).
In 1946 the Geological Society of America, Inc., estimated that
there were between 10,000 and 12,000 geologists in the United States.
These were too few to fill the existing demand. The deficit was
serious at the doctorate level, where advancement in this science
usually originates. In 1944 there were only 17 doctorate degrees
awarded in geology, compared to the average of 55 awarded annually
before the war (20). It has been estimated that the deficit of persons
trained at the doctorate level totaled 113 in 1945 and would reach 430
by 1955 (71).
Although enrollments in geology in 1946 had doubled over 1945,
they were still far below peacetime levels (27), and it was impossible
to gage how many veterans taking elementary courses in geology would
continue in the field. It is possible that the supply of geologists will
continue to be inadequate for several years. In this event the women
geologists, especially those with graduate training, will continue to
enjoy relatively better opportunity than they did in the days before the
war. However, with men geologists returning from military service,
and with the drop-off in demand peculiar to the war, women geologists
already faced much greater competition in 1947 than during the war.
However, since the supply of women students majoring in geology
dropped during the war, it is unlikely that there will be an oversupply
of women (67).
Actually, women geologists remain few in number. The 1946 list
of American Women of Geology, compiled by the Geological Society
of America, contained 271 names, representing less than 3 percent of
the total number of men and women in the profession. The type
of employment of 203 of these was evident from the list (17). Their
7-8
WOMEN IN GEOLOGY, GEOGRAPHY, METEOROLOGY
distribution by type of employment in 1946 indicates marked dif
ferences from that of all geologists in 1945. (See table 1.)
In 1946 the largest proportion of women geologists were employed
by institutions of higher education and research, which during the
war had ranked third among the employers of women geologists, ac
cording to Professor Heminway. More than a third were teaching
as compared with less than a fifth in 1944 (1,9). Next in importance
in the employment of women, as it had been during the war, was
industry. About one-fourth of the women geologists worked in
the petroleum industry, where more than half of the men were em
ployed. Federal and State geological surveys provided an outlet
for another quarter of the employed women geologists (17), a con
siderable reduction from the 40 percent employed in Government
during the war (19). This distribution of women geologists in 1946
may be taken as some measure of the distribution of future employ
ment opportunities for women in each of these fields.
Courtesy Standard Oil Co. (N. J.)
Figure 2.—A geologist at work on a map in the Mississippi office of
an oil company.
WOMEN IN GEOLOGY
7-9
Table 1. Type of Employment of 203 Women Geologists in 1946 Compared With
That of 6,000 Men and Women Geologists in 1945
Percent dis Percent dis
tribution of tribution of
203 women 6,000 men and
geologists
women geol
1946
ogists 1945.
Type of employment.
100
Colleges, universities, and other schools_____________ ____ ___________
Museums, research organizations, and institutions______ _____________
State and other_______________________________________
Other employment.._____ _______________________ ______
___
41
35
6
8
6
2
30
25
5
74
26
20
6
3
2
Sources: The Geological Society of America’s list of American Women of Geology (17) which contained
271 names, including the place of employment of 203 women actively engaged in geology. National Roster
of Scientific and Specialized Personnel (til) for percent distribution of 6,000 geologists (not separated by sex).
Teaching at the college level, for example, will probably continue
to be the most favorable field for women trained in geology. In many
schools, however, women trained in geology also teach geography or
other sciences. Opportunities for research are also available in insti
tutions of higher education. Evidence of this as well as of the marked
increase in the number of women geology teachers was brought out
in a count made in 1947 of women faculty members in geology listed
in 330 college catalogs (included in a sample of all types of institu
tions of higher education selected on the basis of enrollments by the
United States Office of Education). Of the 40 women teaching
geology, only 25 taught geology exclusively. Some of the women,
such as those classified as petroleum technologist, consulting geologist,
or graduate assistant, may devote more of their time to research than to
teaching. However, 9 of the 40 women held professorial appoint
ments, and of the 9 there were 6 who held the Ph. D.
If these schools included in the sample are representative of all
institutions of higher education, there were about 188 women teaching
geology in colleges and universities, half of whom taught geology
only, and half combined instruction in geology with that in geography
or another subject. Although in the past it was easier for women to
secure teaching appointments in women’s colleges than in coeduca
tional institutions, the count of women geology teachers made in 1947
indicated that more women teachers were employed in publicly and
privately controlled universities than in colleges of liberal arts and
science, among which the women’s colleges are usually classified. Of
7-10
WOMEN IN GEOLOGY, GEOGRAPHY, METEOROLOGY
the estimated 188 women teaching geology, 91 were employed by uni
versities and 84 by colleges; the remainder were in teacher-training
institutions and junior colleges.
Most of the Government-financed university and private research
projects which employed women trained in geology during the war
terminated their war activities with the cessation of hostilities. Prac
tically all women were released after VJ-day when these research
agencies began to return to their peacetime size. Few women could
meet the highly specialized requirements set for permanent staff
members. However, with the revival of some of the normal research
activities interrupted by the war, there is some opportunity for women
as research assistants and as library and editorial assistants in research
agencies and publishing houses. Popular geological writing for
travel agencies, nature clubs, magazines, and children’s books offers
another outlet for women trained in geology who have writing ability.
A year after VJ-day, women seeking jobs in the petroleum industry
found that the attitudes of industrial employers had definitely been
tempered by the war. There was greater recognition of the ability
of women laboratory technologists in research departments, but by
and large the opportunities open to women were those which had
been open (in fewer numbers) before the war. Women with back
grounds in geology were encouraged to take clerical or drafting jobs,
where they might be especially valuable in assisting staff members in
their work.
However, most of the women with graduate training in geology who
were working in the oil industry in 1947 were engaged in the micro
scopic examination of rock cuttings and cores from well borings,
studying the lithology and faunal and floral contents of the rocks.
Women employed in this work are often micropaleontologists. Many
companies have found that women are well suited for this work not
only in routine analysis but also in research. Other positions in in
dustry for which women have been found to be well qualified are those
of petrographers, stratigraphers, and geophysicists, all of which re
quire graduate training. Women who can prove their abilities in these
specialities are sometimes sent into the field when their work requires
it. In 1946, there were two women geologists from the United States
employed by oil companies in South America, and a woman micro
paleontologist was working for an oil company in Cuba {17).
There were 25 women geologists in the United States Geological
Survey, including 2 women geologists who were assigned to work in
Japan early in 1947. Twice this number were employed by the Survey
during the war. Many of those employed were war service appointees,
who would be certified as permanent employees only if they passed the
WOMEN IN GEOLOGY
7-11
civil service examination for geologists given in 1946. The register
established from this examination was not expected to be large enough
to fill all the vacancies that existed. Under civil service regulations,
however, preference is given to veterans and to former Government
employees with civil service status.
Both the Federal and State geological surveys expect to return to
their peacetime tasks of reporting upon the geology and mineral and
water resources of the country, with renewed attention to the field
data upon which they were unable to concentrate during the war.
Undoubtedly, the preference for men in these positions will continue,
but the woman geologist who is as good as or better than a competing
male geologist will have some opportunity for employment.
Women trained in geology will find that employment is concentrated
geographically in the oil-producing areas of the South, in the District
of Columbia, and in the university centers of the East. Mobility
therefore is more important in this field than in such occupations as
teaching and nursing, which are practiced in most communities.
Industrial opportunities are most available in the oil-producing
States of Texas, California, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Kansas, and Illinois.
Before and during the war, nine-tenths of the oil produced in the
United States came from these States (1$).
Forty percent of the 197 women listed in American Women of
Geology and employed in the United States in 1946 were located in
Texas, Oklahoma, and the District of Columbia which accounts for
those employed by the Federal Government. About one-quarter of
the employed women geologists were in the North Eastern States,
many in New York and Massachusetts, where they were teaching in
women’s and coeducational colleges (17).
I hose in the North Central and Western States were widely dis
persed, a few with State geological surveys, others teaching or in
research centers, and still others employed by mining and petroleum
companies. Women geologists in the West are found largely in
California, the second largest oil-producing State in the country in
1944 (49).
Suggestions to Women Considering Geology as an Occupation
Women geologists advise only girls possessing good health and
physical stamina to enter their field. They also suggest that girls
studying geology acquire some skill in drafting, typing, and stenog
raphy, as well as the ability to use bibliographies and write wellorganized reports. Such skills plus proficiency in one or two foreign
languages such as German, French, or Spanish are recommended as
7-12
WOMEN IN GEOLOGY, GEOGRAPHY, METEOROLOGY
auxiliary tools useful as entering wedges. These, of course, are in
addition to and not a substitute for basic preparation not only in
geology but in mathematics, physics, and chemistry. Courses in bi
ology and botany are especially important for women interested in
paleontology. Although the undergraduate training of the woman
geology student should be broad rather than specialized, she would
do well to become acquainted with the content of such fields as micro
paleontology, economic geology, stratigraphy, petroleum geology
and sedimentation, before selecting a specialized field for graduate
study (19).
Further suggestions on training as well as a full discussion of geo
logical occupations, conditions of employment, and qualifications for
geologists may be found in the pamphlet prepared by the National
Foster of Scientific and Specialized Personnel, “Geology as a Profes
sion” (61). As in many of the sciences, there is a growing preference
for the geologist who has completed a 5-year rather than a 4-year col
lege course in geology (£8).
There is no list of approved schools awarding degrees in geology,
but in 1946 there were 40 institutions of higher education which
granted the doctor’s degree in geology listed in the “Directory of Col
leges and Universities Offering Graduate Degrees” compiled by the
National Foster (58). The American Geophysical Union has also
prepared a list of specialized courses in geophysics offered in colleges
and universities in the United States (3).
In 1946, over half the men and the women registered in geology with
the National Foster had only the bachelor’s degree. A larger pro
portion of the women than of the men had their master’s degree, but
at the doctorate level, there was a larger proportion of the men than
of the women. (See table 2.) One author, writing about postwar
trends in geology, stated: “Initial employment and subsequent advance
in geology will go more and more to the man with the P’h. D” (75).
This statement is doubly significant for women.
Table 2. Distribution by Highest Academic Degree Held of Geologists Registered
With the National Roster of Scientific and Specialized Personnel, 1946
Number
Percent
Highest academic degree held
Total
Men
Women
Total
Men
Women
Total ..___________________ ________ ..
6,189
5,938
251
100
100
100
Doctorate......................................... ..........................
Master’s. ___ ____________ ____ _____ _
Bachelor’s___ _________ _____
Other
1.073
1.481
3. 238
397
1,039
1,404
3, 107
388
34
77
131
9
17
24
52
7
17
24
52
7
13
31
52
4
Source: National Roster of Scientific and Specialized Personnel (59).
Occupational Summary of the Profession of the Geographer
by the National Roster of Scientific and Specialized
Personnel (68)
“The geographer studies the nature and use of areas and is trained
to interpret the distributions, interrelationships, and interactions
of physical and cultural phenomena on the earth’s surface. He is
concerned, for example, not only with the nature of the land surface,
vegetation, climate, mineral resources, soils, and water supplies, but
also with the people and the ways in which they live together and
utilize land and other resources. Geography, therefore, is considered
both a physical and a social science.”
■ HI %
Figure 3.—Prof. Ellen Churchill
Semple (1863-1932) in her office
at Clark University. She was the
first woman to receive the Cullom
Gold Medal of the American
Geographical Society for her
pioneer services in the field of
anthropo-geography.
Courtesy Dr. Helen Strong
7-13
772330°—48-
4
THE OUTLOOK FOR WOMEN IN GEOGRAPHY
The modern concept of geography as a physical and a social science
has evolved through many centuries. Over the years, the emphasis
in research and in instruction in geography has shifted a number of
times. In the middle of the last century, for example, geography
was usually closely allied to history, but later, emphasis was placed
upon physiography, which deals with the form, structure, and dis
tribution of land surface features.
During the past 40 years, however, recognition of the dual role of
geography has led to research which analyzes the relation between
the natural environment and such human activities as national and
international politics; commerce and manufacturing; crop and animal
agriculture; mining; and naval, air, and land warfare. This is re
flected in such specializations as: political geography, economic geog
raphy, military geography, historical geography, or social geography.
Another type of specialization is that of regional geography in which
the relationship of human activities to the natural or physical environ
ment of land form, soil, climate, water resources, mineral resources,
area or size, location, vegetation, and coast line of a given region is
studied.
In 1946, there were about 800 professional geographers in the United
States, about 140 or 17 percent of whom were women, according to a
study made by a subcommittee of the Division of Geology and Geog
raphy of the National Research Council (35).
Prewar Distribution
Before the war, most professional geographers in the United States
were teaching in colleges and universities. The total number was
then estimated at 500, although some authorities consider this estimate
too low (26). A small number were engaged in research or were
doing cartographic work (map making) in the Federal Government
or in research institutions like the American Geographical Society
and the National Geographic Society (29). A few held research
and writing positions in firms publishing geography textbooks and
journals, and a few others were working as map librarians in govern
ment and college libraries. Recognition was very limited in industry,
7-14
••
•
,:J.J
WOMEN IN GEOGRAPHY
7-15
where only a few persons trained both in geography and economics
were employed by firms engaged in foreign trade.
Outside the colleges and universities, instruction in geography was
given little attention. In the elementary schools, teachers with little
or no training in the subject matter were teaching geography, usually
with little comprehension of its broad outlook (33). Only a few
high schools in the larger cities offered instruction in geography, and
this was sometimes limited to physiography or given as part of the
social science curriculum. Even the colleges offered little, for courses
in geography were often confined to those given in departments of
earth science or geology. In 1943^4, only 15 institutions of higher
education offered the Ph. D. in geography (23). This limited instruc
tion at the college level not only diminished the number of teaching
positions open to geographers but made it necessary for many of them
to teach other subjects, such as geology or economics. Nevertheless,
college teaching was the major outlet for professional geographers.
In 1940, 88 percent of the 131 persons who had received a Ph. D. in
geography in the previous decade were teaching or combining teaching
with research or administrative functions in institutions of higher
education (23). Women geographers secured positions in teacher
training institutions and women’s colleges with greater ease than in the
universities, where men were usually preferred. More than a third of
the geography instructors in teachers’ colleges were women, about
twice the proportion that women formed of all geographers. Women
teaching cartography were even more unusual, since few courses were
offered in the subject, and they were usually given in schools of engi
neering rather than in liberal arts colleges (10).
Annual Addition to the Supply
The number of professional geographers produced by the colleges
and universities at the beginning of the war was very small. About
1,000 undergraduate students were enrolled as geography majors in
1942 (the first year for which figures are available), more than half
of whom were women. Approximately 140 students were enrolled
in graduate courses in geography (60). From 1936 through 1940
an average of only about 14 persons annually secured the Ph. D. in
geography, among whom seldom more than one was a woman (4-7) .
Wartime Changes
Warfare on an international scale requiring detailed knowledge of
the physical, economic, social, and political characteristics of many
foreign countries brought new responsibilities and new opportunities
7-16
WOMEN IN GEOLOGY, GEOGRAPHY, METEOROLOGY
to geographers. During the war, more than 200 professional geog
raphers were called to Washington by the Federal Government for
research studies covering such diversified projects as the analysis of
munitions industries in enemy countries; the problems arising in the
wartime control of our own economy; and the compilation of topo
graphical data of foreign and domestic areas for purposes of military
strategy.
Many of the positions to which women were appointed were directly
related to military planning. In the Office of the Quartermaster Gen
eral of the War Department, for example, women trained in physical
geography were doing research on the different topographical, cli
matological, and soil conditions to be met in foreign terrain, to develop
data useful in planning the clothing, food supplies, and packaging
for the military forces in the different theaters of war. In the Foreign
Economic Administration, women economic geographers compiled in
formation on the supply lines of food and military equipment for
Army landings, studied the fishing industry of Japan, determined
areas of the world where additional supplies of durable goods could
be produced and exported, and surveyed relief and rehabilitation
requirements in liberated areas. The Office of Strategic Services also
employed women geographers for research needed in the planning
of military strategy, and others for work in photogrammetry (the
making of maps from aerial photographs).
The wartime expansion of peacetime government agencies also
created opportunity for women geographers. Before the war, the
United States Board on Geographical Names in the United States
Department of Interior had employed only 1 person trained in geog
raphy, but in 1944, there were 18 women of this type employed there,
compr ising one-third of the professional staff. Other Federal agencies
which employed women geographers during the war were the State
Department, the War Department, the National Archives, the Library
of Congress, the Weather Bureau, and the United States Forest Serv
ice in the Department of Agriculture. A few women economic geog
raphers were also employed on economic analysis in such wartime
agencies as the Office of Price Administration and the War Production
Board (IJ).
In 1943, the Federal Civil Service Commission reported that while
the need for geographers in general was not critical, as it was in many
other fields, the demand substantially exceeded the supply in cartogra
phy. Women who were specialists in this field were urged to apply for
civil service positions. Actually, however, the number of women em
ployed as professional cartographers in the Federal Government was
very small. There were only 2 women employed as cartographic
engineers at the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey and a few
WOMEN IN GEOGRAPHY
7-17
at the United States Geological Survey as cartographers and photogrammetric engineers. The Tennessee Valley Authority also em
ployed 10 women as photogrammetrists. At the subprofessional level,
however, there were hundreds of women employed as topographical
draftsmen and engineering aids engaged in the compilation of maps
for military and civilian use. (See Bull. 223—5, section on drafting.)
During the war, women trained in geography were also recruited
by the military forces for cartographic work. The Navy offered spe
cial training in cartography to WAVE officers, and although women
with college majors in geology or geography were preferred for this
work, those with a background in science, art, or architecture were also
used as chart revisers, draftsmen, and cartographers. The work of
some of the women employed in the Navy Department’s Hydrographic
Office varied from the revision and compilation of hydrographic charts
to the selection and editing of information and material for naval air
publications and charts. One WAVE officer, for example, with an
M. A. in geography and previous experience in geography teaching,
research, and editorial work, was doing work as a research analyst in
air navigation and was analyzing and selecting information and mate
rial for Navy air publications and charts. Another WAVE officer
with an M. A. in geography was the assistant officer in charge of the
map desk at the Hydrographic Office, where she aided in the selection,
evaluation, procurement, and distribution of maps and material for
the Navy, the Marine Corps, and the Coast Guard. Before the war,
she had had several years’ experience in teaching geography. A
few other WAVE officers were given a 10-week course at the Naval
School of Photographic Interpretation and were doing naval intelli
gence work in aerial photo-interpretation.
Geographers were also sought to teach new courses in geography
included in the Army Specialized Training Program (,)i), to organize
Engineering, Science, and Management War Training courses in
photogrammetry and topographic drafting, and to instruct pros
pective weather officers (H) . The critical need for new maps of mili
tary areas for specialized purposes created an urgent demand for those
with even a minimum of training in geography, especially in carto
graphy, for service in Federal agencies and the armed forces.
However, teaching remained the major outlet for professional geog
raphers. In December 1942, there were 488 full-time faculty mem
bers teaching geography in colleges and universities, about one-third
of whom were women, according to a report of the National Roster of
Scientific and Specialized Personnel (60). Public interest in geog
raphy increased as American service men and women were sent to tiny
islands in the Pacific, to Asia and to Africa, and their families followed
battles in far-away parts of the world. To meet the demand, although
7-18
WOMEN IN GEOLOGY, GEOGRAPHY, METEOROLOGY
confronted with a shortage of geography instructors, many colleges
and universities offered new courses in geography. Such institutions
as Northwestern University and the universities of Indiana, Illinois,
and Iowa were among those which expanded their programs and estab
lished separate departments of geography. At Syracuse University
and Washington (St. Louis) University, geography, which formerly
had been combined with geology in a single department, was made
into a separate department. In many other universities, geographers
were appointed on a full-time continuing basis, apparently for the
first time (13). The increased demand for geographers to teach
in colleges and universities, coupled with the diversion of young men
into the military services and of older geographers into government
war work, made opportunities for women in geography especially
favorable.
Outside of the Federal Government and teaching, however, there
was little opportunity for women cartographers or geographers.
Although the popularization of war maps in newspapers and maga
zines and the need for geographic research by journalists writing war
stories created a few positions for geographers, the paper shortage
limited expansion in this direction. The publication of maps, geog
raphy textbooks, and journals was also curtailed, and war priorities
prevented the expansion of activities by private research institutes
(76).
Although opportunities for geographers increased during the war,
the number of civilian students preparing for this field by majoring
in geography in colleges and universities dropped sharply. In 1941,
less than 225 undergraduate students were majoring in geography
as compared with 1,057 in 1942. Although the proportion of women
increased from about 55 percent to 70 percent, the number of women
declined. At the graduate level, where professional geographers are
produced, the number of students also decreased from a total of 143
in 1942 to only 18 in 1944, and the number of women declined from
64 to 12 (60) (67). Consequently, the number of Ph. D.’s awarded
in geography also decreased; in 1945 only 7 such degrees were re
ported, about half the number that was customary before the war (#7).
The decrease in the number of regular college students majoring in
geography was accompanied by an enormous increase in specialized,
applied wartime courses in the field of cartography. Under the Engi
neering, Science, and Management War Training program, courses in
topographic drafting, photogrammetry, cartography, military map
making, and aerial photo map making were offered in colleges and
universities in many parts of the country (69). The proportion of
women taking courses in cartography and topographic drafting was
greater than that of men, and by 1944, thousands of women had be
WOMEN IN GEOGRAPHY
7-19
come trained in cartographic drafting. (See Bull. 223-5, section on
drafting.) But in photogrammetry, which required some mathe
matics as a prerequisite, women were only about a fourth of the
student body (76).
Earnings and Advancement
The earnings of college teachers vary with the income and type of
institution in which the teacher is employed, as well as with the
rank ajnd qualifications of the individual. Before the war, themedian salaries of professors in different types of publicly controlled
institutions ranged from $2,900 to $5,000; and in privately con
trolled institutions, from $1,800 to $5,000. However, associate and
assistant professors, instructors, and lecturers, who form the ma
jority of college faculties, received less ( 70). In 1917, these salaries
were undoubtedly1 higher, but there were no adequate statistics
available to indicate what increases had taken place.
Hie entrance salary for geographers in the Federal Government in
1947 was $2,644 a year, as compared with $2,000 a year before the war.
Persons doing subprofessional work in cartography as draftsmen or
engineering aids in 1947 began at $1,954 or $2,168 a year; before the
war the same positions paid $1,440 or $1,620 a year.
Advancement for women in geography, as in many of the other
sciences in which college teaching plays a predominant role and in
which there is a high degree of graduate specialization, depends to a
great extent on their opportunity for advanced training. A bachelor’s
degree is usually insufficient for the attainment of full professional
status. Ihe doctorate is a virtual necessity for advancement in
college teaching.
Women geography instructors have better opportunities for ad
vancement in women’s colleges and in teachers’ colleges than they have
m some of the larger universities, where men are ordinarily given pref
erence. Nevertheless, women have held assistant professorships in
a few of the large universities with outstanding departments of
geography, and one woman now is associate professor of geography
in a leading university.
In the field of research and editing, women of ability have found
few handicaps in achieving advancement. The editorial staffs of two
of the major journals in the field of geography are composed primarily
of women, and the editor of one is an outstanding woman geographer.
Women trained in geography are also employed by such publishers
as the National Geographic Society, the American Geographical
Society, and the Encyclopedia Britannica.
7-20
WOMEN IN GEOLOGY, GEOGRAPHY, METEOROLOGY
In the Federal Government, a few women have advanced to posi
tions of responsibility. A woman, recently retired, was Chief of the
Compilation Office of the United States Forest Service. One of the
foremost women geographers in the country, who was formerly geog
rapher for the United States Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Com
merce and who did geographic research in the Military Intelligence
Division of the War Department and the Foreign Economic Admin
istration during the war, is now employed in the War Department as
a civilian research geographer.
A very few women with some professional training in geography
have started in as cartographic or topographic draftsmen in the
United States Geological Survey and have later advanced to profes
sional positions as cartographers or map editors.
Organizations
Women are to be found in varying proportions in each of the pro
fessional societies of geographers. In the Association of American
Geographers, in which membership is limited to persons who have
done original research work beyond the doctorate in some branch of
geography, there were 10 women in 1946, less than 4 percent of the 261
members. Of these 10 outstanding women in geography, 5 were en
gaged in college teaching, 4 were employed by the Federal Government,
and 1 was engaged in editorial work. (For requirements for member
ship, see p. 7-42.)
In 1946, the American Society for Professional Geographers had
about 600 members, almost one-third of whom were women (8). This
relatively new organization, which includes college and high school
teachers, government and private business employees, and graduate
students, has grown rapidly from a membership of 300 in 1945 to
almost 800 in 1947. (For requirements for membership, see p. 7—43.)
The proportion women form of the total membership in this asso
ciation, while much higher than that in other scientific organizations,
was less than that in the National Council of Geography Teachers.
There in 1946, 60 percent of the approximately 1,000 members were
women. Some of these women taught geography in teachers’ colleges,
and about 8 percent were secondary school teachers, but the majority
were elementary school teachers who taught geography in addition
to other subjects. (For requirements for membership, see p. 7-43.)
Women trained in geography who have become librarians, some of
them specializing as map librarians, are also members of the Geogra
phy and Map Group of the Special Libraries Association, which in
1947 had 184 members, mainly in Washington, D. C., and New York
City.
WOMEN IN GEOGRAPHY
7-21
The Outlook
The interest developed in geography during World War II, the
continuation of Government and private mapping programs, and the
recognition of the value of geographical knowledge in international
relations and economic planning are given by authorities in this field as
reasons for expecting that the demand for persons professionally
trained in geography and cartography will continue to be greater than
it was before the war. The expansion in many specialized fields of
geography combined with the fact that few persons secured pro
fessional training in geography during the war have increased the
opportunities for women geographers, especially for those with a
master’s or doctor’s degree.
The increased number of geography courses and the growth of
departments of geography have already increased the demand for
geography teachers in colleges and universities (16) (32). Geography
courses introduced for the first time into many colleges through the
Army Specialized Training Program have been continued, to satisfy
the interest of veteran and civilian students. In 1946, two-thirds
of the 149 women members of the American Society for Professional
Geographers whose employment was known were teaching—42 per
cent were teaching in colleges and universities and an additional 26
percent were engaged in other types of teaching (A). (See table 3.)
However, the decided preference for men teachers in most coedu
cational universities coupled with the return of veterans to faculty
staffs have made it difficult for women geographers to secure teach
ing appointments in such institutions, unless they offer definite su
periority in ability and training. Women’s colleges and teacher
training institutions offer somewhat better opportunities.
Table 3. Type of Employment of 149 Women Members of the American Society for
Professional Geographers Reporting Employment, November 1946
Type of employment
Number
Percent
Total___... _________ _____ _______ ______ _
Educational institutions___ ____ ________ ___________
High schools_ ____________
.
Junior high schools__________ ______ _
Elementary schools _______ ___
_.
_____
Federal Government __________________________
__
Research institutions____________________
Publishing institutions and independent writing________
Graduate work___ _____
9
33
7
4
3
6
3
Source: American Society for Professional Geographers (8).
This fact is borne out by a count made in 1947 of women geography
instructors listed in 330 college catalogs, comprising a sample of all
7-22
WOMEN IN GEOLOGY, GEOGRAPHY, METEOROLOGY
types of institutions of higher education selected on the basis of enroll
ments by the United States Office of Education. Of the 31 women who
were listed as instructing in geography only, almost 60 percent were
in teachers’ colleges and normal schools. Another 22 women, how
ever, were teaching both geography and geology, or geography and
one of the social sciences, mostly in universities and colleges of liberal
arts and science. If these schools are representative of all institutions
of higher education, there were about 115 women teaching geography
in colleges and universities and about 125 who combined instruction
in geography with the teaching of geology or one of the social sciences.
The growing criticism of the inadequacy of geography teaching in
elementary schools is expected to result in the introduction of more
courses in the science of geography in teachers’ colleges, creating more
opportunities for men and women geography instructors. The in
creased recognition of the value of geography in the understanding
of foreign peoples has also resulted in the reinstatement of geography
in many high schools, usually as an elective subject, for which the
demand has been growing. In some places, North Dakota for
example, it has become a required subject; all ninth grade students in
that State must complete a course in world geography. Men and
women trained in geography are being sought for such teaching.
However, the geography teacher in secondary schools must also be
prepared to teach other subjects in the social studies curriculum,
usually history, economics, and civics.
Instruction in the specialized branch of cartography has also ad
vanced rapidly, with scores of universities continuing to offer courses
as compared with only a few before the war. Encouragement is
olfered through the distribution of surplus maps by the Army Map
Service to 190 libraries designated by the Library of Congress. A
somewhat smaller distribution is also being made by the Navy, Army
Air Forces, and the Department of State (38). These extensive map
collections in turn create opportunities for a few additional women
geographers to serve as map librarians in colleges, universities, and
research institutions.
Although opportunities for research in the Federal Government
were reduced after the war, in 1946 approximately a fourth of the
employed women members of the American Society for Professional
Geographers were working for the Government. They were em
ployed in such agencies as the Department of Agriculture, the Com
merce Department, the United States Board on Geographical Names,
the State Department, and the War and Navy Departments (<§).
The State Department in 1946 probably employed the largest num
ber of women geographers, many of whom were transferred to its Map
Division from the wartime Office of Strategic Services. The produc
WOMEN IN GEOGRAPHY
7-23
tion of maps by the United States Government continued at a high
level after the war, and the demand for professional cartographers was
still large (38). In agencies like the Army Map Service, the United
States Geological Survey, and the United States Coast and Geodetic
Survey, which continued their mapping programs as peacetime func
tions, qualified women who had served as cartographers during the
war were retained. Other agencies, like the Tennessee Valley Au
thority, reduced their geographic and cartographic personnel. In
1947, the United States Civil Service Commission was contemplating
announcing an examination for cartographers.
Although limited in the number of positions available, geographical
research, writing, and editing have proved to be favorable fields for
women geographers in the past and are expected to offer even greater
opportunity in the future. In 1946,8 percent of the employed women
members of the American Society for Professional Geographers were
engaged in such work (5). Private research institutes, now free of
wartime restraints, are planning extended research programs. The
revision of geography textbooks and school maps, made necessary by
changes resulting from World War II, is also expected to increase the
demand for editorial assistants and cartographers.
Other areas of research for women trained in geography may be
developed in private industry. Women with writing ability may find
opportunity with travel agencies and travel magazines, preparing
popular leaflets or popular articles. There they may also engage in
research or answer correspondence from tourists inquiring about the
weather, the customs, the travel facilities, or other characteristics of
the various localities they wish to visit. The growing recognition
given to the science of geography is expected to create opportun
ities with air lines, oil companies, trade associations, exporting and
importing firms, and investment houses (£1). For most of this work,
especially that involving travel, men are usually preferred. However,
women with imagination and initiative who have combined their train
ing in geography with courses in economics, statistics, political science,
or business administration -will be best equipped to compete success
fully for these opportunities.
But a large proportion of women trained in geography will continue
to find opportunities in college teaching, where an advanced degree is
usually required for appointment and is necessary for advancement.
The importance of graduate training in geography was revealed in
1946 by a census of 793 professional geographers conducted by a sub
committee of the Committee on Geographical Research of the Division
of Geology and Geography of the National Research Council. Of the
136 women geographers included in this count, almost three-fourths
held either the master’s or the doctor’s degree (35). But according
7-24
WOMEN IN GEOLOGY, GEOGRAPHY, METEOROLOGY
to the 1946 data of the National Roster of Scientific and Specialized
Personnel, the proportion of the men geographers who had doctor’s
degrees was more than twice that of the women (59).
Graduate study is needed for the specialization which has become
so important in geography. In 1946, economic geography and physi
cal geography were listed more frequently as major interests by
women geographers than was any other specialized field. However,
there are women geographers in each of the specialties (<§). (See table
4.) In human geography, for example, outstanding studies on prob
lems of land settlement and on geographical problems arising from
the repatriation of refugees have been made by women geographers
(4-4)- The contributions of geographers in the newer fields are receiv
ing greater appreciation, and more women may specialize in them in
the future.
Table 4. Major Interests in Geography of 110 Women Members of the American
Society for Professional Geographers, November 1946 1
Field of major interest
Number of
times listed
Percent of
total listings
Total.........................
216
100
Systematic geography..
Physical geography. _
Human geography..
Economic geography
Political geography. .
Cartography_______
168
57
18
57
5
74
27
Regional geography .
Geography education
21
8
27
2
10
42
16
i Based upon the major interests listed by 110 women members of the Society, many of whom listed
more than 1.
Source: American Society for Professional Geographers (8).
The college woman who plans to do graduate work in geography
would do well to take undergraduate courses in geology, meteorology,
cartography, economics, statistics, and political science, in addition to
courses in physical and economic geography, as well as several courses
in regional geography (76).
For those specializing in economic, human, or physical geography,
field work is a necessity, since the basic facts can be secured only from
direct observations of the industry, people, or topography being
studied. The professional geographer is also expected to master one
or two foreign languages.
Women interested in specializing in cartography need back
ground in mathematics and civil engineering as well as courses in
photogrammetry, which because of the costly stereoscopic equipment
required are so far available in only a few technical institutes and
universities.
WOMEN IN GEOGRAPHY
7-25
Before planning to take graduate work the young college woman
should seek the assistance of a professional geographer in the selection
of a particular university, since opportunities for study and speciali
zation vary, and only a few schools are outstanding in this field. In
1946, there were at least 24 colleges and universities that had granted
or were planning to grant the doctorate in geography, according to a
study published in the Annals of the Association of American
Geographers (21). (For list of colleges and universities granting the
Ph. D. in geography, see p. 7-44.)
Women with sound professional training and specialization in
geography should find increasing opportunities in this small but
growing field.
WOMEN IN GEOLOGY, GEOGRAPHY, METEOROLOGY
7-26
............... r "
Meteorological aid releas
ing a pilot balloon to make
observations of winds aloft.
Meteorological aid coding
message of winds aloft for
teletype communication.
Meteorologist analyzing
charts to prepare material
for forecasters in training.
.
•■
Courtesy U, $. Weather Bureau
Figure 4.
Meteorologist as Defined by the National Roster of Scientific and
Specialized Personnel (66)
“A meteorologist makes use of a knowledge of physics, mathematics,
and meteorology in interpreting weather data obtained with various
instruments such as the barometer, thermometer, hygrometer, ane
mometer, and radiosonde to determine the causes which bring about
such atmospheric conditions as rain, fog, or snow. On the basis of
his findings, he makes forecasts of weather for short or long periods.
These forecasts are of great importance to farmers in planting and
harvesting; shipping and insurance companies; towns; business and
commercial firms; construction engineers on winter jobs; air transport
companies; military and naval operations; and the public generally.
The meteorologist may specialize in: Daily weather forecasting;
synoptic meteorology; meteorological instruments and measure
ments; physical and dynamic meteorology; long range weather fore
casting; or climatology.”
Weather Observer as Defined in the Dictionary of Occupational
Titles (56)
“Weather Observer; cooperative observer; observer (profess, and
kin.) 0-66.88. Observes and records weather conditions for use in
forecasting trends and changes in weather; observes local weather
conditions in terms of general visibility, temperature, and amount and
time of precipitation; takes readings of various instruments which
record meteorological data, such as atmospheric pressure, humidity
and barometric changes; calculates wind direction and velocity with
instruments sometimes releasing a balloon to obtain readings at various
altitudes; converts these observations into usable form, employing
mathematical scales and tables, and records them with data from other
observation posts on weather maps, using standard meteorological
symbols.”
7-27
THE OUTLOOK FOR WOMEN IN METEOROLOGY
Through their weather forecasts and climatic studies, meteorolo
gists in the United States guard the health and welfare of the people.
Many groups, especially those engaged in farming, forestry, floodcontrol, aviation, and national defense, are often completely depend
ent upon the weather reporting services of the United States Weather
Bureau and of other agencies, not only for their livelihood, but some
times for their very lives. Although there probably were never more
than 150 to 200 professional women meteorologists in the United
States even during the war, their work in that period demonstrated
their ability in this important field.
Prewar Distribution
Before the war, there were approximately 1,000 meteorologists in
the United States (65). However, only about 400 were considered to
have had full professional training, among them about a dozen women
(7) (36). Most meteorologists were working for the United States
Weather Bureau; others were teaching in colleges and universities or
were forecasting flight conditions for airlines. A few were employed
by private forecasting agencies which serviced particular or special
ized needs in industry or agriculture, and a few were working inde
pendently as weather consultants.
With the development of aviation and the increasing demand for
weather reporting services, the United States Weather Bureau ex
panded rapidly in the decade before the war. In 1939, nearly COO
meteorologists were working in the hundreds of weather stations
maintained by the Weather Bureau (65). In the Washington, D. C.,
office, 4 or 5 women were doing scientific or technical work, but only 1
or 2 of these were trained in meteorology. There were some women
among the many hundreds of subprofessional workers also employed
by the Weather Bureau as meteorological aids and meteorological
observers in weather stations located in all parts of the United States
and in Alaska. In addition to these paid employees more than 5,000
men and women acted as volunteer amateur weather observers for
the Weather Bureau, aiding in the daily recording of temperature,
rainfall, prevailing winds, and other weather phenomena (73). With
the assistance of these subprofessional meteorological aids and ama7-28
WOMEN IN METEOROLOGY
7-29
teur weather reporters, stationed in all parts of the country, meteorolo
gists in the United States Weather Bureau, in addition to their
general weather reporting and forecasting services, were able to
render such special services as issuing warnings of impending fruitfrost, hurricanes, or floods and aiding in the prevention of
forest fires and crop destruction (51). The Bureau of Agricultural
Economics and the Soil Conservation Service of the Department of
Agriculture and the Bureau of Standards in the Department of
Commerce also employed some meteorologists who were engaged in
climatological or instrument research.
Just before the war, about 100 meteorologists were teaching in
colleges and universities, usually in geology, geography, or physics
departments, rather than in separate departments of meteorology
(65). Only a few schools, like the Massachusetts Institute of Tech
nology, the California Institute of Technology, New York University,
the University of Chicago, and the University of California at Los
Angeles, offered an extensive curriculum in meteorology (50). It is
likely that most of the dozen women meteorologists doing professional
work before the war were teaching in colleges and universities (36).
Only one woman meteorologist was employed by the airlines, where
about 125 meteorologists were responsible for interpreting weather
data and forecasting flight conditions for certain air routes (65).
Annual Addition to the Supply
Because of the limited number of meteorological jobs available be
fore the war, only about 75 bachelor’s degrees and one or two doctor’s
degrees were awarded annually in meteorology (31) (20). Five in
stitutions of higher education offered advanced training toward a
master’s degree in meteorology for students with a strong under
graduate major in mathematics or physics (1). Very few women
were actively interested in the science of meteorology, and because
they were so scarce, they were sometimes handicapped by their con
spicuousness (36).
Wartime Changes
During the war, weather data became highly strategic military in
formation. A week after Pearl Harbor, radio stations ceased broad
casting daily weather reports, and only in the advent of storm was there
any mention of weather over the air (72). However, the demand for
meteorological data for use by the military forces, the Federal Gov
ernment, and certain war industries increased so tremendously
that thousands of persons with any training at all in meteorology were
required almost immediately. This also increased the demand in
7-30
WOMEN IN GEOLOGY, GEOGRAPHY, METEOROLOGY
colleges and universities where professional meteorologists were
needed to train others.
Instructors in meteorology had to be drawn from the existing sup
ply, so that many of the highly trained meteorologists temporarily
abandoned their research activities in the universities or their usual
positions in the Federal Government to train weather officers and
meteorologists for the Army, the Navy, and the United States Weather
Bureau (7^). By December 1942, the number of full-time faculty
members teaching meteorology had more than doubled, according to
a survey of the National Roster of Scientific and Specialized Person
nel, which reported 324 instructors including 28 women, almost 9
percent of the total (60).
Meanwhile, other well-trained meteorologists remained at the
United States Weather Bureau to guide its wartime reorganization
and increased activities. The Bureau issued new and enlarged fore
cast services and studies, assisted in the coordination and consolidation
of civilian and military weather stations, organized a central weather
analysis unit in Washington, and encouraged the development of
meteorological facilities in neighboring countries. In order to
furnish these increased services and to replace staff members leaving
for civilian training programs or military service, the Weather Bureau
hired meteorologists not eligible for military service and newly trained
women graduates (52). During the war the Weather Bureau em
ployed over 800 meteorologists, including about 20 women who were
hired at the beginning professional level, for work in the analysis
center (concerned with the drawing and interpretation of weather
maps) and in the hydrometeorological section of the central office in
Washington (concerned with the analysis of rainfall data) (65).
None of these women was engaged in weather forecasting, since they
lacked the experience required for such responsible work. At the sub
professional level, hundreds of women were hired and trained, until
altogether about 1,500 women were employed as meteorological aids
and meteorological observers, in some 500 Weather Bureau stations
in the United States and Alaska. They took hourly readings from
instruments and recorded temperature, humidity, wind speed, and
direction for Weather Bureau reports in code. Although routine in
nature, their work required good judgment and ability to make ob
servations of the visible elements. It also involved around-the-clock
reporting, because the Weather Bureau must maintain service 24 hours
a day, and women meteorological aids and observers, like the men,
rotated on all 3 shifts, in all kinds of inclement weather. Their work
enabled the Weather Bureau to maintain its services without loss of
efficiency during the crucial years of the war.
WOMEN IN METEOROLOGY
7-31
At the same time, meteorologists in the Army Air Forces and the
Navy were issuing weather forecasts for specific military operations
and were preparing special reports for theater commanders to aid in the
planning of air routes, bombing programs, convoy-protection systems
and in the selection of seasons suitable for attack and invasion (Jfi).
Some of the women in the armed forces also were assigned to profes
sional and subprofessional work in meteorology. About 10 percent
of the Navy forecasters were WAVE officers stationed at air stations
and in weather centrals (65). Women serving as aerology officers
(weather officers) prepared forecasts and climatic reports for air and
naval operations; briefed pilots on weather conditions; abstracted
and prepared aerological publications; and assisted in the preparation
of analyses for battles and campaigns from a weather standpoint. A
few became specialized in certain fields. For example, one woman who
had been teaching for 9 years before her appointment as an assistant
aerology officer specialized in the analysis of current weather maps
for the land and ocean areas of the Pacific, for use by naval units.
Another woman who had been teaching mathematics for many years
became an instructor in the Naval School for Aerographers’ Mates and
was later assigned to special research in meteorological communication.
Enlisted Waves also formed about 10 percent of those engaged in
subprofessional naval meteorological duty, as aerographers’ mates.
These enlisted Waves made weather observations, computed pilot
balloon soundings, and plotted weather charts in naval meteorological
offices ashore (65). Similarly, in the Army Air Forces, Wacs who
had qualified for training in premeteorology or advanced meteor
ology served as weather observers, meteorological plotters, and
meteorologists.
Despite severe restrictions during the war, air-line traffic, mail, and
other cargoes handled by the commercial air lines increased. The
number of persons employed in air-line operations more than
doubled (53). By 1945, several hundred meteorologists were working
for the domestic and international air lines, among them, for the first
time, some women (5Ji). Most of these women had 2 to 4 years of
college work supplemented by 3 to 6 months’ intensive training before
they were assigned to work in meteorology departments. Some ulti
mately advanced to positions as junior meteorologists (22).
Interest in private forecasting services increased during the war, and
many industries indicated that they would purchase such services.
But military demands had priority, and very few meteorologists re
mained in private practice during the war.
The need for more training facilities in meteorology had become
apparent even before the outbreak of the war. The regular 4- and 5-
7-32
WOMEN IN GEOLOGY, GEOGRAPHY, METEOROLOGY
year college programs could not train all the thousands of meteor
ologists needed for national defense and expanding military services.
Although by 1942 undergraduate and graduate students numbered
about 2,000, including about 60 women majoring in meteorology, their
number was far too small for growing needs (60). The Federal Gov
ernment, therefore, established several accelerated training programs.
It first expanded the facilities of the program originally begun in 1939
by the United States Weather Bureau in cooperation with the Civil
Aeronautics Administration to train men and women with a civilian
pilot’s license and with a background in physics and mathematics.
Under this program, the Federal Government paid the tuition and
subsistence of the students who qualified for a special 9-month ad
vanced training course which was given at the five universities listed
earlier as offering intensive training in meteorology. There were
about 10 or 12 women with pilot’s licenses who were among the civilian
pilots who completed this course and later used their training in
civilian and military units.
In 1942, the United States Weather Bureau initiated another course
at the same universities, this one to train civilians in meteorology for
employment in its central and field offices which were being expanded
to serve wartime needs. Qualifications for this 8-month course in
cluded 1 year of college physics and mathematics through calculus.
As college students with training in physics and mathematics be
came scarce in relation to the industrial and government demands,
the Weather Bureau engaged in an active recruiting campaign to
secure students. First it used the normal channels of the colleges
and universities; later the radio and widely distributed pamphlets;
and finally, a woman meteorologist was sent all over the country as a
recruiting agent. Among the students who completed this advanced
training course were 31 college women.
At the subprofessional level hundreds of women received in-service
training after accepting positions as meteorological aids and meteor
ological observers in Weather Bureau stations.
The same facilities which the Weather Bureau and the Civil Aero
nautics Administration used for the training of civilians were utilized
cooperatively by the Army Air Forces (30) and the Navy to train
some 6,000 military weather officers in meteorology, known in the Navy
as aerology. Women serving as WAVE officers were trained for such
work in a 9-month graduate course in aerology, given at Massa
chusetts Institute of Technology, the University of California at Los
Angeles, and the University of Chicago. Most of the 113 women
who served as aerology officers were college graduates with a major
in mathematics, or in mathematics and physics. Only a few had
WOMEN IN METEOROLOGY
7-33
already taken training in meteorology, and these were placed at naval
air stations without having to take the 9-month course. Although
most of the women were under 35 years of age, and many entered
the service directly from college, there were a few in their forties, some
with considerable teaching experience in mathematics or science.
In other training programs on a less advanced level, some 15,000
Army and Navy enlisted personnel were trained as weather observers
during the course of the war {65). In the WAVES, high-school
graduates were prepared at the Naval Air Station in Lakehurst, N. J.,
for work as aerographers’ mates; and the Army similarly trained
Wacs to serve as meteorological plotters and weather observers.
Because the military training programs drained off almost all the
instructors as well as the potential students of meteorology, by 1914
only 48 civilian students, including 17 women, remained in the regular
academic college courses in meteorology {67).
Earnings and Advancement
The extraordinary wartime demand increased the earnings of
meteorologists in all types of employment. Meteorologists serving
as college instructors before the war usually earned from $1,200 to
$1,800 a year {64). But in 1947, the earnings of college instructors
were more likely to begin at $2,000 a year (57). During the war, the
airlines usually started junior meteorologists at about $1,440 a year
($120 a month) and meteorologists at about $1,800 a year ($150 a
month) {22). In 1946, however, junior meteorologists with airlines
usually received from about $1,800 to $2,400 a year ($150 to $200
a month); meteorologists were paid from $2,400 to $3,600 a year ($200
to $300 a month) (55).
The Federal Government paid junior meteorologists $2,000' a year
in 1940, and $2,644 in 1947. Before the war, weather observers were
usually hired at $1,440 a year, but in 1947 their initial salary was
$2,168 a year, and after a 6-month training period, they were able
to earn $2,394 a year. Weather Bureau employees usually receive
more than the basic salary indicated in these rates, since they work on
rotating shifts and receive additional pay for work at night.
Women meteorologists have gained little advancement at the United
States Weather Bureau. Of those employed during the war, only a
few have been advanced more than one professional grade, and further
progress will be slow. Because of the tension and strain under which
forecasters work during a period of storm or other bad weather, and
because of the long years of training and experience required by the
Weather Bureau, it is unlikely that the Bureau will employ women as
forecasters in the years to come. In the past, subprofessional em
7-34
WOMEN IN GEOLOGY, GEOGRAPHY, METEOROLOGY
ployees at the Weather Bureau have sometimes been able to rise to a
professional rank. This advancement has usually resulted after about
10 years of work and in-service training, since instruction at edu
cational institutions has not been generally available. However, the
present interest in the science and the greater range of courses now
offered in meteorology at universities will tend to increase the educa
tional qualifications for advancement.
Advanced professional training is becoming a prerequisite to ad
vancement in meteorology, not only on college faculties but in the
Weather Bureau and elsewhere. Although in 1946 almost a third of the
1,100 persons registered in meteorology with the National Roster of
Scientific and Specialized Personnel had no college degree, the trend
is toward requiring higher standards of professional training for
meteorologists. It is likely that the proportion of those with the
bachelor’s degree, now only one-half, and the proportion of those with
graduate degrees, now only one-fifth, will increase in the future {59).
Women meteorologists who plan to teach in colleges and universities
will find graduate training necessary in seeking advancement. (See
p. 7-44 for list of colleges and universities offering graduate training
in meteorology.)
Organizations
The interest in meteorology developed in World War I led to the
creation of the American Meteorological Society in 1919 (9). By
1940, its members totaled over 1,400 {11) ; by 1947, they numbered
approximately 2,800. Only about 1 percent, or 28, of the members
were women, most of whom were engaged in teaching or research. In
the last few years, a special classification has been established for pro
fessional members. (For requirements for membership, see p. 7-43.)
In addition to its desire to advance the profession of meteorology, the
Society wishes to establish a policy in cooperation with Government
authorities to permit airline and other meteorologists to serve trans
portation, industry, and agriculture effectively, in a fashion designed to
supplement rather than to compete with existing Government
agencies {Ifi).
A Meteorology Section is also included in the American Geophysical
Union, created by the National Research Council in 1919. In 1943,
753 men and women were members of this Section, more than a third
of the entire membership of the Union at that time (.If). In 1947,
the total membership of the Union had increased to more than 3,000.
(For requirements for membership see p. 7-42.)
WOMEN IN METEOROLOGY
7-35
The Outlook
Meteorology was probably the only physical science for which a
large postwar oversupply of professionally trained persons was pre
dicted. Although the demand was expected to be above prewar levels,
the war-created supply had increased far beyond normal needs. In
relation to the more than 6,000 men and women who had received ad
vanced training in meteorology during the war, only about 500 new
openings were anticipated by the Weather Bureau and private air
lines (5). After the war ended, the United States Weather Bureau
began receiving a flood of applications from discharged military
meteorologists and weather observers, many of whom had experience
and training of a caliber not previously available. As a result, re
quirements for professional meteorologists were raised, and com
petition for subprofessional jobs became very keen, especially for
women.
However, the anticipated oversupply of professionally trained me
teorologists failed to develop. Apparently, the vast majority of
the 6,000 men and women trained in meteorology during the war have
entered other fields. In 1947, there were more vacancies for profes
sional meteorologists than qualified applicants available, and the
United States Civil Service Commission was planning to announce an
examination for meteorologists.
In 1946, the Weather Bureau decreased its volume of work for war
purposes and shifted some of its personnel to general forecasting,
to climatological work, and to some of its more specialized projects,
in response to increased demands from the public for weather services
(4-8). In 1947, it was estimated that over 1,200 professional meteor
ologists (about double the prewar number) were employed in the
Federal Government {25). About 900 were with the United States
Weather Bureau, and the others were employed in the War and Navy
Departments, the Civil Aeronautics Administration, and the National
Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. Despite this increase the num
ber of women meteorologists employed in the Weather Bureau had
decreased since the war. In 1947, only about 15 women meteorologists,
as compared to 20 during the war and 1 or 2 before the war, were
employed in the central office of the Weather Bureau. Only a few
of the women had advanced beyond the beginning professional level,
and none had gone beyond the grade immediately above. Because of
the large number of men veterans trained in this field, who not only
have veterans’ preference under civil service regulations but are pre
ferred because they can be advanced eventually to forecasting posi
7-36
WOMEN IN GEOLOGY, GEOGRAPHY, METEOROLOGY
tions to which women are not apt to be appointed, it is likely that
women meteorologists will not be hired in the next few years, except
in rare instances.
The number of women employed in the Weather Bureau in subpro
fessional jobs as meteorological aids and observers has also decreased.
In 1947 there were only about 1,000 women employed in these positions
in contrast to about 1,500 during the war. Many of these women were
war service appointees, and it is likely that some will be replaced by
men with veterans’ preference. In the future, women will face com
petition from veterans with wartime experience as weather forecasters
and observers.
Although many of the wartime weather officers are turning to other
pursuits, some are continuing their studies in meteorology under the
GI Bill of Rights. Because of the general increase of interest in
meteorology, it is expected that there will be more opportunity for
meterologists to teach in colleges and universities.
In the fall of 1946, some of the liberal arts colleges introduced
meteorology into the curriculum for the first time, and former mili
tary meteorologists were given teaching appointments in these
schools (6). A list of undergraduate and graduate courses in meteor
ology offered in universities and colleges in the United States was
published by the American Geophysical Union in 1945 and 1946 (<?).
But, except in those universities with a separate department of meteor
ology, the instructor in meteorology is also expected to teach other
sciences such as physics, mathematics, or geography (6). The best
opportunities for women who plan to teach meteorology may be found
in some of these smaller colleges and universities and especially in the
women’s colleges, where a few courses in meteorology might be offered
through the physics or geography departments. Since teachers are
expected to continue their own trainiug and research, a graduate
degree is necessary for advancement.
At present, the seven universities in the United States which offer
graduate training in this field are well-supplied with meteorologists.
Only a woman with outstanding ability in research will find it possible
to win a permanent staff appointment at one of these universities.
However, there are a number of assistantships and research positions
in these institutions for which women can qualify H2). For example,
in 1945, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology had five women
serving on its staff as assistants, research assistants, or research asso
ciates in meteorology.
In 1947, most of the 28 women members of the American Meteor
ological Society were engaged in teaching and research, and it is
likely that this field will continue to offer opportunity to a small
number of professionally trained women meteorologists.
WOMEN IN METEOROLOGY
7-37
With the anticipated expansion of domestic and international air
line operations in the next few years, the number of meteorologists
employed by airlines is expected to be almost double the number em
ployed during the war (53). However, it is likely that these positions
will be filled by discharged military meteorologists, who are given
preference.
Professional meteorologists may also find opportunities in enter
prises which offer private weather forecasting and climatological
services, but opportunities in this field were less predictable and in
volved all the risks of private business. As yet this area has been
incompletely explored, and many discharged weather officers may wish
to enter the field (J$). Men and women possessing a good business
sense and an interest in private enterprise may offer services to in
dustry, commerce, and agriculture not available elsewhere. The
United States Weather Bureau has indicated that it would favor an
expansion of private practice in this field, on a sound and ethical basis,
since some of the present demands of commerce and industry for
weather data are beyond the scope of the Government’s ability to serve.
The American Meteorology Society, which has compiled extensive
information on training opportunities and job possibilities to assist
discharged military weather personnel in the selection of postwarcareers in meteorology and allied fields has also offered its advice
and assistance to meteorologists planning to establish such enter
prises (5).
Business surveys have shown that there are many undeveloped uses
for individual and specialized services in applied meteorology, and
unless enterprising meteorologists in private practice can service these
needs, it is likely that many latent demands will go unsatisfied. Be
cause of the advances made during the war, with the use of radar and
other newly developed techniques, long-range forecasts of 5-, 10-, and
12-days are becoming available and are likely to increase the demand
for specialized services.
In the past, department stores have depended upon the Weather
Bureau forecasts of rain to feature sales of raincoats and umbrellas;
manufacturers of auto supplies have rushed tire chains to portions of
the country where snowstorms were predicted; ice cream plants have
increased their production when warned of particularly hot days; and
utilities have depended on Weather Bureau forecasts to determine
when more electricity or gas would be consumed. But other services
are still possible. For example, manufacturers need specialized in
formation to help in the location of new plants, when a particularly
moist or dry climate is needed; fruit and fish canneries need data to
determine when crops will be ready to can or when the fishing season
7-38
WOMEN IN GEOLOGY, GEOGRAPHY, METEOROLOGY
will reach a peak; and farmers need climatological reports to decide
when to make use of irrigation systems, when to expect rainfall.
The possibilities for women in private industry appear to be favor
able. A woman meteorologist with sales ability and knowledge of a
particular industry, like the baking industry for example, might be
able to sell her services to a particular bakery. She might offer to
make a statistical correlation of sales records with weather informa
tion and prove that she could predict, four times out of five, the days
on which production of certain types of baked goods such as pastries
should be increased or decreased and distribution altered for maxi
mum profit. Thus, a woman meteorologist who concentrated on one
industry or company could offer specialized services not available from
the Weather Bureau and could make her own job.
Another field which offers opportunity for women trained in
meteorology is that of popular writing and speaking. Writing articles
for special groups, such as those appearing in farmers’ or pilots’ maga
zines, or popular books on the weather could form a full- or part-time
occupation for a woman with writing ability (42).
Over the long-run, the increased demand for government and
private weather forecasting services and the recent scientific advances
in long-range forecasting and climatology are likely to increase the
number of positions open to meteorologists. There are also a number
of fields allied to meteorology in which opportunities are expected
to be greater in the coming years. Hydrometeorologists with training
in meteorology combined with training in civil engineering will be
needed by Government agencies for the analysis of rainfall data (5).
Climatologists with advanced training in the agricultural sciences and
statistics will probably find openings as agricultural climatologists
in agricultural experiment stations, where they are needed for pre
paring and refining crop estimate figures (4). The Weather Bureau
has indicated that it will need meteorologists with graduate training
in mathematics and applied statistics for developing objective engi
neering methods in forecasting and for modernizing some of the
methods used in climatology (12). The need for basic research in
these fields also will require the services of persons who have combined
their graduate training in meteorology or climatology with work in
another scientific field, such as geology, geophysical technology, mathe
matics and statistics, civil engineering, agronomy, or one of the other
agricultural sciences (5).
Preparation for each of these fields will require more than the 4
years of work needed for the bachelor’s degree, which is now the mini
mum educational requirement for the professional meteorologist.
However, it has become apparent that persons with two specialties
WOMEN IN METEOROLOGY
7-39
who can apply the techniques and knowledge of one field to the prob
lems of another field are especially useful in a technological society (5).
For women, however, opportunities in the field will continue to be
limited in number. Only a few enthusiastic young women with ex
cellent backgrounds in physics and mathematics, preferably with
training not only in meteorology but also in a related scientific or
industrial field, will find opportunity in meteorology. But for such
women, one woman meteorologist has recently written that the “hori
zons in weather are wide, for those with vision enough to see beyond
the obstructions . .
and . . the character to stick out the hard
ships” (4%)-
APPENDIX
Minimum Education, Experience, and Examination Requirements for
Beginning Federal Civil Service Position as Geologist ($2,644 a year)
(As taken from Civil Service Announcement No. 48, issued April 15, 1947,
closed May 8, 1947. )*
1. Passing of a written examination in two but no more than two of
the optional subjects listed below (for each of which separate employ
ment lists will be established) :
Mineralogy and petrology.
Geology of fuels.
Sedimentation.
Geology of metallic and nonmetalStratigraphy.
lie mineral deposits.
Geomorphology andglaciol- Engineering geology,
ogy.
General geology.
Ground water geology.
2. Education and experience: Applicants must have successfully
completed one of the following:
A. A full 4-year course in a college or university of recognized stand
ing leading to a bachelor’s degree in geology. This study must have
included courses in geology consisting of lectures, recitations, and ap
propriate practical laboratory and field work totaling at least 30 semes
ter hours; or
B. Courses in geology, in a college or university of recognized stand
ing, consisting of lectures, recitations, and appropriate practical labor
atory and field work totaling at least 30 semester hours; plus additional
appropriate experience or education which, when combined with the
30 semester hours in geology, will total 4 years of education and experi
ence and give the applicant the substantial equivalent of a 4-year col
lege course.
In either A or B above, the required 30 semester hours of study in
geology must have included or have been supplemented by the success
ful completion of specific courses in at least 5 of the following subjects:
(a) Physiography.
(h) Ground water geology.
(f>) Structural geology.
(i) Invertebrate paleontology.
(c) Geophysics.
(j) Stratigraphy.
(d) Mineralogy.
(/<■) Sedimentation.
(e) Petrology.
(l) Map interpretation.
(/) Optical mineralogy.
(m) Field geology.
(g) Economic geology (met
als, nonmetals or fuels).1
1 For more complete and later information, consult latest announcements of the Civil
Service Commission posted in first- and second-class post offices.
7-40
APPENDIX
7-41
Minimum Education and Experience Requirements for Application for
Beginning Federal Civil Service Position as Junior Professional As
sistant With Option as Geographer ($2,644 a year)
(As taken from Civil Service Announcement No. 75, issued October 14, 1947,
closed November 4, 1947. p
Applicants must have successfully completed one of the following:
A. A full 4-year course, in a college or university of recognized
standing, leading to a bachelor’s degree. This study must have in
cluded or been supplemented by courses in geography totaling at least
24 semester hours. Study in closely allied fields such as geology,
archaeology, cartography, etc. may be included in the 24 semester
hours of geography provided the applicant shows at least 15 hours in
purely geographic subjects; or
B. Courses in geography, in a college or university of recognized
standing, consisting of lectures and recitations totaling at least 24
semester hours; plus additional appropriate experience or education
which when combined with the 24 semester hours in geography will
total 4 years of education and experience and give the applicant the
substantial equivalent of the 4-year college course. Study in closely
allied fields such as geology, archaeology, cartography, etc. may be
included in the 24 semester hours of geography, provided the applicant
shows at least 15 hours in purely geographic subjects.
Minimum Requirements for Fellows and Members of the Geological
Society of America, Inc.
A. Fellows:
1. Fellows shall be persons who are engaged in geological work or in
teaching geology and who have contributed to the advancement of the
science of geology.
2. Fellows only shall be entitled to vote or be eligible for election as
officers or councilors.
3. Fellows may be nominated at any time, on forms approved by
the Council, by three Fellows, all of whom shall be personally ac
quainted with the candidate and his qualifications for membership.
B. Members:
1. Members shall be persons who are engaged in geological work, in
teaching geology, or in graduate study in geology.
2. Members may be nominated at any time, on forms approved by
the Council, by two Fellows, one of whom shall be personally ac
quainted with the candidate and his qualifications for membership.1
1 For more complete anti later information, consult latest announcements of the Civil
Service Commission posted in first- and second-class post oflices.
7-42
WOMEN IN GEOLOGY, GEOGRAPHY, METEOROLOGY
Minimum Requirements for Membership in the American Association
of Petroleum Geologists (2)
A. Members:
1. Engaged in work of petroleum geology or research pertaining
to it.
2. Graduation from an institution of collegiate standing, with a
major in geology or sciences fundamental to petroleum geology.
3. Three years’ experience in petroleum geology, or in the applica
tion of other sciences to petroleum geology.
B. Associates:
1. Engaged in work of petroleum geology, or engaged in the study
of petroleum geology at an institution of higher education.
2. Completion of 30 hours in geology at a reputable institution of
collegiate or university standing, or field work equivalent to this, or
graduation with a degree in petroleum geology.
3. One year’s experience working in petroleum geology.
Minimum Requirements for Membership in the
American Geophysical Union
A. Members:
1. Active contribution to geophysical research through observation,
publication, teaching, or administration.
2. Active practical application of geophysical research.
3. In general the minimum qualifications for membership will be
not less than three years of professional experience in some phase of
geophysics.
B. Associate Members:
1. Active interest in physical processes of the earth or technical as
sistance in the application of geophysics.
2. In general the minimum qualification for associate membership
will be a college degree in some field of geophysics or allied science or
a comparable period of training and experience.
Minimum Requirements for Membership in the
Association of American Geographers
Membership is limited to persons who have done original research
work in some branch of geography. This usually means having pub
lished some research work, generally after receipt of the doctorate in
geography, although the Ph. D. is not a specific requirement, and hold
ing of the doctorate does not insure election as a member.
APPENDIX
7-43
Minimum Requirements for Membership in the American Society for
Professional Geographers
A professional member shall be any person holding a doctor’s or
master’s degree in geography from a recognized institution of higher
learning. The professional membership shall also include any per
son who holds a bachelor’s degree with a full major in geography (or
who has completed the equivalent courses in geography) from a
recognized institute of higher learning, and who has held a position
in which geographic training has been used professionally as a primary
occupational basis, for a period of at least two years after the bache
lor’s degree was received with exclusion of any teaching below the
high school level.
Persons who have made a valuable contribution to geographical
knowledge may also be elected to professional membership, without a
degree in geography.
A regular member may be any person or corporation or other or
ganization who may be elected as a member on the basis of interest.
Minimum Requirements for Membership in the National Council of
Geography Teachers
Membership in the National Council is open to anyone who is in
terested in fostering geographic education.
Minimum Requirements for Membership in the
American Meteorological Society
Membership. Any persons whose interest or activity in meteorology
or climatology would make them desirable members of the Society
are eligible as candidates for election to the grade of Member.
Professional membership may be applied for by persons who meet
the conditions in any of the following groups:
(a) Persons who have completed a professional course in meteor
ology at an institution of recognized standing and who have been
engaged in meteorological or climatological work at a professional
level for at least one year prior to election; or,
(b) Persons who have been engaged in meteorological or climato
logical work for at least five years and who during at least the two
years next prior to election have been employed at the professional
level in one of these fields; or,
7-44
WOMEN IN GEOLOGY, GEOGRAPHY, METEOROLOGY
(c) Persons who have made notable scientific contributions to
meteorology or climatology and who maintain an active interest in
one of these fields although not professionally employed therein; or,
(d) Persons whose training, work, or contributions to meteorology
are, in the opinion of the Committee on Admissions, equivalent to any
of the preceding groups.
List of Colleges and Universities Which Had Granted the Ph. D. in
Geography, June 1935 to June 1946, and Those at Which Work for
the Ph. D. in Geography was in Progress December 1946 (21)
Clark University1
Columbia University1
Cornell University
Dropsie College
George Peabody College for
Teachers1
Harvard University1
Indiana University
Louisiana State University
Marquette University
New York University
Ohio State University1
University of California (Berke
ley)1
University of Chicago1
University of Illinois
University of Maryland
University of Michigan1
University of Minnesota
University of Missouri
University of Nebraska1
University of North Carolina
University of Pittsburgh
University of Washington (Se
attle)
University of Wisconsin 1
Washington University (St.
Louis)
List of Colleges and Universities Offering Graduate Training
in Meteorology (6)
California Institute of Tech- Pennsylvania State College
nology
St. Louis University
Massachusetts Institute of Tech- University of California (Los
nology
Angeles)
New York University
University of Chicago
1 Had granted more than five doctorates in geography.
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(2) The American Association of Petroleum Geologists membership list, March
6, 1940. American Association of Petroleum Geologists bulletin 24 : 523
24, March 1940.
(3) American Geophysical Union. Education in geophysics. Washington, D. C.,
the Union, 1945. 14 pp. See also Supplementary information relating
to education in geophysics. 1946. 4 pp. (Reprinted from Transactions,
American Geophysical Union 26 : 463-76, December 1945, and 27: 614-17,
August 1946.)
(4) American Meteorological Society. Educational opportunities. Boston,
Mass., the Society, 1945. 19 pp. Mimeo.
(5) --------- Post-war opportunities in meteorology and allied fields. A state
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(6) --------- Weather horizons. Boston, Mass., the Society, 1947. 79 pp.
(7) --------- Committee on Meteorological Education. The teaching of meteor
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(8) American Society for Professional Geographers. Directory of the American
Society for Professional Geographers. Washington, D. C., the Society,
November 1946. 92 pp. Appendix.
(9) Bates, Ralph S. Scientific societies in the United States. New York, N. Y.,
John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1945. 246 pp. (See p. 145.)
(10) Bauer, Hubert A. Cartography (map making). Boston, Mass., Bellman
Publishing Co., Inc., 1945. 31 pp. (Vocational and professional mono
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(11) Brooks, Charles F. Secretary’s report. Bulletin of the American Meteoro
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(12) Careers in statistical meteorology. Bulletin of the American Meteorological
Society 26: 352-53, October 1945.
(13) Centers of geographic work. News Letter of the Association of American
Geographers, July 1946. p. 33.
(14) Cutshall, A Idea. The geographer in wartime. Journal of geography
41: 252-58, October 1042.
(15) Denison, A. Roger. A challenge to geology. Oil and gas journal 42 : 66-68,
82 Mar. 23, 1944.
(16) Geography study on the increase. Education for victory 1: 21-22, Feb.
15, 1943.
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York, N. Y„ the Society, August 1946. 7 pp. Mimeo. (A list of 271
women geologists.)
(18) --------- What is the Geological Society of America? In Interim proceedings
of the Geological Society of America, 1945. Part I, Report of April 1945,
pp. 18-19.
(19) Heminway, Caroline E. Training of women in geology. In Interim pro
ceedings of the Geological Society of America, 1947. Part I, Report of
March 1947, pp. 66-69.
7-45
7-46
WOMEN IN GEOLOGY, GEOGRAPHY, METEOROLOGY
(20) Henry, Edward A., Ed. Doctoral dissertations accepted by American uni
versities 11)43—14. Compiled for the Association of Research Libraries.
New York, N. Y., the H. W. Wilson Co., 1944. 88 pp.
(21) Hewes, Leslie. Dissertations in geography accepted by universities in the
United States and Canada for the degree of Ph. D., June 1935 to June
1946, and those currently in progress. Annals of the Association of
American Geographers 36: 215-47, December 1946.
(22) Hinkel, Ralph E., and Baron, Leo. An educational guide in air transporta
tion. Kansas City, Mo., Transcontinental and Western Air, Inc., 1944.
140 pp.
(23) Hollis, Ernest V. Toward improving Ph. D. programs. Washington, D. C„
American Council on Education, 1945. 204 pp.
(24) Institute for Research. Careers in geolog}'. Chicago, 111., the Institute,
1939. 23 pp. (Research No. 15.)
(25) Leggin, Al. President’s Research Board report gives statistics on Govern
ment scientists. Chemical and engineering news 25: 1489, May 26, 1947.
(26) Lemons, Hoyt. The role of geography in post-war education. Education
65 : 283-90, January 1945.
(27) Levorsen, A. I. Survey of college students majoring in geology. American
Association of Petroleum Geologists bulletin 30: 730, May 1946.
(28) --------- Trends in petroleum geology. In Annual report of the Board
of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, 1942. Washington, D. C.,
U. S. Government printing office, 1943. pp. 227-34.
(29) Menge, Edward J. v. K. Jobs for the college graduate in science. New
York, N. Y., Bruce Publishing Co., 1932. 175 pp.
(30) Meteorological officers in the Army Air Forces. Science 96: 489, Nov.
27, 1942,
(31) Moore, E. N. Weather predicting—new postwar business. Commerce
magazine 41: 17-19-)-, February 1944.
(32) National Council of Geography Teachers, Committee on Standards of
Certification for the Teaching of Geography in High Schools. College
geography and its relation to teacher training in secondary school
geography. The Council, % A. H. Meyer, Valparaiso University, Val
paraiso, Ind., 1946. 34 pp. (Professional paper No. 7.) (Reprinted from
Jburnal of geography 45 : 45-78, February 1946.)
(33) ------- -------—— Standards of certification for the teaching of geography in
high schools. The Council, % A. H. Meyer, Valparaiso University, Valpa
raiso, Ind., 1943. 19 pp. (Professional paper No. 6.) (Reprinted from
Journal of geography 42 : 41-58, February 1943.)
(34) National Research Council. Practices in collection and maintenance of
information on highly trained and specialized personnel in the United
States. By Lowell H. Hattery. Washington, D. C., the Council, 1947.
138 pp. Mimeo.
(35) --------- Division of Geology and Geography, Subcommittee of the Commit
tee on Geographical Research. Census of professional geographers.
Report with diagram presented at annual meeting of the Division, May
3, 1946, by W. L. G. Joerg, Chairman of the Subcommittee. Unpublished
manuscript.
(36) Opportunity for women in meteorological work. Bulletin of the American
Meteorological Society 23: 46, January 1942.
(37) Price, Paul H. Geologists’ place in service. American Association of
Petroleum Geologists bulletin 30:1115-22, July 1946.
SOURCES
7-47
(38) Raisz, Erwin. Cartography. In The Americana annual. New York
and Chicago, the Americana Corporation, 1947. (See pp. 123-25.)
(39) Ray, Louis L. American doctorates in geology, 1931-40. Journal of geology
49 : 854-61, November 1941.
(40) Rossby, C.-G. A message to members from President Rossby. Bulletin of
the American Meteorological Society 25: 268-69, June 1944.
(41) Schlesselman, G. W. The place of geography in postwar general education.
The Southwestern social science quarterly 27: 202-07, September 1946.
(42) Starr, Joanne G. Women in meteorology. In American Meteorological
Society. Weather horizons. Boston, Mass., the Society, 1947. 79 pp
(See pp. 23-29.)
(43) Stone, Robert G. Meteorology and climatology. In The Americana annual,
1945. New York, N. Y., Americana Corporation, 1945. pp. 468-69.
(44) Strausz-Hupe, Robert. Postwar demands for women in geography and
geopolitics. In Institute of Women’s Professional Relations, war and
postwar employment and its demands for educational adjustment. New
London, Conn., the Institute, 1944. 226 pp. (See pp. 143-46.)
(45) Thunder over the North Atlantic. Fortune 30: 153-60, 197, 199, November
1944.
(46) Training women for work with oil firms. Education for victory 1-22
Feb. 15, 1943.
(47) Trotier, Arnold H., Ed. Doctoral dissertations accepted by American
Universities 1944-45. Compiled for the Association of Research
Libraries. New York, N. Y„ the H. W. Wilson Co., 1945. 68 pp. .
(48) U. S. Department of Commerce. Thirty-fourth annual report of the Secre
tary of Commerce, 1946. Washington, D. C., U. S. Government printing
oflice, 1946. 226 pp. (See report of the Weather Bureau, pp. 213-26.)
(49) --------- Bureau of Census. Statistical abstract of the United States, 1946.
Sixty-seventh number. Washington, D. C., U. S. Government printing
oflice, 1946. Table 862, p. 756.
(59)
Civil Aeronautics Administration. Training and employment op
portunities in aviation. Washington, D. C„ the Department, April 1942.
22 pp. Multi. (Rev. Ed.)
(51) --------- Weather Bureau. Report of the Chief of the Weather Bureau, 1941.
Washington, D. C., U. S. Government printing office, 1942. 15 pp. ' (Re
printed from the annual report of the Secretary of Commerce 1941
pp. 135-49.)
(52)
Report of the Chief of the Weather Bureau, 1942. Wash
ington, D. C., U. S. Government printing office, 1943. 8 pp. (Reprinted
from the thirtieth annual report of the Secretary of Commerce 1942
pp. 129-36.)
(53) U. S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment oppor
tunities in aviation occupations. Part I.—Postwar employment outlook.
By Helen Wood and assistant. Washington, D. C., U. S. Government
printing office, 1945. 36 pp. (Bulletin No. 837-1.)
(54) ---------------- Employment opportunities in aviation occupations. Part
2—Duties, qualifications, earnings, and working conditions. By Helen
Wood. Washington, D. C., U. S. Government printing office, 1947. 45 pp.
(Bulletin No. 837-2.)
(55)
Occupational Outlook Division. Employment outlook for
meteorologists. Washington, D. C., the Department, January 1946. 1 p.
Mirneo.
7-48
WOMEN IN GEOLOGY, GEOGRAPHY, METEOROLOGY
(56) --------- U. S. Employment Service. Dictionary of occupational titles. Sup
plement edition III. Washington, D. C., U. S. Government printing office,
1945. 506 pp.
(57) ----------------- National Clearing House. Current job openings (partial
list), January 1947. Washington, D. C„ the Service. 38 pp. Mimeo.
(58) ----------------- National Roster of Scientific and Specialized Personnel.
Directory of colleges and universities offering graduate degrees and some
form of graduate aid. Washington, D. C., the Roster, August 1946. 52 pp.
Multi. (Revised.)
(59) --------------------------- Distribution of Roster registrants, December 31,
1946. Washington, D. C„ the Roster, 1947. 5 pp. Multi.
(60) --------------------------- Faculty members and students in institutions of
higher education, December 1942. Washington, D. C., the Roster, June 15,
1948. Final report. Chart. Multi.
(61) ------------------------ Geology as a profession. Washington, D. C., U. S.
Government printing office, 1946. 19 pp. (Vocational booklet No. 1.)
(62) ----------------- —------ Handbook of descriptions of specialized fields in
geology. Washington, D. C., U. S. Government printing office, 1945.
16 pp.
(63) ----------------------------The job of the geologist. Washington, D. C., U. S.
Government printing office, 1945. 13 pp. (Occupational brief No. 25.)
(64) --------------------------- The job of the meteorologist. Washington, D. C.,
U. S. Government printing office, 1945. 14 pp. (Occupational brief
No. 31.)
(65) ----------------------------Meteorology as a profession. Washington, D. C.,
U. S. Government printing office, 1946. 17 pp. (Vocational booklet
No. 4.)
(66) --------------------------- Physical sciences. Washington, D. C., U. S. Govern
ment printing office, 1947. 20 pp. (Description of professions series,
pamphlet No. 6.)
(67) ------------------------ -— Report on survey of full-time civilian college students
as of January 1944. Washington, D. C., the Roster, 1944. 12 pp. Multi.
(68) ------ ----------------------- Social sciences. Washington, D. C., U. S. Govern
ment printing office, 1947. 31 pp. (Description of professions series,
pamphlet No. 7.)
(69) (U. S.) Federal Security Agency. U. S. Office of Education. Engineering,
science, and management war training. List of approved courses. From
July 1, 1943 through February 29, 1944. Washington, D. C., the Office,
1944. 52 pp. (ESMWT-Misc 2070.) Mimeo.
(70) ------------------Teaching as a profession. By Benjamin W. Frazier.
Washington, D. C., D. S. Government printing office, 1944. 34 pp.
(Pamphlet No. 95.)
(71) U. S. Office of Scientific Research and Development. Science, the endless
frontier. A report to the President by Vannevar Bush. July 1945.
Washington, D. C., U. S. Government printing office, 1945. 184 pp.
(See pp. 150-51, 169.)
(72) War restrictions on distribution of weather information. Bulletin of the
American Meteorological Society 23: 36-37, January 1942.
(73) The weather. Fortune 21: 58-63, April 1940.
(74) Weather scientists doing important defense work. Science news letter
40 : 347, Nov. 29, 1941.
(75) Willard, Bradford, Post-war geology. Science 100 : 348-50, Oct. 20, 1944.
(76) World wondering. Mademoiselle, November 1944.
CURRENT PUBLICATIONS OF THE WOMEN’S BUREAU
For complete list of publications, write the Women’s Bureau.
Single copies of bulletins—or a small supply for special educational purposes—
may be secured through the Women’s Bureau without charge, as long as the free
supply lasts. Bulletins may be purchased direct from the Superintendent of
Documents, Washington 25, D. C., at prices listed. A discount of 25 percent on
orders of 100 or more copies is allowed. Other publications listed may be secured
from the Women’s Bureau.
FACTS ON WOMEN WORKERS—issued monthly. 4 pages. Multilith.
(Latest statistics on employment of women; earnings; labor laws affecting
women; news items of interest to women workers; women in the international
scene.)
HANDBOOK OF FACTS ON WOMEN WORKERS.
Bull. 225.
(In press.)
EMPLOYMENT OUTLOOK FOR WOMEN
The Outlook for Women in Occupations in the Medical and Other Health Services.
Bull. 203:
1. Physical Therapists. 14 pp. 1945. 100.
2. Occupational Therapists. 15 pp. 1945. 10?#.
3. Professional Nurses. 66 pp. 1946. 150.
4. Medical Laboratory Technicians. 10 pp. 1945. 100.
5. Practical Nurses and Hospital Attendants. 20 pp. 1945. 100.
6. Medical Record Librarians. 9 pp. 1945. 100.
7. Women Physicians. 28 pp. 1945. 100.
8. X-Ray Technicians. 14 pp. 1945. 100.
9. Women Dentists. 21 pp. 1945. 100.
10. Dental Hygienists. 17 pp. 1945. 100.
11. Physicians’ and Dentists’ Assistants. 15 pp. 1945. 100.
12. Trends and Their Effect Upon the Demand for Women Workers. 55 pp.
1946. 150.
The Outlook for Women in Science. Bull. 223:
1. Science. [General introduction to the series.] (In press.)
2. Chemistry. 65 pp. 1948. 200.
3. Biological Sciences. 87 pp. 1948. 250.
4. Mathematics and Statistics. 21 pp. 1948. 100.
5. Architecture and Engineering. (In press.)
6. Physics and Astronomy. 32 pp. 1948. 150.
7. Geology, Geography, and Meteorology. (Instant publication.)
8. Occupations Related to Science. 33 pp. 1948. 150.
Your Job Future After College. Leaflet. 1947. (Rev. 1948.)
7-49
7-50
WOMEN IN GEOLOGY, GEOGRAPHY, METEOROLOGY
LABOR LAWS
Summary of State Labor Laws for Women. 7 pp. 1947. Mimeo.
Minimum wage:
State Minimum-Wage Laws and Orders, 1942: An Analysis. Bull. 191.
52 pp. 1942. 20$. (Supplements through 1947. Mimeo.)
State Minimum-Wage Laws. Leaflet 1. 1948.
Model Bill for State minimum-wage law for women. Mimeo.
Map showing States having minimum-wage laws. (Desk size; wall
size.)
Equal pay:
Equal Pay for Women. Leaflet 2. 1947. (Rev. 1948.)
Chart analyzing State equal-pay laws and Model Bill. Mimeo.
Texts of State laws (separates). Mimeo.
Model Bill for State equal-pay law. Mimeo.
Selected References on Equal Pay for Women. 9 pp. 1947. Mimeo.
Hours of Work and Other Labor Laws:
State Labor Laws for Women, with Wartime Modifications, Dec. 15,
1944. Bull. 202:
1. Analysis of Hour Laws. 110 pp. 1945. 15$.
II. Analysis of Plant Facilities Laws. 43 pp. 1945. 10$.
III. Analysis of Regulatory Laws, Prohibitory Laws, Maternity Laws.
12 pp. 1945. 5$.
IV. Analysis of Industrial Home-Work Laws. 26 pp. 1945. 10$.
V. Explanation and Appraisal. 66 pp. 1946. 15$.
Supplements through 1947. Mimeo.
Unemployment Compensation—How it Works for Working Women.
Leaflet. 1945. (Rev. 1948, in preparation.)
Map of United States showing State hour laws. (Desk size; wall size.)
LEGAL STATUS OF WOMEN
International Documents on the Status of Women. Bull. 217. 116 pp. 1947.
25$.
Legal Status of Women in the United States of America:
United States Summary, January 1938. Bull. 157. 89 pp. 1941. 15$.
Cumulative Supplement 1938-45. Bull. 157-A. 31 pp. 1946. 10$.
Reports for States and District of Columbia (separates). Bulls. 157-1
through 157-49. 5$ each.
Women's Eligibility for Jury Duty. Leaflet. 1947.
INDUSTRY
Women Workers in Power Laundries. Bull. 215. 71 pp. 1947. 20$.
The Woman Telephone Worker [1944], Bull. 207. 28 pp. 1946. 10$.
Typical Women’s Jobs in the Telephone Industry [1944], Bull. 207-A. 52 pp.
1947. 15$.
Women in Radio. Bull. 222. 30 pp. 1948. 15$.
EARNINGS
Earnings of Women in Selected Manufacturing Industries, 1946.
14 pp. 1948. 10$.
Bull. 219.
SOURCES
COST-OF-LIVING BUDGETS
Working Women’s Budgets in Twelve States.
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Bull. 226.
(In press.)
EMPLOYMENT
Employment of Women in the Early Postwar Period, with Background of Prewar
and War Data. Bull. 211. 14 pp. 1946. 100.
Women’s Occupations Through Seven Decades. Bull. 218. (In press.)
Women Workers After VJ-Day in One Community—Bridgeport, Conn. Bull. 216,
37 pp. 1947. 150
Baltimore Women War Workers in the Postwar Period. (In preparation.)
Charts :
Proportion of All Workers Who Are Women, 1870-1948.
Occupations of Women Workers, 1940.
A Social-Economic Grouping of Women Workers, 1910-1940.
The Leading 10 Occupations of Women Workers, 1870-1940.
Women in Selected Clerical Occupations, 1870-1940.
Women in Selected Operative and Laborer Occupations, 1870-1940.
Women in Selected Service Occupations, 1870-1940.
Women in Selected Professional Occupations, 1870-1940.
Married Women in Population and in Labor Force, 1910-1947.
Marital Status of Women in the Labor Force, 1910-1947.
HOUSEHOLD EMPLOYMENT
Old-Age Insurance for Household Workers. Bull. 220. 20 pp. 1947. 100
Community Household Employment Programs. Bull. 221. 70 pp. 1948. 200
REPORTS ON WOMEN IN WARTIME
Sixteen reports on women’s employment in wartime industries; part-time em
ployment ; equal pay; community services, recreation, and housing for women
war workers; and the following:
Changes in Women’s Employment During the War. Sp. Bull. 20. 29 pp.
1944. 100
Women’s Wartime Hours of Work—The Effect on Their Factory Perform
ance and Home Life. Bull. 208. 187 pp. 1947. 35(1.
Women Workers in Ten War Production Areas and Their Postwar Employ
ment Plans. Bull. 209. 56 pp. 1946. 150
Negro Women War Workers. Bull. 205. 23 pp. 1945. 100
Employment Opportunities in Characteristic Industrial Occupations of
Women. Bull. 201. 50 pp. 1944. 100
Employment and Housing Problems of Migratory Workers in New York
and New Jersey Canning Industries, 1943. Bull. 198. 35 pp. 1944, 100
Successful Practices in the Employment of Nonfarm Women on Farms in the
Northeastern States. Bull. 199. 44 pp. 1944. 100
Women’s Emergency Farm Service on the Pacific Coast in 1943. Bull. 204.
36 pp. 1945. 100
Industrial Injuries to Women [1945], Bull. 212. 20 pp. 1947. 100.
Posters (7) showing women in wartime jobs.
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ms
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WOMEN IN GEOLOGY, GEOGRAPHY, METEOROLOGY
RECOMMENDED STANDARDS for women’s working conditions, safety, and
health.
'
Standards of Employment for Women. Leaflet 1. 1946. 50 each. (Rev. 1948.)
When You Hire Women. Sp. Bull. 14. 16 pp. 1944. 10(1
The Industrial Nurse and the Woman Woi'ker. Sp. Bull. 19. 47 pp. 1944. 100.
Women’s Effective War Work Requires Good Posture. Sp. Bull. 10. 6 pp.
1943. 50.
Washing and Toilet Facilities for Women in Industry. Sp. Bull. 4. 11 pp.
1942. 50.
Lifting and Carrying Weights by Women in Industry. Sp. Bull. 2. (Rev. 1946.)
12 pp. 50.
Safety Clothing for Women in Industry. Sp. Bull. 3. 11 pp. 1941. 100.
Supplements: Safety Caps; Safety Shoes. 4 pp each. 1944. 50 each.
Night Work: Bibliography. 39 pp. 1946. Multilith.
WOMEN UNDER UNION CONTRACTS
Maternity-Benefits Under Union-Contract Health Insurance Plans.
19 pp. 1947. 100.
Bull. 214.
TRAINING
See “Outlook for Women in Occupations in the Medical and Other Health
Services,” Bull. 203; and “Outlook for Women in Science,” Bull. 223, for
training required in these professional fields.
See “Community Household Employment Programs,” Bull. 221, for training
recommendati ons.
Training for Jobs—for Women and Girls. [Under public funds available for
vocational training purposes.] Leaflet 1. 1947.
WOMEN IN LATIN AMERICA
Women Workers in Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay. Bull. 195. 15 pp. 1942. 50.
Women Workers in Brazil. Bull. 206. 42 pp. 1946. 100.
Women Workers in Paraguay. Bull. 210. 16 pp. 1946. 100.
Women Workers in Peru. Bull. 213. 41 pp. 1947. 100.
Social and Labor Problems of Peru and Uruguay. 1944. Mimeo.
Women in Latin America: Legal Rights and Restrictions. (Address before
the National Association of Women Lawyers.)
REPORTS ON WOMEN WORKERS IN PREWAR YEARS. Women at work
(a century of industrial change) ; women’s economic status as compared to
men’s; women workers in their family environment (Cleveland and Utah) ;
women’s employment in certain industries (clothing, canneries, laundries, of
fices, government service) ; State-wide survey of women’s employment in
various States; economic status of university women.
THE WOMEN’S BUREAU—Its Purpose and Functions. Leaflet.
Women’s Bureau Conference, 1948. Bull. 224. 210 pp. 1948.
o
1946.
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