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OUTLOOK
WOMEN
AAl

OCCUPATIONS RELATED
TO SCIENCE
Bulletin No. 223-8
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
tn
Occupations Related
to Science

Bulletin of the Women’s Bureau No. 223—8

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. 223-8 in the following series on
THE OUTLOOK FOR WOMEN IN SCIENCE

No. 223-1
No. 223-2
No. 223-3
No. 223-4
No. 223-5
No. 223-6
No. 223-7

The Outlook for Women in Science
The Outlook for Women in Chemistry
The Outlook for Women in the Biological, Sciences
The Outlook for Women in Mathematics and Statistics
The Outlook for Women in Architectwre and Engineering
The Outlook for Women in Physics and Astronomy
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 and 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, 19J/.7.
Sir : I have the honor of transmitting a description of the outlook
for women in occupations related to science which has been prepared
as a part of a study on the outlook for women in science. The ex­
traordinary 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 published infor­
mation 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 synthesized. The
study was planned and directed by Marguerite Wykoff Zapoleon and
completed with the assistance of Elsie Kateller Goodman 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 interviews in the field were
regional representatives Margaret Kay Anderson, Martha J. Ziegler,
Rebecca G. Smaltz, and another member of the research staff, Jennie
Mohr. Corinne LaBarre, Research Assistant, of the Western Person­
nel Institute, Pasadena, Calif., furnished the information obtained
from western colleges.
The part of the study here transmitted was written by Marguerite
Wykoff Zapoleon with the assistance of Elsie Katcher Goodman.
Respectfully submitted.
Frieda S. Miller, Director.
Hon. L. B. Schwellenbach,
Secretary of Ldb'or.
8—III







FOREWORD
Much lias been written about science and scientists, but little lias
been told about the work women trained in science have done and
can do in 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 scien­
tific 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.
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




8-V

8-VI

FOREWORD

employed 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 fragmen­
tary 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
Ma rine 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 Research 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 reported women separately, made the selection of
a true sample 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 Commer­
cial Testing and College Research Laboratories. Since per­




FOREWORD

8—VII

sonnel 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 1939-40 to 1946 was
obtained from 30 colleges and universities and from 9 engi­
neering schools. Again an attempt was made to obtain wide
geographical coverage and to cover different types of institu­
tions, 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
departments 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 Insti­
tute 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 faculties
in the catalogs of 330 institutions of higher learning which
were then available in the United States Office of Education
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 publi­
cation.
While every effort has been made to obtain wide coverage, there re­
main some dark corners still unexplored because of the range and
variety of these fields and the difficulty of obtaining information from
widely scattered sources. Perhaps this beginning will result in further
additions to our so-little knowledge.







CONTENTS
Page

Letter of transmittal---------------------------------------------------------------------- 8-in
Foreword
8-v
Introduction-------------------------------------------------------------------------------®-l
The outlook for women in technical library work--------------------------------8-3
8-4
Prewar distribution----------------------------------------------------------------Annual addition to the supply--------------------------------------------------8-5
Wartime changes--------------------------------------------------------------------8-5
Earnings and advancement------------------------------------------------------8-6
8-7
Organizations
The outlook-----------8-8
The outlook for women in patent work---------------------------------------------- 8-12
The outlook for women in technical writing and editing------------------------ 8-16
The outlook for women in technical illustration----------8-18
The outlook for women in technical secretarial and other clerical work---- 8-23
Appendix:
Minimum education and experience requirements for application for
beginning Federal civil service position as junior professional assistant
librarian 8-26
Minimum education and experience requirements for application for be­
ginning Federal civil service position as junior professional assistant with
option as patent examiner------------------------------------------------------------- 8-26
Minimum experience and education requirements for application for be­
ginning Federal civil service position as technical editor, biological
sciences option 8-27
Minimum experience, education, and work sample requirements for appli­
cation. for beginning Federal civil service position as technical illustra­
tor 8-28
Sources to which reference is made in the text----------------------------------- 8-29
Illustrations:
1. Technical librarian of a large corporation------------ '-----------------------2. Patent examiner in the U. S. Patent Office----------------------------------3. Assistant professor at a medical school giving art instruction----------4. Student at work on a 3-dimensional drawing in perspective-----------8-1X

772331°—1




-2

8-x
8-14
8—19
8-21

;= !

■> '•

Courtesy Crane Co. Research Laboratories

Figure 1.—The technical librarian of the research laboratories of a
large corporation with a few of the references and materials she uses
in her work.
8-X




THE OUTLOOK FOR WOMEN IN
OCCUPATIONS RELATED TO
SCIENCE
INTRODUCTION
Many establishments engaged in scientific work employ not only
scientists working directly in scientific research or observation, but
also a number of other persons engaged in such occupations as those of:
the technical librarian, the patent searcher, the technical writer or
editor, the technical secretary, the technical artist or illustrator. In
these, the possession of a particular nonscientific skill or knowledge is
as important as scientific training.
There are similar types of work not elaborated upon here: the pur­
chase and selling of scientific instruments and supplies; technical liai­
son between research and sales departments (interpreting research
results in nontechnical language for salesmen’s use); technical person­
nel work involving the selection of scientific personnel; and the teach­
ing of science below college level. In these occupations, such qualifica­
tions as business acumen, training in personnel, or the ability to instruct
in the classroom may be as essential as training in science.
The amount and kind of training required in science as well as the
amount and kind of nonscientific skill or knowledge needed vary
widely for particular positions in occupations of this type according
to the needs and hiring habits of the employers.
For public high school teachers of science, for instance, the require­
ments differ in the various States and cities. In some States, teachers
of high school physics are required to have only 1 year of college train­
ing in that science; in other States, a master’s degree in physics is re­
quired. In small high schools, where a science teacher is expected to
teach all the sciences offered and perhaps mathematics as well, a college
background showing a variety of sciences is preferred to an intensive
specialization in one. Opportunities in high school teaching have been
mentioned in other parts of this series in the discussions of the separate
scientific fields. However, it is well to remember that there were more
than 50,000 teachers of science in the 28,000 high schools in the United
States in 1945 (11). In size, this group is larger than any one of the
scientific groups except for those in chemistry, engineering, and medi­
cine. Moreover, the need for additional teachers of science in 1947




8-1

8-2

WOMEN IN OCCUPATIONS BELATED TO SCIENCE

was still great, and indications were that opportunities for women in
this field would continue in the years to come.
Although technical librarians, secretaries, illustrators, writers and
editors, and patent searchers have also been mentioned in the discus­
sions of the outlook for women in particular sciences, these occupations
warrant separate treatment here not only because of the dual qualifica­
tions required to enter them and the little publicity that has been given
them, but because women form a much higher proportion in them than
in the laboratory phases of scientific work.




THE OUTLOOK FOR WOMEN IN TECHNICAL
LIBRARY WORK
Many of the discoveries of modern scientific research have depended
upon the library as well as the laboratory. At least part of the re­
search behind most recent discoveries has taken place in a special
library where the literature on a particular technical or scientific field
appearing in all types of scientific and technical publications, periodi­
cals, and trade journals is collected and classified. The librarian in
charge is usually a technical librarian although, in her own organiza­
tion, she may be called a chemical librarian, an engineering librarian,
a special librarian, or even a library chemist.
Whatever her title, the technical librarian is usually a person trained
in both science and library work. Unlike the general librarian who
works primarily with books, her work is mostly with pamphlets,
articles, unpublished treatises, and indices to such sources on scientific
topics. In addition to locating, assembling, cataloging, and index­
ing these materials, and answering numerous reference questions on
science or technology each day, the technical librarian is equipped to
make exhaustive searches of the literature on particular scientific
topics and to summarize her findings in special reports. Unless the
library is one of the few large enough to have one or more translators,
she is often required to translate scientific articles published in a foreign
language, and to assist laboratory and other staff members by routing
to them new articles relating to the problems on which they are work­
ing. Such service to a research staff saves time and reduces duplication
by making available information on previous work done in a particular
field. Its value to the laboratory scientist was well described some
years ago by a member of the staff of the Mellon Institute of Industrial
Research (1).
The scope of the services rendered in a technical library is revealed
in a manual for the libraries of research laboratories prepared by a
woman who serves as technical librarian of a large industrial com­
pany. Among the topics listed in the manual’s index are: Overthe-counter service, literature searches, abstracts and bibliographies,
translations, circulation of periodicals and reproduction literature
(photographs, blueprints, etc.), interlibrary loan service, editing the
library bulletin, special assignments, classification and cataloging,
photostats and pamphlet files, orders and subscriptions, processing in­
coming literature, binding, microfilms, library notebook and printed
forms, correspondence and library statistics, location of library hold­




8-3

8-4

WOMEN IN OCCUPATIONS RELATED TO SCIENCE

ings, equipment, and budget (,)). An idea of the clientele served and
the variety of problems handled may be gleaned from a description
by 2 women librarians in the chemical industry based on 20 libraries
in that industry {27). The work of technical librarians employed in
public and university libraries is similar in nature, although less con­
centrated on a particular industry.
A high percent of the membership of the Special Libraries Asso­
ciation in the Science-Technology Group are women, although the
percent of men is higher in this group than in any other subject group
in the Association.
The rapid growth of technical librarianship is evident as we look
back to the prewar period.
Prewar Distribution
In 1940, about 900 technical librarians were active members of the
Science-Technology Group of the Special Libraries Association. They
comprised about two-fifths of the total membership of the Association,
which included some 2,350 librarians (25).
Of the 765 special libraries of all types covering subjects ranging
from accounting and acoustics to zinc and zoology and operated by a
variety of organizations including industries, universities, museums,
government agencies, and foundations, about two-fifths were in the
field of science and technology (21). But all the special libraries taken
together employed oidy about 7 percent of the 36,000 librarians re­
ported by the Census in 1940, most of whom were employed in un­
specialized services in public and school libraries.
Unlike other scientific fields, technical library work appeared to be
a field in which women were in the majority. Nineteen of the 78 in­
dustrial research laboratories visited by the Women’s Bureau in the
course of this study employed women as technical librarians or litera­
ture searchers before the war; only a few of these and of the others had
men employed in this work.
In one chemical manufacturing plant, the only woman employed in
scientific work before the war was a technical librarian who did library
searches, abstracting, and translating. In addition to a B. S. in chem­
istry she had had training in technical library work. In another
chemical manufacturing plant a woman with a Ph. D. in chemistry had
been in charge of the technical library for 15 years. Her assistant, who
had been employed there for 3 years, also had a Ph. D. in chemistry.
Most of the librarians had had technical library training, although
occasionally, as in other libraries, the librarian had entered, often
many years ago, as a subject specialist. In only a few laboratories




TECHNICAL LIBRARY WORK

8-5

were the women librarians graduates of library schools who had ac­
quired a knowledge of science on the job.
Before the war, many of the 365 women employed as librarians in the
Federal Government (20) were undoubtedly working in specialized
libraries, such as the Army Medical Library and the Patent Office
Scientific Library. Technical librarians were also employed in chem­
istry, engineering, and other special departments of college and uni­
versity libraries, in public libraries having technical departments, in
museums, and in the highly specialized libraries maintained by some
of the professional and scientific societies and associations.
Annual Addition to the Supply
Since those who enter this field come from two principal sources,
schools offering degrees in science and library schools (for the gradu­
ates of both of which there are many other outlets), there is no way of
estimating the number who normally became available each year for
this work before World War II. There was, however, evidence of a
scarcity of librarians qualified to fill positions requiring scientific back­
grounds (18). Of the 1,400 librarians graduated from schools of
library science each year before the war, few were subject-matter
specialists, and fewer still had a background in science (31).
Wartime Changes
In spite of the increased number of opportunities available to men
and women in technical library work during the war, the supply of
new persons available each year for such work decreased. In 1943-44,
there were only about 880 persons graduated with a degree in library
science (30).
The other principal source of supply of technical librarians also
was affected. Women just graduated from college with only the barest
amount of training in chemistry, physics, or the biological sciences
were hired for laboratory jobs, which most of them preferred to
technical library work, where training in library science might become
necessary. In some of the newer technical libraries, such as those in
aviation and electronics, for example, it was almost impossible to
secure librarians with adequate technical backgrounds (26) (20).
Many positions of this type remained vacant. In 1943, the employ­
ment service of the Special Libraries Association was unable to fill
172 of the 413 openings reported to it. Although in some of these,
low salaries were the principal deterrent, many were well-paid jobs
vacant because of the lack of trained technical people (31).




8-6

WOMEN IN OCCUPATIONS RELATED TO SCIENCE

The Special Libraries Association hesitated to encourage the forma­
tion of new libraries because of tine lack of trained personnel (1.9). It
concentrated its efforts in 1944 on an intensive recruiting program to
attract properly qualified college students to the profession (14). That
these recruiting efforts were successful in part is indicated by the fact
that the number of technical librarians increased, while the library
profession as a whole lost librarians during the war (31). In 1944,
more than 1,100 librarians employed in some 800 technical libraries
were members of the Science-Technology Group of the Special Li­
braries Association (5). In spite of this increase, the shortages be­
came more acute as the demand grew faster than the supply (13).
More than one-third of the technical libraries registered in 1944
with the Special Libraries Association were maintained by industrial
corporations (17). That such libraries were invariably small was
revealed in the Women’s Bureau study of industrial research labora­
tories, which showed at least GO women employed during the war as
technical librarians or literature searchers in 22 industrial concerns.
Most of these employed only one or two women librarians; only a few
had as many as four or five. However, one of the largest employed 30
to 40 women, with degrees in science, in technical libraries in widely
scattered parts of its organization.
As in industry, the demand for technical librarians also increased
in the Federal Government, in training institutions, and in research
organizations working on war projects, although no statistics are
available on the extent of the increase.
Earnings and Advancement
Until World War II, low salaries kept many women from entering
this field. The salaries offered were almost invariably lower than
those offered laboratory personnel of equivalent training (18). The
range of salaries paid to all types of special librarians before the war
was reported to be from $1,200 to $12,000. In New York, for example,
the average salary for the heads of special libraries was said to be
about $2,600 a year, and the average for assistants or beginners varied
from $1,560 to $1,820 a year (3).
Differences in the duties and in the qualifications of special librari­
ans in particular positions were reflected in the wide variation in their
salary levels. According to one writer:
Special library positions are even less standardized than positions in other
types of libraries. As a result, qualifications offered and demanded vary so
much that salaries are determined more by individual bargaining than by the
market level (7).




TECHNICAL LIBRARY WORK

8-7

During the war, salaries rose. The Special Libraries Association
in a 1945 survey found that the average (mean) salary for 310 librari­
ans in the Science-Technology Group was $3,050 a year. The range
was from $1,340 to a high of $12,000. For the middle 50 percent of the
group, the range was from $2,287 to $3,684. For the 60 technical
library assistants covered in the survey who were members of the
Science-Technology Group but who had beginning positions, the aver­
age (mean) salary was reported to be $2,490 a year (7).
The technical librarian is usually advanced in salary as she becomes
more experienced in her work and gains greater knowledge of the
needs of the organization in which she is employed. She may become
so expert in a particular field as to become almost indispensable to
her employer (#4). But because most technical libraries are small,
opportunities for advancement in position are limited to the larger
libraries in which one or more assistants are employed. Women as
a rule, however, are more likely to be found as head librarians in a
research organization than they are as group leaders in the laboratory.
A head librarian in a petroleum refining corporation visited by a
representative of the Women’s Bureau, for example, supervised four
assistants, all of whom had a bachelor’s degree in chemistry. She
herself had a master’s degree in chemistry and had been with the
company for 10 years.
According to one woman technical librarian, women have a much
better chance of rising to well-paid administrative jobs through tech­
nical library work than through laboratory work, because of their
opportunities to engage in both administrative and research work (23).
In Federal Government service, for example, women have held posi­
tions of technical librarians at a salary of more than $8,000, which
only a few women scientists attain.
Organizations
The American Library Association, to which a librarian may belong
by virtue of her library training and experience, has a special section
for agricultural libraries and another for engineering school libraries
in its division for college and reference libraries. There is also a
business and technology section in its division of public libraries. In
addition to this and such scientific organizations as the technical
librarian’s training and experience in science may qualify her for,
there is the Special Libraries Association already mentioned. This
was organized in 1909 primarily for those who work in specialized
libraries or library departments built around special subjects to serve
a restricted clientele. Membership in this association is open to in7723310—48------ 3




8-8

WOMEN IN OCCUPATIONS RELATED TO SCIENCE

dividuals actively engaged in library, statistical, or research work,
or for those who have been so engaged, and there are special interest
groups to meet their needs within the Association. Most scientific
librarians who belong to the Association specify interest in the ScienceTechnology Group, in the Biological Sciences Group, the Geography
and Map Group, or the Museum Group.
The largest of these, the Science-Technology Group, is further sub­
divided into a chemistry section, an engineering-aeronautics section,
a petroleum section, and a pharmaceutical section. The members of
this group in 1947 numbered more than 2,000. In the Biological Sci­
ences Group, there were 418 members in 1947. The Geography and
Map Group had 184 members.
The Outlook
The continuing shortage of technical librarians, the growing ap­
preciation of their ability to utilize the knowledge incorporated in
the vast storehouses of technical and scientific literature, and increas­
ing salaries assure good opportunities for women in technical library
work. Moreover, women are generally sought for technical library
positions, although reluctance to employ women in laboratories, espe­
cially in research, continues in many places.
In 1947, membership in the Science-Technology Group of the Spe­
cial Libraries Association totaled more than 2,000, an increase of
more than 100 percent since 1940. However, the increased supply was
still insufficient to meet the demand of the more than 900 sciencetechnology libraries on the Association’s roster, 350 of them in indus­
trial firms and the remainder in institutional, university, and govern­
ment libraries concerned with science. The Association expected the
shortage to continue for a number of years. However, if laboratory
jobs for women graduating with degrees in chemistry and physics
again become scarce (as they were before the war), more women
trained in science may again seek opportunities in technical library
work.
More than 400 women were members of the Biological Sciences Group
of the Special Libraries Association in 1947. More than half of them
were working in industrial or pharmaceutical organizations, onefifth in college libraries, and more than one-sixth in hospital libraries.
Of the 78 industrial research laboratories visited by the Women’s
Bureau in 1945-46, only a few employed men as librarians, but 25
employed women as technical librarians, literature searchers, or trans­
lators, as compared with 22 during the war and 19 before the war. In
all, more than 100 women were employed by the 25 firms. Firms




TECHNICAL LIBRARY WORK

8-9

manufacturing electrical machinery, chemicals, and chemical products
employed most of the women; the other women were employed in a
variety of other industries, including glass, foods, metal products,
and paper manufacturing, and petroleum refining.
Practically all of the women employed as technical librarians, even
those with relatively little training in science, were retained after
the war or, if they left, were replaced by women. In contrast, some
women laboratory workers were replaced by men. A woman chemist,
for example, was retained as a technical librarian in one company
which planned to release the women it hired during the war as research
chemists. In only one instance did an industrial employer report
that the woman chemist serving as a technical librarian would be
replaced by a man when she left.
Several employers commented on the difficulty of locating women
librarians with technical backgrounds; one reported an opening in his
glass manufacturing firm for which he had been unable to find a
qualified person. Many expressed a preference for women in techni­
cal library work because men lacked interest in this type of work.
The head of a foods laboratory reported that women were neater and
more satisfactory at this work than men.
About a year after the close of the war, the Women’s Bureau found
111 women employed as librarians in technical libraries in 18 Federal
agencies. This does not include library assistants. Most Federal
librarians must be trained in library science. (See p. 8-26 for re­
quirements for entrance position.) It is not known how many were
also subject specialists in science. In many of the higher positions
paying from $3,397 to $5,905 a year, however, specialized training in
engineering, botany, or other scientific fields, or experience in special
libraries devoted to such fields, plus knowledge of foreign languages
are required.
In the Patent Office Scientific Library, 4 women librarians, whose
training was primarily in library science, were employed in 1947.
One had had some work in engineering; the others had acquired tech­
nical knowledge on the job. In the Office of Technical Services in
the Department of Commerce, 17 women librarians with some knowl­
edge of the sciences and some ability in German were engaged on a
special project cataloging and classifying scientific material for de­
posit in the Library of Congress and the Department of Agriculture
Library.
In the Department of Agriculture, there were 55 women librarians
in 1947, some of whom held degrees in science in addition to their
library training. A woman with an unusual background of botanical




8-10

WOMEN IN OCCUPATIONS RELATED TO SCIENCE

training and language facility, for example, was responsible for the
plant science portion of the Bibliography of Agriculture. Another
woman botanist entered library work following the death of her
husband. After experience in the library of a State college, followed
by a position in a Federal Government library, she was, in 1947,
reorganizing the library of a national park in the West.
The Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Mines, the Geological
Survey, the War and Navy Departments, the Tennessee Valley Au­
thority, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, and the
National Bureau of Standards are other Federal agencies which em­
ployed women as technical librarians or as bibliographers in 194G-47.
Women were head librarians in technical libraries in the following:
the Bureau of the Census; the Coast and Geodetic Survey; the Na­
tional Bureau of Standards; the Smithsonian Institution; the Fish
and Wildlife Service; the Hydrographic Office, the Naval Observatory,
the Naval Research Laboratory and the Bureaus of Aeronautics, Ord­
nance, Ships, and Yards and Docks in the Navy Department.
Although exact statistical information was not. available on women
employed as technical librarians in the Library of Congress, which
increased its total personnel about 50 percent from 1940 to 1947, some
women were employed there in 1947 as technical librarians in its
Descriptive Cataloging, Subject Cataloging, and General Reference
and Bibliography Divisions, in addition to a few in the Science Tech­
nology project. These women classified and cataloged scientific books
and periodicals, did reference work, and abstracted technical material.
For beginning technical library jobs at the Library of Congress,
persons with a degree in one of the sciences who have graduated
from a library school and who have knowledge of a foreign language
are preferred. In 1947, there were several openings for higher grade
technical librarians in specialized fields in the Library of Congress,
which reported a scarcity of properly qualified personnel. Salaries
ranged from $2,644 to $7,102.
Opportunities for technical librarians also exist in the libraries of
research organizations and professional associations (16) (15). One
such library in 1947 employed 19 persons, 7 of whom had to have tech­
nical background. Of the 7 women, 1 had a mathematics major with
a considerable amount of physics and chemistry. Another was trained
in chemistry and geology. Both had graduated from library school.
A third was not a college graduate but had “grown up” in the library
and had acquired a technical knowledge exceeding that of many col­
lege graduates. This library, too, had an unfilled opening for an addi­
tional person with technical training, either a woman or a man. Uni­
versity and public libraries are employing an increasing number of




TECHNICAL LIBRARY WORK

8-11

technical librarians to head special technical or scientific departments,
which not only service the general public but supply special research
services to industrial companies and other organizations ready to pay
for such service.
It has been suggested by many writers that women planning to enter
technical library work have, as a minimum of training, a bachelor’s
degree in chemistry, physics, mathematics, or any other scientific field
in which they plan to specialize. Their undergraduate training should
also include the study of French and scientific German. The knowl­
edge of Russian is becoming a more and more important asset (19) (2).
Although there are very few courses in the use of technical literature,
they are growing in number, and such a course, is desirable for techni­
cal librarians (6) (2). Hunter College in New York City and Drew
University at Madison, N. J., were among the schools offering such
courses in 1947. In 1945, only a few of the 34 schools which conformed
to the standards of the Board of Education for Librarianship of the
American Library Association offered special training for technical
librarians (22). Information on such training and a list of accredited
library schools are available from the Special Libraries Association.
At least a year’s work in an accredited library school with special
facilities to meet the needs of the special student plus opportunity for
practice work in a technical library are recommended (19).
Women who combine a thorough technical background and training
of this type with resourcefulness, adaptability, an analytical mind,
and an interest in assisting others with their work will find in techni­
cal library work opportunities for satisfying and continuous employ­
ment.




THE OUTLOOK FOR WOMEN IN
PATENT WORK
Among the nonlaboratory occupations which offer good opportuni­
ties to women trained in science or engineering is that of the patent
searcher. Because the preparation of an application for a patent is
a highly complex procedure, persons with highly specialized techni­
cal training are employed for this work. Before a firm applies for a
patent for a new device, process, or invention, it makes a search to
determine its originality, the possibility of its infringement of the
claims of unexpired patents already issued, and its validity, if patented.
It later submits to the United Slates Patent Office a complete descrip­
tion of the device accompanied by technical illustrations. A patent
examiner in that office then determines if the device or invention
described can be patented according to the law, which gives the orig­
inator the right to excl ude all others from making, using, or selling his
invention for a term of .17 years (28).
Most industrial firms depend on the technical librarian for pre­
liminary patent searching. The librarian, for example, may be re­
sponsible for selecting patents of interest from the Patent Office
Gazette, ordering copies for examination, and circulating them to
appropriate staff members. The later stages of searching and prep­
aration, then, are sometimes handled by a member of the research
staff who has had patent experience or by a firm of patent lawyers
who specialize in this type of work. Large industrial firms, however,
have a special patent staff, including one or more patent lawyers who
may be assisted by patent searchers. How the literature searching
for a patent department is done was described at a 1947 meeting of the
American Chemical Society (8). The patent lawyer obviously needs
legal training, and such training is helpful even in the assisting work
in this field because of the importance of the legal aspects of the search
and because of the legal terminology used.
Although women have worked on patents on wearing apparel,
toilet articles, and along other feminine lines, there is -no restriction
in this field upon their usefulness. They have also worked on patents
for such items as: farm machinery, metal working machines, plumb­
ing supplies, electromagnetic switches, and heavy chemicals.
Eight of the 78 industrial research laboratories visited by a repre­
sentative of the Women’s Bureau in 1945^6 employed women trained
in science on patent work. All but 1 of the 16 women employed by
7 of these firms that supplied exact statistics had a bachelor’s degree in
science; some had graduate degrees in science combined with training
8-12




PATENT WORK

8-13

in law. Most of them were patent searchers, but 4 were patent attor­
neys, and 1 was a patent clerk.
Their work varied according to the size of the total patent staff and
the nature of the work of the firm. One woman trained in mathe­
matics and physics who had gained practical experience in engineer­
ing during World War I assisted the patent engineer of the firm hy
assisting with the writing of the patents for a large metal products
company. In addition, she did most of the patent searching and kept
other staff members informed of new patents issued in fields of their
interest.
In one chemical firm there were 5 women chemists and 1 woman
biologist employed in the patent and abstract division; in another’
chemical firm 4 women were among the 50 persons engaged in patent
work. They varied considerably in background and in assignments.
One was a patent attorney who had a Ph. D. in addition to her license
to practice law. Another was a chemist, and the third, a chemical
engineer, did much of the drafting on patent illustrations. The
fourth had had 2 years of college followed by a course in medical
technology and was assisting on the searching.
According to the personnel director of one of the largest industrial
research laboratories, the patent department is a good place for women.
One of the 2 women on the patent staff of 60 in that organization came
to the company as a stenographer in 1919, with a college degree in
physics. Nine years later she secured an LL. B. degree and was ad­
mitted to the bar. She has been employed as a patent attorney with
this company ever since.
A few women are employed in patent law firms. A few others
practice patent law independently. One woman physicist, for ex­
ample, after work in the Federal Government as a patent examiner and
legal training, became a patent attorney for a radio manufacturer and
later practiced independently in Washington, D. C. {10). One with
similar background also taught patent law in a Washington, D. C., law
school. In 1947, according to the President of the Women’s Patent
Law Association, approximately 50 women were on the roster of at­
torneys registered to practice before the Patent Office. Most of them
were conducting their own law practice or were employed by reputable
patent firms; a few were patent experts in scientific or research
establishments.
Even before the war, a few women were employed in the United
States Patent Office, which in 1947 had 19 women on its staff of patent
examiners. (See p. 8-26 for requirements for beginning civil service
position as patent examiner.) Half of the women employed as patent
examiners in 1947 held degrees in chemistry, 4 were trained in physics,




8-14

WOMEN IN OCCUPATIONS RELATED TO SCIENCE

SlBllil

Courtesy Women's Patent Law Association

Figure 2.—A patent examiner at her desk in the U. S. Patent Office
2 in engineering, and the others included in their background vari­
ous combinations of the sciences. Five were assigned to chemical
divisions and 13 to mechanical divisions, while 1 headed the Classi­
fication Division. Although legal training is not required to qualify
for the job, those employed as patent examiners in the Federal Govern­
ment, like the patent searchers in industry, are encouraged to study
law at night in order to qualify for more responsible work. Drafting
is another useful tool. In 1947, 4 of the women patent examiners
were members of the bar, and 3 were enrolled in law schools.




PATENT WORK

8-15

Several other Federal agencies engaged in scientific work employ
women as patent experts. In one of them, a woman heads the patent
section. In the Patent Office, as noted before, one woman is a divi­
sion chief; another is an assistant chief of a division.
The fact that few men as well as few women who specialize in science
plan at the outset of their careers to enter this field is probably due
more to lack of information than to lack of opportunity. Only 1
percent of more than 1,000 chemists who sought employment through
the American Chemical Society’s clearing house at 3 of its wartime
meetings checked patent work as a field of interest. However, more
than 10 percent were interested after the requirements of patent
positions were explained to them (9).
In 1947, the Patent Law Association, a national organization of
patent attorneys, had approximately 1,026 members. Three women,
one each in New York, Chicago, and Washington, have been admitted
to membership, all in 1947. In Washington, D. C., there is a Women’s
Patent Law Association which had 10 members in 1947. This Asso­
ciation includes in its membership only women who are patent
attorneys or Patent Office examiners.
The total number of men and women engaged in patent work as
attorneys, examiners, and searchers is not known. It has been esti­
mated that technical librarians spend about one-third of their time
on patent work. However, the total number of persons engaged full­
time in this work and the total amount of time devoted to it by others
are known to be steadily increasing. The number of women in this
field has likewise grown and will continue to do so. This field of
work can be recommended to women, but it requires perseverance in
the early stages of the work as well as the scientific and legal knowledge
so obviously needed.




THE OUTLOOK FOR WOMEN IN TECHNICAL
WRITING AND EDITING
Women trained in science are employed in practically every type
of technical writing and editing, although they are few in number.
They write specifications for technical manuals, serve as technical
correspondents, and write and edit research reports. They are em­
ployed by publishers of scientific books and periodicals and by scien­
tific organizations. They write copy for technical advertising and
write and edit technical information for radio, newspaper, and maga­
zine use.
Seven of the 78 industrial research laboratories visited by a repre­
sentative of the Women’s Bureau in 1945-46 employed women as
technical writers. Some of this employment originated out of war
needs and was expected to terminate. Work of this type included
the preparation of instruction manuals in aircraft companies and the
writing of specifications in firms manufacturing military supplies.
Engineering aids were also used on work of this type both in industry
and government.
Among those on permanent assignments, however, were 7 women
employed along with 17 men as technical writers and editors in a firm
manufacturing electrical equipment. They wrote instructions on the
installation, operation, and maintenance of various types of radio re­
ceiving, testing, and transmitting equipment. A thorough technical
knowledge of radio communications wras required, so that the customer
as well as the service engineer could understand the descriptions. A
college degree with work in mathematics or physics or some experience
in radio work as well as the ability to write clearly were required for
this work.
In a chemical firm visited, the editor of research reports was a
woman Ph. D. who had been with the firm for 11 years and had two
editorial assistants.
In some industrial firms, the technical librarian assisted in this work,
and in at least one firm, the woman assistant to the director of re­
search wTas responsible for the final editing of research reports.
In some research institutions the entire publications staff, responsible
for the editing and printing arrangements for the publications of
staff members, were women. In the Rockefeller Institute, for example,
the publications staff in 1946 consisted of three women, each of whom
had a bachelor’s degree with training in chemistry and biology.
8-16




TECHNICAL WRITING AND EDITING

8-17

Five of the Federal agencies reporting women in scientific jobs in
1946 indicated that they employed women as technical editors or
writers. The Agriculture, Commerce, Interior, and Navy Depart­
ments and the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics employed
some 28 women in such jobs as physical science editor, science report
analyst, biological editor, technical writer, or technical editor. (See
p. 8-27 for requirements for a civil service position as technical editor,
biological sciences option.) In addition there were a number of
women doing technical writing and editing who were classified as
information specialists. This government work varies from the
editing of popularized scientific material such as that in the Farmers’
Bulletins to the editing of technical publications like the Journal of
Agricultural Research.
Perhaps the largest number of women science writers and editors
are employed by publishers of scientific and technical journals, pro­
fessional or commercial in nature (!£?). Professional journals in
geology, geography, morphology, anatomy, engineering, and botany,
for example, were among those which in 1946 employed women as staff
writers, assistant editors, or editors.
There are also possibilities in this field for women to do free lance
writing, ghost writing for executives, or popular writing for scientific
and technical magazines. Writing on science subjects for children
and for teachers and young students of science is an especially difficult
but interesting task in which a few women have already specialized.
Although much scientific writing and editing requires a high degree
of specialization, this is usually acquired on the job. Initially, it is
best for women interested in this field to acquire a broad background
in many sciences, with specialization in one, and journalistic ex­
perience.




THE OUTLOOK FOR WOMEN IN TECHNICAL
ILLUSTRATION
In science and technology, as in other fields, the use of pictorial draw­
ings and photographs has been steadily increasing. Modern printing
and other reproduction processes have encouraged the use of more
illustrations not only in scientific and technical books and periodicals
but in ephemeral training manuals, pamphlets, guidebooks, and
reports.
To prepare some of these illustrations requires no special knowledge
of science on the part of the artist or photographer. But the more
technical, detailed drawings and photographs are usually prepared
by those who combine a knowledge of the subject field illustrated with
artistic training. Among those who specialize in scientific photog­
raphy, women are rare. But more women are found among scientific
artists. Women interested in this field of work, however, will increase
their chances of employment by adding photography to their skills.
Some large industrial plants and organizations employ photographers
on technical work, and, in 1946, almost 300 clinical photographers
were employed full-time in hospitals in the United States. Scientific
photography, however, is more marketable by women if it is accom­
panied by art training than if it is offered alone. A number of women
have worked as artists and photographers. The New York Botanical
Garden and Carnegie Institution, for example, have in the past em­
ployed women in this dual capacity.
Although there is an infinite variety of scientific or technical draw­
ings, the two principal groups are those which fall in the biological
sciences and the applied field of medicine and those which relate to the
physical sciences and the applied field of engineering.
The demand for medical illustrations is greater than that for other
types of zoological illustrations or for botanical illustrations. Physi­
cians, in their training, in their practice, and in their research, utilize
an unusual volume of scientific publications, many of which carry illus­
trations. These usually originate in hospitals, medical schools, and
other institutions engaged in medical research or in the illustration
department of a publishing house. Sometimes they are drawn by a
physician, but the service of an illustration department is now available
in most medical organizations that have a large volume of research
and publication.
At least 3 colleges and universities in the United States in 1947
offered a course in medical illustration: Johns Hopkins University
8-18




TECHNICAL ILLUSTRATION

8-19

Courtesy Baltimore Sunday Sun Magazine
Photograph by A. Aubrey Eodine

Figure 3.—An assistant professor who directs the Department of Art
as Applied to Medicine at a medical school gives instruction to a
student.
(Baltimore, Md.) ; the Southwestern Medical College (Dallas, Tex.) ;
and the University of Illinois (Urbana, 111.). The 2-year course in
art as applied to medicine at the University of Illinois is open to stu­
dents trained in art who have completed at least 2 years of college
with emphasis on the subjects included in the premedical curriculum.




8-20

WOMEN IN OCCUPATIONS RELATED TO SCIENCE

In 1947, the Association of Medical Illustrators had about 67 members,
about two-thirds of them women.
Biological supply houses, museums, as well as publishers employ
scientific artists to prepare exhibits, museum mounts, and illustra­
tions for publications. These artists are usually trained in science as
well as in art.
This dual training is not generally found among women who do
botanical illustration for botanical texts, books on wildflowers and
gardening, and such periodicals as the National Geographic Magazine,
many of whom have not had formal botanical training. They have
usually spent a considerable amount of time in plant study and obser­
vation, usually at a botanical garden. Several of the most outstanding
women in this field, however, have been both botanists and artists.
Some scientific illustrators, like other artists, do free lance work;
others have staff jobs. Two sisters with a flair for drawing who were
majoring in biology in a midwest college earned their way through
college on free lance work by illustrating biology texts. The one, hav­
ing graduated, had a staff job in 1947 as illustrator at a museum of
natural history; the other was completing her Ph. D. on a fellowship.
The United States Department of Agriculture at the end of 1946
employed 8 women as scientific illustrators in the Washington area, and
the United States Geological Survey employed 20. Eleven other
women were employed as illustrators in agencies engaged in technical
or scientific work, such as the Ordnance and Engineer Corps in the
War Department, the Naval Research Laboratory, the Civil Aero­
nautics Administration, and the National Advisory Committee on
Aeronautics. (For the requirements for entrance to a beginning posi­
tion as technical illustrator in the latter agency, see p. 8-28.)
The type of illustrating done in these Federal agencies is more akin
to that done in engineering departments of industrial firms than to that
done by medical artists. Most of the drawing done in industry is
drafting work based on an engineer’s conception which may have been
aided in presentation by an industrial designer. Most industrial de­
signers are men, although 2 of the 78 firms having research laboratories
visited by a representative of the Women’s Bureau in 1945-46 employed
women as designers. One, a glass company, employed a woman with a
bachelor’s degree in design, and a firm manufacturing packaging ma­
terials employed 6 women in its Department of Design. All had train­
ing in design, art, or architecture.
To supplement the detailed drawings prepared in the drafting
room, industry is using more and more 3-dimensional production draw­
ings which show how the top, sides, and bottom of a part will look when
completed. During the war, the airplane industry supplied illustrated




Courtesy Santa Monica Technical School

Figure 4.—A student at a western technical school at work on a 3-dimen­
sional drawing in perspective.




8-21

8-22

WOMEN IN OCCUPATIONS KCTATED TO SCIENCE

catalogs to the users of planes showing every part as it actually
appeared, with corresponding numbers and descriptions to simplify
ordering and replacements. Tire drawings were superior to photo­
graphs and so true that crews and mechanics who could not read Eng­
lish could identify parts needed. These illustrations, which prevented
many costly delays during the war, were developed from rough sketches
and engineering blueprints, which guided the artist in visualizing the
parts and in preparing the original drawings of each part. One air­
craft company, in 1943, in service illustration of this type, employed 24
women who prepared drawings and photographs to illustrate manuals
for aviation flight and ground crews. A background in commercial
art, line arts, or architecture was preferred for this work. An addi­
tional 14 women in this plant, who were assigned to production illus­
tration, finished pictorial illustrations by drawing in the smaller detail
parts and doing the lettering. Two years of architectural training
were preferred as background for this work. Another aircraft com­
pany in 194C still employed 6 women as technical illustrators out of
a wartime total of 20. They prepared perspective and 3-dimensional
drawings for catalogs, sales manuals, and advertising layouts and
did some technical photography. Most of them had obtained their
principal training in technical art schools. Additional knowledge of
engineering, architecture, or physics was considered helpful.
Many colleges and art schools offer courses in industrial design, and
courses in production illustration are becoming more common. In
the art department of a western junior college in 1947, 34 women were
studying perspective illustration and 3-dimensional production draw­
ing as preparation for work in advertising. Only a very few schools
outside of industry, however, offer training in scientific or technical
illustration. The Cleveland School of Art is one of the few and
offers a 1-year certificate course in scientific illustration. Hunter Col­
lege in New York City also offers training in this field.
Although there are altogether few women employed in work of this
type, opportunities exist and offer interesting work to those who have
both artistic ability and interest and aptitude in science.




THE OUTLOOK FOR WOMEN IN TECHNICAL SEC­
RETARIAL AND OTHER CLERICAL WORK
There has always been a great demand for women trained in
science to serve as technical secretaries or stenographers. But their
knowledge of science must be offered to supplement expertness in steno­
graphic skills rather than to offset a deficiency in them. Executives
in chemical manufacturing plants, heads of laboratories, and directors
of research institutions are among those who prefer secretaries with
scientific training if they can find them.
Before the wTar, women with bachelor’s degrees in chemistry or other
sciences who were unable to secure laboratory positions often took
stenographic training and became technical secretaries or stenog­
raphers. Some of them later became laboratory workers; some had
charge of technical files and ultimately were trained as technical
librarians. During the war, when better-paying jobs in industrial
and government laboratories became available to women with a mini­
mum of training in science, almost none of the oncoming college grad­
uates took secretarial jobs.
Very few of the 78 industrial firms having research laboratories
visited by the Women’s Bureau in 1945-46 had women secretaries
with college training in science, although many of them preferred sec­
retaries with such background. Only one technical personnel director
said there were no secretarial jobs in his firm for which science back­
ground was desirable. Fourteen of the firms had women secretaries
trained in science. In a chemical manufacturing firm, one of the two
women with bachelor’s degrees in science who were employed as tech­
nical secretaries to research men had been there for 15 years. Another
technical secretary employed in a chemical manufacturing firm for the
past 13 years started as a high school graduate and then acquired col­
lege training in chemistry at night school. About 75 percent of her
time was devoted to secretarial work for laboratory chemists, for whom
she typed reports, maintained files, handled correspondence, and or­
dered supplies. The remainder of her time she spent assisting in the
laboratory, taking down observations, and performing limited and
simple tests under the supervision of the chemists.
Secretarial jobs may lead to full-time positions in the laboratory if
scientific training qualifications are met. For example, a woman who
had majored in chemistry at a teachers college took a position as a
stenographer in the laboratory of a foods manufacturing plant in
1942. At that time, the scarcity of men trained in science enabled
her to transfer to the laboratory within a month.




8-23

8-24

WOMEN IN OCCUPATIONS RELATED TO SCIENCE

At the end of the war, one firm attempted to retrain some of its
wartime laboratory assistants with limited background in science by
transferring them to secretarial work. Twelve girls on routine ana­
lytical work, some of wThom had partial college training in science
and others who were high school graduates, were selected for half-time
training in secretarial work while they continued with their jobs on
a half-time basis. Eleven of the girls completed the 5-month course,
but only five proved to be sufficiently well trained to be placed in tech­
nical secretarial positions immediately.
According to the director of an industrial research laboratory in a
firm manufacturing metals and metal products, the demand for women
as scientific secretaries in 1946 was greater than that in any other tech­
nical occupation. He considered the best basic training to be gradua­
tion from high school, with an academic diploma, followed by a secre­
tarial course. Women who added 1 year of general college chemistry
and 1 year of the fundamentals of organic chemistry to this basic
training could, he felt, qualify for a technical secretarial position
paying from $45 to $50 a week ($2,340 to $2,600 a year) to start.
Kesearch organizations and institutions also employ college-trained
women as technical stenographers and secretaries, and the heads of
science departments in colleges and universities sometimes have per­
manent secretaries who are technically trained. Women with adminis­
trative ability have also served as executive secretaries of technical and
trade organizations. At least two companies covered in the study had
women with bachelor’s degrees in science working on technical files in
a special technical files department. These women receive, distribute,
route, compile, file, abstract, index, and search all the confidential
technical correspondence and reports in the research department.
It was generally agreed by most laboratory directors and college
placement directors that women with bachelor’s degrees in science pre­
fer laboratory positions to technical secretarial or other clerical posi­
tions, although salaries in 1947 were about equal in beginning jobs, and
secretarial positions offered greater security. One director of a college
placement bureau said she had not had a girl trained in science going
into secretarial work in 20 years, although orders for persons to fill
technical secretarial jobs were frequent.
For the young woman trained in science who prefers the satisfaction
of becoming an almost indispensable assistant to a technical executive
or a scientist to working on a project of her own, technical secretarial
work will continue to offer varied and stimulating opportunities for
employment. If trained in the biological sciences, she will find her
background most valuable in such establishments as medical institu­
tions, pharmaceutical companies, and biological supply houses. If
trained in chemistry, she will be welcomed by manufacturers of chemi-




TECHNICAL SECRETARIAL AND OTHER CLERICAL WORK

8-25

cals, foods, and a variety of other industries using chemical processes,
by chemical testing laboratories, and most scientific research institu­
tions. If trained in physics, mathematics, or engineering, she could
find work in public utilities, electrical manufacturing firms, instrument
and machinery manufacture, and firms producing transportation
equipment, as well as in institutions and agencies engaged in research
in the physical sciences. If her training has been in astronomy, or
geology, or one of the other smaller fields, her chances for utilizing her
scientific training in secretarial work will be more limited: for example,
in astronomy, to observatories and universities; or in geology, to oil
and mining companies and universities. A broad but unspecialized
background in the sciences may also be useful and even preferred where
the work of the executive or department served is diversified.




APPENDIX
Minimum Education and Experience Requirements for Application for
Beginning Federal Civil Service Position as Junior Professional Assist­
ant Librarian ($2,644 a year)
(As taken from Civil Service Announcement No. 75, issued October 14, 1947,
closed November 4, 1947)‘

Applicants must have successfully completed one of the following:
A. A full 4-year course, in a college or university of recognized
standing, including or supplemented by either 30 semester hours of
study in library science or 1 full year of training in an accredited
library school; or
B. Four years of successful and progressive experience in library
work. This experience must have provided training in the use of the
tools essential to effective library service, and it must demonstrate an
understanding of methods and techniques of standard library practices
and their practical application to professional library work, equivalent
to that which would have been acquired through completion of a
standard library science curriculum in a college or university of
recognized standing; or
C. Any combination of experience and training which will be the
equivalent of A or B above. In combining education and experience,
the applicant must show for each year of education for which credit
is claimed an average of 8 semester hours in library science.
No credit will be given for experience in rental or club libraries, or
for courses in the practical use of libraries and library facilities.
Minimum Education and Experience Requirements for Application for
Beginning Federal Civil Service Position as Junior Professional
Assistant With Option as Patent Examiner ($2,644 a year)
(As taken from Civil Service Announcement No. 75, issued October 14, 1947,
closed November 4, 1947 )J

Applicants must have successfully completed one of the following:
A. A full curriculum of study leading to a bachelor’s degree in
engineering or in technology, in a college or university of recognized
standing, or a full curriculum of study leading to a bachelor’s degree,
1 For more complete and later information, consult latest announcements of the Civil
Service Commission posted in first- and second-class post offices.
8-26




APPENDIX

8-27

in a college or university of recognized standing, including or supple­
mented by 30 semester hours of study in chemistry or 24 semester hours
of study in physics; or
B. An adequate experience background which has included at least
4 years of successful and progressive experience i n engineering, tech­
nology, chemistry, or physics. This experience must have been of
such a nature as to demonstrate that the applicant possesses an inti­
mate working knowledge of the fundamental scientific principles of
the field involved, to the same extent and degree that such a knowledge
would have been acquired through successful completion of a full
curriculum leading to a bachelor’s degree in a college or university of
recognized standing as described in “A” above.
C. Any time-equivalent combination of A and B above.
Minimum Experience and Education Requirements for Application for
Beginning Federal Civil Service Position as Technical Editor, Biological
Sciences Option ($3,397 a year)
(As taken from Board of U. S. Civil Service Examiners, Army Chemical Center,
Md„ Announcement No. 4-47-223, issued September 9, 1947, closed September
22, 194711

Experience:
Five years of responsible experience in preparing or editing and
reviewing technical specifications reports or documents in
chemistry, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, bio­
logical sciences, Chemical Corps materiel, or other appropriate
technical fields. This experience must have been of such a
nature as to enable applicants to perform successfully at the
professional level and must have included 1 year of such
professional experience.
Substitution of education for experience:
Successfully completed study in a college or university of recog­
nized standing leading to a bachelor’s degree in chemistry,
chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, biological
science, or any other appropriate field of science may be sub­
stituted, year for year, for the general experience required for
all grades. Graduate work in an appropriate science success­
fully completed in a college or university of recognized stand­
ing may also be substituted, on the same basis up to a maximum
of 2 years, for the general experience or for the professional
experience required. To substitute graduate study for 2 years
of experience, applicants must have received the Ph. D. degree.
1 For more complete and later information, consult latest announcements of the Civil
Service Commission posted in first- and second-class post offices.




8-28

WOMEN IN OCCUPATIONS RELATED TO SCIENCE

Minimum Experience, Education, and Work Sample Requirements for
Application for Beginning Federal Civil Service Position as Technical
Illustrator ($3,021 a year)
(As taken from Board of U. S. Civil Service Examiners, National Advisory
Committee for Aeronautics, Langley Field, Va., Announcement No. 1-47-211,
issued August 18, 1947)1

Sample of work:
Each applicant must submit with his application at least one
sample of his illustrative work, representative of the type of il­
lustrating in which he is most proficient. This sample may be
either an original drawing or a print.
Experience:
Credit will be given for all valuable experience of the type re­
quired, regardless of whether compensation was received or
whether the experience was gained in a part-time or full-time
occupation. The applicant’s record of experience or training
must show that he has the ability to perform completely the
duties of the position. Four and a half years of total ex­
perience, with 12 months of specialized experience, are re­
quired.
Substitution of education for experience:
No substitution permitted for the 12 months of specialized expe­
rience referred to above. Education may otherwise be sub­
stituted for experience as follows:
(1) Successfully completed study at a college or university of
recognized standing, in illustrative design or commer­
cial art, may be substituted for the required experience
year for year, up to a maximum of 4 years.
(2) Pertinent residence study which included one or more
courses in illustrative design or commercial art suc­
cessfully completed at a college or university, an art
institute, a school specializing in illustrative design
or commercial art, or a technical high school, may be
substituted for experience. A list of courses completed
should be furnished together with the number of se­
mester hours’ credit received for each course and a
statement of total number of actual classroom hours
devoted to study and work specifically appropriate.
1 For more complete and later information, consult latest announcements of the Civil
Service Commission posted in first- and second-class post offices.




SOURCES TO WHICH REFERENCE IS MADE IN THE TEXT
(1) Adams, F. W. Opportunities for women as research bibliographers. Jour­
nal of chemical education 16: 581-83, December 1939.
(2) Alexander, Mary; Corbin, Nancy; and Egloff, Gustav. Scholastic training
for a career in chemical literature research. Journal of chemical edu­
cation 21: 615-19, December 1944.
(3) Alexander, Mary Louise. The special librarian: what she is; what she
can do; where to And her; how much to pay her. Special libraries
31: 248-50, July-August 1940.
(4) Basil. Helen. Research laboratories library manual. Chicago, III.. Crane
Oo., 1945.
(5) Cibella, Ross C. Introductory remarks (round-table discussion on tech­
nical library service presented before the Division of Chemical Education
of the American Chemical Society, 107th meeting? Cleveland, Ohio, April
4, 1944). Journal of chemical education 21:367, August 1944.
(6) Egloff, Gustav; Alexander, Mary; and Van Arsdell, Prudence. Problems
of scientific literature research. Journal of chemical education 20:587­
92, December 1943.
(7) Hausdorfer, Walter. Special Libraries Association salary survey. Spe­
cial libraries 37 : 142-47, May-June 1946.
(8) Hoffman, Thelma. Techniques employed in making literature searches for
a patent department. Unpublished material scheduled to appear in
Journal of Chemical Education in 1848.
(9) Hollabaugli, C. B. Patent work as a field for chemists. Journal of chemi­
cal education 21: 276-78, June 1944.
(10) Hunter, Elizabeth. Women as patent attorneys. Journal of chemical
education 16 : 589-90, December 1939.
(11) Johnson, Philip G. The National Science Teachers Association as a force
for the future. Education 65: 399-405, March 1945.
(12) Kirkpatrick, Sidney D. Chemical editing. Journal of chemical education
21:272, June 1944.
(13) Leonard, Ruth. Training and Professional Activities Committee. Special
libraries 36: 24, January 1945.
(14) -------- •. S. L. A. plans a recruiting program. Special libraries 35 : 23-24,
January 1944.
(15) Lewton, Lucy O. An industrial research library. Scientific monthly
65: 390-94, November 1947.
(16) -------- . Libraries, advance scouts for research. Chemical and metallurgi­
cal engineering 53: 112-113, March 1946.
(17) -------- . A technical librarian in industry. Executives service bulletin of
the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company 22: 3-4, February 1944.
(18) Oille, Hazel Ohman. Employment opportunities for special libraries.
Special libraries 33 : 45-49, February 1942.
(19) Orton, Floyd Emory. A preparatory program for science and technology
librarians. Special libraries 35:11-15. January 1944.
(20) Paradis, Adrian A. Aviation needs the special library. Special libraries
34 : 119-21, April 1943.




8-29

8-30

WOMEN IN OCCUPATIONS RELATED TO SCIENCE

(21) Savord, Ruth. Special librarianship as a career. New London, Conn.,
Institute of Women’s Professional Relations, 1942. 15 pp.
(22) ----- -—. Special librarianship as a career. Sponsored by the Special Librairies Association. New London, Conn., Institute of Women's Profes­
sional Relations, 1945. 16 pp.
(23) Schulze, Else L. Wanted: more library chemists. Journal of chemical
education 23 : 176-78, April 1946.
(24) Shorb, Lura and Beck, Lewis W. Opportunities for chemists in literature
service work. Journal of chemical education 21:315-18, July 1944.
(25) Special Libraries Association. Report of the Membership Committee.
Special libraries 31: 213-15, July-August 1940.
(26) Strieby, Irene M. The meaning of technical library training. Library
journal 70 : 463-67, May 15, 1945.
(27) Strieby, Irene M. and Cole, Betty Joy. Finding facts for a chemical
clientele. Chemical industries 57: 1064-6S, December 1945.
(28) U. S. Department of Commerce, Patent Office. General information con­
cerning patents. Washington, D. C., U. S. Government printing office,
1946. 21 pp.
(29) U. S. Department of Labor, Women’s Bureau. Employment of women in
the Federal Government, 1923-39. Washington, D. C., U. S. Government
printing office, 1941. 60 pp. (Women’s Bureau bulletin No. 182.)
(30) U. S. Federal Security Agency, U. S. Office of Education. Biennial survey
of education in the United States, 1942-44. Statistics of higher educa­
tion 1943-44. Chapter IV. Washington, D. C., U. S. Government print
ing office, 1946. 75 pp. (See Tables X and XI.)
(31) U. S. Senate, 78th Congress. 2d Session. Hearings before a subcommittee
of the Committee on Education and Labor. Wartime health and educa­
tion. On S. Res. 74, Part 3, Washington, D. C., January 25-29, and Feb­
ruary 9, 1944. Fixed incomes in the war economy. Washington, D. O.,
U. S. Government printing office, 1944. (See Exhibit 10.—Placement
experience in library profession. By Miss Eleanor Cavanaugh, Presi­
dent, Special Libraries Association, page 1523.)




CURRENT PUBLICATIONS OF THE WOMEN’S BUREAU
FACTS ON WOMEN WORKERS—issued monthly. 4 pages. (Latest statistics on
employment of women; earnings; labor laws affecting women; news items of
interest to women workers; women in the international scene.)
EMPLOYMENT OUTLOOK AND TRAINING FOR WOMEN
The Outlook for Women in Occupations in the Medical and Other Health Services,
Bull. 203:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

Physical Therapists. 14 pp. 1945. 100.
Occupational Therapists. 15 pp. 1945. 100.
Professional Nurses. 66 pp. 1946. 150.
Medical Laboratory Technicians. 10 pp. 1945. 100.
Practical Nurses and Hospital Attendants. 20 pp. 1945. 100.
Medical Record Librarians. 9 pp. 1945. 100.
Women Physicians. 28 pp. 1945. 100.
X-Ray Technicians. 14 pp. 1945. 100.
Women Dentists. 21 pp. 1945. 100.
Dental Hygienists. 17 pp. 1945. 100.
Physicians’ and Dentists’ Assistants. 15 pp. 1945. 100.
Trends and Their Effect upon the Demand for Women Workers. 55 pp.
1946. 150.
The Outlook for Women in Science. Bull. 223 : (In press.)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Introduction.
The Outlook for Women in Chemistry.
The Outlook for Women in the Biological Sciences.
The Outlook for Women in Mathematics and Statistics.
The Outlook for Women in Architecture and Engineering.
The Outlook for Women in Physics and Astronomy.
The Outlook for Women in Geology, Geography, and Meteorology.
The Outlook for Women in Occupations Related to Science. (Instant
publication.)

Your Job Future After College. Leaflet. 1947.
Training for Jobs—for Women and Girls. [Under public funds available for
vocational training purposes.] Leaflet 1. 1947.
EARNINGS
Earnings of Women in Selected Manufacturing Industries, 1946. Bull. 219. 14 pp.
1948. 100.
EMPLOYMENT
Employment of Women in the Early Postwar Period, with Background of Pre­
war 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. 1047. 150.




8-31

8-32

WOMEN IN OCCUPATIONS RELATED TO SCIENCE

INDUSTRY
Women Workers in Power Laundries. Bull. 215. 7] pp. 1947. 200.
The Woman Telephone Worker [1944], Bull. 207. 28 pp. 1946. 100.
Typical Women’s Jobs in the Telephone Industry [1944], Bull. 207-A. 52 pp.
1947. 15(1.
Women in Radio. Bull. 222. 30 pp. 1948. 150.
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. 200. Supplements through 1947. Mimeo.
State Minimum-Wage Laws. Leaflet 1. 1948.
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. Also com­
plete text of State laws (separates). 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. (Supplements through 1947. Mimeo.)
I. Analysis of Hour Laws. 110 pp. 1945. 150.
II. Analysis of Plant Facilities Laws. 43 pp. 1945. 100.
III. Analysis of Regulatory Laws, Prohibitory Laws, Maternity Laws.
12 pp. 1945. 50.
IV. Analysis of Industrial Home-Work Laws. 26 pp. 1945. 100.
V. Explanation and Appraisal. 66 pp. 1946. 150.
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. 250.
Legal Status of Women in the United States of America.
United States Summary, January 1938. Bull. 157. 89 pp. 1941. 150.
Cumulative Supplement 1938-45. Bull. 157-A. 31 pp. 1946. 100.
Pamphlet for eacli State and District of Columbia (separates). 50 ea.
Women’s Eligibility for Jury Duty. Leaflet. 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 OCCUPATIONS RELATED TO SCIENCE

8-33

RECOMMENDED STANDARDS for women’s working conditions, safety and
health:
Standards of Employment for Women. Leaflet 1. 194(5. 50 ea. or $2 per 100.
When You Hire Women. Sp. Bull. 14. 16 pp. 1944. 100.
The Industrial Nurse and the Woman Worker. Sp. Bull. 19. 47 pp. 1944.
100.

Women’s Effective War Work Requires Good Posture.
1943. 50.
Washing and Toilet Facilities for Women in Industry.
1942. 50.
Lifting and Carrying Weights by Women in Industry.
1942. 12 pp. 50.
Safety Clothing for Women in Industry. Sp. Bull. 3.
Supplements; Safety Caps; Safety Shoes. 4 pp. ea.
Night Work: Bibliography. 39 pp. 1946. Multilith.

Sp. Bull. 10. 6 pp.
Sp. Bull. 4. 11 pp.
Sp. Bull. 2.

Rev.

11 pp. 1941.
1944. 50 ea.

100.

WOMEN UNDER UNION CONTRACTS
Maternity-Benefits under Union-Contract Health Insurance Plans.
19 pp. 1947. 100.

Bull. 214.

HOUSEHOLD EMPLOYMENT
Old-Age Insurance for Household Employees. Bull. 220. 20 pp. 1947. 100.
Community Household Employment Programs. Bull. 221. 70 pp. 1948. 200.
REPORTS OF WOMEN IN WARTIME: 16 reports on women’s employment in
wartime industries ; community services ; part-time employment; equal pay; rec­
reation and housing for women war workers.
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 Performance
and Home Life. Bull. 208. 187 pp. 1947. 350.
Women Workers in Ten War Production Areas and Their Postwar Employment
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.
Industrial Injuries to Women [1945], Bull. 212. 20 pp. 1947. 100.
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, offices, govern­
ment 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. 1946,
Women’s Bureau Conference. 1948. Bull. 224. (In press.)
Write the Women’s Bureau, U. S. Department of Labor, Washington 25, D. C.,
for complete list of publications available for distribution.




o