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Teachers Collie Library

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
WOMEN’S BUREAU
Bulletin No. 132

WOMEN WHO WORK IN
OFFICES
I. STUDY OF EMPLOYED WOMEN
II. STUDY OF WOMEN SEEKING EMPLOYMENT




UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
FRANCES PERKINS, Secretary

WOMEN’S BUREAU
MARY ANDERSON, Director

+

WOMEN WHO WORK IN
OFFICES
I. STUDY OF EMPLOYED WOMEN
II. STUDY OF WOMEN SEEKING EMPLOYMENT

By
HARRIET A. BYRNE

^tNT

rrcs

Bulletin

of the

Women’s Bureau, No. 132

UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 1935

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C.




•

«

«

,

Price 5 cents




CONTENTS
Letter of transmittal
__
v
IntroductionIII.IIIIII..
i
Part I Study of employed women2
Scope of study"__________________________________________________ "
2
Summary _
I
2
Age-..,--------- ------------------------------------------------ IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
2
Occupation
3
Education and training
g
Hours~ ~
■"
g
WagesIII'
8
Part II Study of workers seeking employment 14
Scope of study14
Summary _ _
.
___
_
_
__
" u
Age--------------------------------------------- 1::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 15
Marital status
lg
Education and trainingI.I.IIII 16
Type of business_________________________________________________ 17
OccupationII.-IIII 17
Time in office work"III 20
Duration of present unemployment_____ ..
.. _____ _____
21
wages-............................................. .............................22
TABLES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Chief occupation, by age—employed women
g
Chief occupation, by maximum general education—employed women..
Wage and age—employed women
9
Weekly wage, by chief occupation—employed women 10
Weekly wage, by maximum general education—employed women.. —_.
Age of women, by city—women seeking employment 16
Chief occupation, by city—women seeking employment 18
Chief occupation, by age—women seeking employment 18
Duration of present unemployment, by age—women seeking employ­
ment______________________________________________________________
10. Weekly wage, by city—women seeking employmentIII
11. Wage and age—'women seeking employmentI
12. Median wage, by occupation and city—women seeking employment...




Page

7
11

21
22
23
27




I

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
United States Department of Labor,
Women’s Bureau,

Washington, March 29, 1985.
I have the honor to transmit a report based on question­
naires replied to by women and girls whose occupations are clerical.
In conjunction with this Bureau’s survey of the employment of
women in offices, based on employers’ records, two studies were
carried on among office workers themselves. Questionnaires were
distributed by the Young Women’s Christian Association among girls
and women in their clubs and camps, and other forms were given to
women applying for office jobs at employment agencies in several
cities covered by the broader survey. This cooperation by the
Y. W. C. A. and the various employment agencies is gratefully
acknowledged.
The material was gathered under the direction of Ethel Erickson,
industrial supervisor, and the report has been written by Harriet
A. Byrne, assistant editor.
Respectfully submitted.
Mary Anderson, Director.
Hon. Frances Perkins,
Secretary oj Labor.
Madam:




v

WOMEN WHO WORK IN OFFICES
INTRODUCTION
. An intensive survey of office work for women was made in 7-cities
in 1931 and 1932 by the Women’s Bureau. This study was confined
to certain types of offices—advertising agencies, banks, insurance
companies, investment houses, mail-order houses, public utilities, and
publishers. Data were obtained from personnel records, from pay
rolls, and by personal interview with someone representing the
management. The number of women covered was almost 43,000.*
To supplement these figures it was thought important to get some­
what similar information from a group of workers themselves as well
as from unemployed women seeking clerical work at public employ­
ment offices.
The cooperation of the Young Women’s Christian Association was
secured in distributing questionnaires to employed business women in
clubs and camps sponsored by that organization. The women them­
selves filled in the questionnaires, giving personal data and certain
facts as to their work. The data thus obtained, though not entirely
comparable with those secured from office records, are significant.
Unemployment had. begun to be a serious problem at the time of
this survey but very little information was available in the offices, so
the questionnaire was again resorted to as a means of securing informa­
tion from women themselves. This was made possible through the
cooperation of employment agencies, both fee-charging and non-fee­
charging, where questionnaires were left by the Women’s Bureau to
be filled in by women who came to make application for work. The
study was confined to 5 of the 7 cities in which the survey of offices
was made. In another city data concerning women applying for work
over a 3-month period were copied from the (records of the only
non-fee-charging agency in the city.
Information secured through the cooperation of the Young Women’s
Christian Association will be discussed in part I of the present report
and data on unemployed women in part II.
‘U. S. Department of Labor. Women’s Bureau.




The Employment of Women in Offices. Bui. 120,

1

Parti. STUDY OF EMPLOYED WOMEN
[Information obtained from office workers attending clubs and camps of tbe Young Women's Christian
Association]

SCOPE OF STUDY

Questionnaires were filled in by 5,039 women office workers at
clubs and camps conducted by the Young Women’s Christian Associa­
tion throughout the country, giving facts as to personal information,
their schooling, and their work. Almost three-fourths replied through
clubs and the remainder, 1,393, through camps. Thirty-nine States
and the District of Columbia were represented, though from some
States only a few questionnaires were received; from others, hundreds
of women replied. Almost three-fifths of the women were in States
classed as northern, almost one-third as southern, and almost onetenth as western.
SUMMARY

Period of survey: Fall of 1930 to spring of 1931.
Number of women: 5,039.
Chief occupation (5,020 reporting):
Secretary, 17 percent; stenographer, 41; bookkeeper, 13; cashier or teller, 2;
typist, 8; clerk, 15; machine operator, 3; miscellaneous, 2.
Age (5,017 reporting):
Under 20 years, 12 percent; 20 and under 25 years, 46; 25 and under 30 years,
23; 30 and under 35 years, 10; 35 and over, 9.
Education (4,898 reporting):
Grammar school, 4 percent; high school, 77; normal school, 6; college, 14.
Commercial training (4,818 reporting):
Had commercial training, 4,510 (in high school 38 percent, in business school
62 percent); no commercial training, 308.
Scheduled daily hours (4,821 reporting):
Less than 7 hours, 6 percent; 7 and less than 8, 55; 8 hours, 29; over 8 hours, 10.
Scheduled weekly hours (4,481 reporting):
Less than 40 hours, 19 percent; 40 and less than 44, 39; 44 and less than 48,
30; 48 and over, 12.
Week’s earnings (4,915 reporting):
Median $24.60, ranging from $19.85 for cashiers or tellers to $28.65 for
secretaries.
Distribution.—Under $15, 5 percent; $15 and under $20, 20 percent; $20 and
under $25, 23 percent; $25 and under $30, 24 percent; $30 and over, 27 percent
AGE

All but 22 of the 5,039 women in the study reported their ages.
As would be expected, they were a young group. Less than onetenth were as old as 35 years. The great majority, somewhat over
two-thirds, were 20 and under 30, and about one-eighth were under 20.
2




3

STUDY OF EMPLOYED WOMEN

These proportions are very similar to those for the 41,000 women with
age reported in the larger study. In that survey the proportion 20
and under 30 years old was only slightly less than two-thirds, while
the proportion as much as 30 years of age was somewhat over onefourth, as compared with somewhat less than one-fifth in the present
survey.
Women who reported
Age
Number

Percent

Total------- ----------------------------------

5,017

100.0

Under 20 years
20, under 25 years---------- -----------------------25, under 30 years
30, under 35 years _________________ _
35 years and over_____ _________________

616
2,310
1,148
505
438

12.3
46.0
22.9
10.1
8.7

OCCUPATION

A large proportion of the women were employed in very small
offices. A third reported that they were emplo3Ted in offices where
there were fewer than 5 persons, and only a third were in offices with
as many as 25 persons.
Women in small offices usually have various duties to perform.
It is not surprising, therefore, that a large proportion of the total
had a variety of duties. Such combinations as secretary and book­
keeper; or secretary, stenographer, bookkeeper, and cashier; or
stenographer, bookkeeper, cashier, and switchboard operator, were
very common. The difficulty in making an occupational classifica­
tion in such cases will be understood. The method chosen necessarily
was an arbitrary one. For example, since the position of secretary
connotes more responsibility than that of stenographer, the occupation
was classed as secretary if this was checked on the questionnaire
even though several other occupations may have been checked also.
The order of precedence in classifying the chief occupation was as
follows: Secretary, stenographer, bookkeeper, cashier or teller, typist,
clerk, machine operator, miscellaneous.
According to this method of classification, much the largest propor­
tion (more than two-fifths) of the 5,020 women who reported their
type of work were stenographers. The next largest number were
secretaries, about 1 in 6 being so classed. This was to be expected,
as so large a proportion of the women were in small offices where there
is little specialization and where it is customary for most of the em­
ployees to have stenographic training. More than one-half of the
secretaries, in contrast to one-third of all the women, were employed
in offices of fewer than 5 persons.
About 1 in 7 of the total were classed as clerks and about the same
proportion as bookkeepers. Only about 1 in 14 were typists. A very
small proportion were machine operators only. The remainder, less
than 4 percent, were cashiers or tellers and miscellaneous workers,
not previously mentioned.
126506°—35-----2




4

WOMEN WHO WORK IN OFFICES

Women who reported
Chief occupation

Total............ ........... ...............................
Secretary_________ _____ ______
Stenographer_____ ___________ ________
Bookkeeper________ _____ _____
Cashier or teller.. ___________
Typist______ ______ ___________
Clerk__ _____ ___ _____ _
Machine operator_____ ________
Miscellaneous________ _______ _____

Number

Percent

5,020

100.0

2,035
660
91

40.5
13.1
1.8

162
96

3.2
1.9

Machine operations
Of special interest during this study has been the extent to which
office workers are using machines other than typewriters. Is there in
the use of machines a pronounced trend toward specialization, or is it
a common thing for an office worker to use a variety of machines in
the course of a day’s work? The results both of this and of the
larger survey show that machines are being used extensively, the kinds
used naturally conforming to the demands of the business. For
example, the bookkeeping machine is used widely in banks, but in
insurance companies much more extensive use is made of the tabu­
lating machine. Calculating, duplicating, and addressing machines
are used in varying degrees in most offices. As would be expected,
due to the large proportion of small offices, the women included in this
survey were less frequently out-and-out machine operators than in the
larger survey mentioned. Only 162 (3.2 percent) gave their entire
time to machine operating, the majority using one type of machine
only. Most of these women, practically two-fifths, were operators of
calculating machines, next in number tabulating, and next bookkeep­
ing. The remainder used various other kinds of machines. Close
to one-eighth of this group operated two types of machines, among
them some combination of adding, calculating, bookkeeping, and
tabulating machines. Only 3 women reported operating 3 or more
types of machines.
In an effort to determine how extensively machines were used by
the women whose principal job was not machine operating, it was
found that over 1,300 women used some machine in connection with
their work. In other words, of the 5,020 women reporting, almost
three-tenths used some machine in addition to the typewriter all or
part of the time.
Of the 1,326 women whose principal occupation was other than
machine work and who reported the types of machines they operated,
more than three-fifths operated 1 type, nearly three-tenths 2 types, and
the remainder 3 or more.
The proportions of women who reported operating some type of
machine though not primarily machine operators varied from prac­
tically one-fifth of the secretaries to well over two-fifths of the book­
keepers. As would be expected, many of these operated bookkeeping
machines, and some used adding, calculating, and tabulating machines
in addition.
Certainly the data secured in the survey indicate the extensive use
of machines and suggest, as a result of this, the advantage to the
workers of being familiar with a variety of types.



5

STUDY OF EMPLOYED WOMEN

Chief occupation

Number
of women
reporting

Women who used
machines
Number i

Percent

Total.......................................

6,020

1,488

29.6

Secretary_______________
Stenographer
Bookkeeper..___ ______ ____
Cashier or teller___________ _____
Typist________________________
Clerk_____ ____________ ______
Machine operator________ ____
Miscellaneous .................... ............

865
2,035
660
91
384
727
162
96

166
627
288
23
126
189
162
7

19.2
26.9
43.6
25.3
32.8
26.0
100.0
7.3

1 1,500 women reported use of machine; 12 did not report number nor type of machines used.

As just stated, the largest proportion of any group of workers
reporting the type of machine used was 288 of the 660 bookkeepers.
Of these, 3 in 5 operated one type of machine at work, the largest
proportion an adding machine, next a bookkeeping or billing machine,
and next a calculating machine. Though not used so extensively as
these, some duplicating, tabulating, teletype, and other miscellaneous
machines were reported. Of the 84 bookkeepers who operated two
types of machines, 63 used an adding machine with some other kind,
for example, bookkeeping or calculating. The 31 bookkeepers who
operated more than two types of machines had used adding, book­
keeping, and calculating machines to a great extent.
Although typing was considered their main job, 126 typists reported
using some machine such as adding, bookkeeping, calculating, dic­
tating, and duplicating in addition to a typewriter.
One hundred and eighty-nine of the women clerks had used some
machine in performing their duties, usually an adding, a bookkeeping,
or a calculating machine.
Of the 527 stenographers reporting as to type of machine used,
three-fifths had used one machine in addition to a typewriter. The
largest proportion, slightly more than one-half of those operating only
one additional machine, had used an adding machine, while next in
rank were duplicating, calculating, dictating, and bookkeeping
machines. For the stenographers who used two types of machines in
addition to a typewriter, the adding machine again was most usual,
though calculating, duplicating, bookkeeping, and dictating machines
were used rather extensively. Among the stenographers using 3 or
4 types, the same machines as just mentioned were most frequentlv
reported.
About one-fourth of the 91 cashiers or tellers used some machine,
for the most part adding, calculating, and duplicating machines.
The smallest proportion of women in any specified occupation who
reported using machines was the 19.2 percent of the 865 secretaries.
As was noted for the other occupations, the machines most commonly
used were adding, bookkeeping, calculating, and duplicating machines.
Occupation and age
Of the group reporting age, all but 17 reported their occupations as
well. As would be expected, the ages of the women in the different
occupations varied considerably. Somewhat under 1 in 10 of the
secretaries, as compared with about 2 in 10 of the typists, were not




6

WOMEN WHO WORK IN OEEICES

yet 20. At the other end of the age scale, less than 1 in 20 of the
machine operators, in contrast to about 1 in 6 of those who were
clerks, had reached 35 years. Other variations may be seen in table 1.
Table 1.—Chief occupation, by age—employed women
Percent w th age as specified
All wom­
en report­
ing
Under 20 20, under 25, under 30, under 35 years
25 years 30 years 35 years and over
years

Chief occupation

Total—N umber. _............................
Percent..................................

5,000
100.0

615
12.3

2,301
46.0

1,145
22.9

501
10.0

438
8.8

Secretary__ ____ ___ ____ _____
Stenographer.. _______________________
Bookkeeper. ......... ........ ........................ ...
Cashier or teller. ___ ________ _____
Typist
Clerk...
.
Machine operator------- -------- -------------Miscellaneous-----------------------------------

862
2,029
656
91
382
722
162
96

9.0
13.9
7.8
9.9
18.1
12.6
13.0
13.5

40.1
51.4
42.2
52.7
48.7
38.8
51.9
38.5

25.9
22.2
25.2
15.4
19.6
22.4
18.5
27.1

13.5
7.9
12.7
8.8
7.3
10.5
12.3
9.4

11.5
4.5
12.2
13.2
6.3
15.7
4.3
11.6

Occupation and size of office
An indication may be had as to the occupations carried on in the
smaller versus the larger offices. The proportions of the women who
were in the smallest offices—those of fewer than 5 persons—ranged
from about one-sixteenth of the machine operators to somewhat more
than one-half of the secretaries. On the other hand, only about oneninth of the secretaries as compared with more than one-third of the
machine operators were in the offices employing 100 or more.
Approximately one-third of the bookkeepers were in the smallest
offices and one-tenth were in the largest. This indicates the trend
in the larger offices away from hand bookkeeping and toward the use
of machines.
About 1 in 10 of the typists were in the smallest offices and more
than 1 in 4 were in the largest. More than one-half of the secretaries
and almost two-fifths of the stenographers were in offices with 1 to 4
employees, as compared with about one-eighth each in the offices
employing 100 or more.
EDUCATION AND TRAINING

General education
Since this is a comparatively young group of business women, it is
not surprising that a large majority, more than three-fourths of the
4,898 women reporting as to their maximum schooling, had attended
high school, and that seven-tenths of these had completed the course.
More than 1 in 8 of the total reporting having attended college or
university had carried such training to completion. About 1 in 20
of the total had attended a normal school. The remainder (3.8
percent) reported their maximum schooling as less than high school.
Education and occupation.—The proportions in the various occupa­
tions who had not even attended high school varied from 2.5 percent
of the machine operators to 5.6 percent of the typists. Especially in
the past, machine companies, eager to have their machines widely
used and to furnish operators to businesses desiring them, gave free
instruction in operating and even sometimes paid girls while learning.




7

STUDY OF EMPLOYED WOMEN

Machine operating appealed to girls seeking work who had attended
only a grammar school.
About two-thirds of the clerks and almost nine-tenths of the cashiers
or tellers reported attendance at high school as their maximum school­
ing. Few of the cashiers or tellers, in contrast to about one-eighth
of the machine operators, had attended normal school.
This large proportion of machine operators with normal training
may be due to the fact that persons who find teaching distasteful,
after having spent some time in preparation, can take a shortcut—a
course in machine operation—into the business world. Less than
1 in 25 of the cashiers or tellers had attended college, but about 1 in 5
of the clerks and of the secretaries reported such training.
Table 2.—Chief occupation, by maximum general education—employed women
Percent with education as specified
Chief occupation

All
women
than
reporting Less
high
school

High
school

Normal
school

College

Total—Number.
Percent______________ ___________

4,881
100.0

184
3.8

3,745
76.7

293
6.0

659
13.5

Secretary __________ _____ _____________ _____
Stenographer
Bookkeeper._________ ________________________
Cashier or teller________________
_
Typist— ______________________ _____ ______
Clerk.___ _______ _____
Machine operator___ _______ _ ____ _____
Miscellaneous. ------- ---------------------------------------

846
1,990
631
86
377
700
159
92

3.4
2.7
4.9
4.7
5.6
5.0
2.5
6.5

72.0
82.1
75.6
89.5
77.5
67.3
78.6
65.2

4.8
4.7
8.1
2.3
5.8
8.4
12.6
5.4

19.7
10.5
11.4
3.5
11.1
19.3
6.3
22.8

The size of office seems to have little effect on requirements as to
education. In offices with fewer than 5 employees 4.3 percent of the
workers, and in offices of 100 or more 5.1 percent, had less than a
high-school education. Likewise, 11.7 percent of those in the smallest
offices and 11.3 percent of those in offices of 100 or more had had some
university training.
Grouped according to maximum schooling received, the proportions
of women who considered themselves self-supporting varied not more
than 3 points from 90 percent.
Commercial training
As would be expected, a large proportion (93.6 percent) of the
women reporting as to commercial training had had some type of
instruction along these lines. Over three-fifths of those who had had
commercial training had received their instruction in business schools.
As commercial training was made available in high schools much later
than business schools came into existence, it is not surprising that
larger proportions of the women trained in high schools than of those
trained in private business schools were young. Of the women who
had attended business schools, only about one-half were under 25
and practically one-tenth were at least 35; of those trained in high
schools the corresponding proportions were almost three-fourths and
only one-fortieth. The lowest proportions of the specified occupa­
tional groups with commercial training were about four-fifths of the
general clerks and seven-tenths of the miscellaneous employees; the
largest, as would be expected, was that of stenographers—almost
100 percent.



8

WOMEN WHO WORK IN OFFICES

HOURS

Scheduled daily hours
It is well known that office hours usually are not long. Of the
5.039 women in the present study, 4,821 reported the length of the
scheduled working day. Approximately equal proportions (about
three-tenths) had a day of 8 hours and one of more than 7 and less
than 8 hours. For about 1 in 4 the hours were exactly 7, for about 1
in 20 they were less than 7, and for about one-tenth, they were more
than 8. Only 24 women, or one-half of 1 percent, had a day longer
than 9 hours.
More than three-fourths of the women reporting on the time
allowed for lunch had a noon recess of an hour or more. The lunch
period varied somewhat with the length of the working day.
Scheduled weekly hours
The scheduled weekly hours of most of the workers were reasonable.
Practically two-fifths had a schedule of 40 and less than 44 hours,
about three-tenths had one of 44 and under 48, about one-fifth worked
less than 40 hours, and the remainder 48 or more.
The smallest offices had the greatest variety of weekly hours.
Though about one-fifth of their women workers, in contrast to only
one-twentieth of those in the largest offices, had hours of 48 or more,
the proportion with hours of less than 40 also was largest in the small
offices.
•
Overtime
Of the 4,688 women reporting on the question of overtime, almost
one-half (2,263) had worked some time in addition to their regular
hours. For the most part this overtime was irregular, but in about
1 of every 6 cases reported it was periodic. The hours spent in
overtime work were not excessive, more than two-thirds of the women
averaging less than 10 hours a month, and well over one-half of these
less than 5 hours.
The proportions in the various occupations working overtime varied
from about 2 in 5 of the cashiers and tellers to practically 3 in 5 of the
secretaries. More than one-half of the bookkeepers had worked over­
time.
Overtime was a more frequent practice in the offices with long
weekly hours than in those with shorter hours; 58 percent of the women
with a week of more than 48 hours reported overtime in contrast to 47
percent of those whose schedule was less than 40.
Lost time
Time lost during the past year was reported on by approximately
4,300 women. Of the 637 who had lost some time for reasons other
than personal, and who reported the amount, more than two-fifths had
lost less than 1 month and approximately one-fifth had lost 3 and less
than 6 months. Roughly one-eighth in each case had lost 1 and less
than 2 months, 2 and less than 3, and 6 months or more.
WAGES

Weekly earnings were reported by 4,915 of the women who filled in
questionnaires.2 Earnings probably were the same as scheduled rates,
and the terms are used interchangeably in the present discussion.
2 For purposes of comparison with the survey of offices (see Women’s Bureau Bui. 120J, the weekly
amounts may be converted to a monthly basis by multiplying by 4H-




STUDY OP EMPLOYED WOMEN

9

Women who reported
Weekly wage
Number

Percent

4,915

100.0

Total...................................
Median earnings....................................
Less than $15............ ..................
$15, less than $20.........................
$20, less than $25_________ _____
$25, less than $30_____________
$30, less than $35.................... ..........
$35, less than $40___ ____:
$40 and more.............. ...........■__

255
*

1,145
1,197
688
419
1 217

23. 3
14. 0
8.5
4.4

* Includes 1 woman earning $80.

The median of the week’s earnings was $24.60 and the range was
from under $15 to $40 or more. Almost one-half the women (48 per­
cent) earned $20 and under $30; one-fifth earned $15 and under $20.
Small groups earned less than $15 and amounts in the highest brackets.
Wages and age
That the age of the worker has some relation to her salary was
apparent in the report on offices referred to. Median earnings were
highest for the older vvomen, whose greater experience probably was
the basic reason for this. In the present study the median for those
under 20 years was $17.60, and for those 35 or older it was $32.90, not
far from twice as much. For those 20 and under 25 years it was
$22.55; for those 25 and under 30 years, $26.75; and for those 30 "and
less than 35 years, $29.90.
Almost one-fifth of those under 20 years of age had a wage of less
than $15 a week, but in other age groups only small percentages—
from 5 to less than 1—were paid such small amounts.
Table 3.— Wage and age—employed ivomey
All women
reporting

Percent with wage as specified

Weekly wage
Number Percent Under 20 20, under 25, under 30, under 35 years
years 25 years 30 years 35 years arid over
Total—Number.........................
Percent............ ..............

4,900

$15, less than $20................................. .
$20, less than $25............... ............ .
$25, less than $30............... ............ ......
$30, less than $35...................................
$35, less than $40___ ____
$40 and more.................................... .

255
992
1,140
1,194
686
418
• 215
$24. 60

100. 0

605
100.0

2, 252
1,00. 0

1,125
100.0

491
100.0

5.2
20.2
23.3
24.4
14.0
8.5
4.4

18.8
48.9
21.2
8.8
2.1
.2

5.2
24.1
30.4
25.7
11.5
2.4
.6

1.5
9.,0
19.8
32: 5
19.4
13.3
i 4.4

.4
5.9
14.7
24.6
20.4
23.0
11.0

427
100.0
.’9
5.4
7.7
17.6
22.5
23.2
22.7

$17.60

$22. 55

$26. 75

$29.90

$3-2. 90

1 Includes 1 woman who earned $80.

The wage level rose steadily with age, a strong indication of the value
of experience in this line of work. To illustrate, roughly two-thirds
(65 to 68 percent) in the various age groups were massed in these wage
classes:
Under 20 years, under $20.
20 to 24 years, $20 and under $35.
25 to 20 years, $25 and under $40.
30 to 34 years, $25 and under $40.
35 years and over, $30 to $40 and more.




10

WOMEN WHO WORK IN OFFICES

Wages and chief occupation
The median week’s earnings for the group as a whole reporting
earnings and occupation (4,896) were $24.60. Median earnings were
highest, $28.65, for the 840 secretaries. Next in rank were the medians
for the 639 bookkeepers, $24.75; the 160 machine operators, $24.55;
the 707 clerks, $24.0.5; and the 1,998 stenographers, $23.65. Con­
siderably below these amounts was the median for the 375 typists,
$20.90. The lowest for any group was $19.85, for cashiers or tellers.
Table 4.—Weekly wage, by chief occupation—employed women
All women
reporting
Weekly wage
Num­
ber

Percent---------

4, 890

Less than $15........................ .
253
$15, less than $20__ ____ 988
$20, less than $25 __
1, 142
$25, less than $30__________ 1, 192
$30, less than $35........... ........
688
$35, less than $40___ ______
418
$40 and more........................ i 215
Median wage............... .......... $24. 60

Percent with wage as specified

Per­
cent

Ma­ Mis­
Cash­
Secre­ Ste­ Book­ ier or Typist Clerk chine cella­
nogra­
tary pher keeper teller
opera­ neous
tor

100.0

840
100.0

1,998
100.0

639
100.0

84
100.0

375
100.0

707
100.0

160
100.0

93
100.0

5.2
20. 2
23.3
24.3
14. 1
8.5
4.4

2.1
10.4
16.2
23.5
18.3
17.5
12.0

5.4
20.9
25.7
26.8
13.6
6.4
1.3

4.2
16.4
25.5
25.8
13.6
9.1
5.3

11.9
35.7
20.2
16.7
7. 1
7.1
1.2

8.0
32.5
26.7
18.7
10.4
2. 1
1.6

6.5
23.6
20.7
20. 1
14.3
9.5
5.4

2.5
21.9
25.0
36.9
12.5
.6
.6

10.8
26.9
28.0
10.8
10.8
3.2
i 9.7

$28. 65 $23. 65 $24. 75 $19. 85 $20. 90 $24. 05 $24. 55

$20.90

-.......

1 Includes 1 woman who earned $30.

About 1 in 20 of the total group reporting earnings and occupa­
tion earned less than $15 a week. As would be expected from the
medians just referred to, those in the three occupations with the
highest medians—secretaries, bookkeepers, and machine operators—
had the lowest proportions at less than $15. Stenographers, clerks,
and typists had 5, 7, and 8 percent, respectively, reporting salaries
of less than $15, while 12 percent of the cashiers and tellers earned
as little as this.
Practically one-fifth of those reporting earnings and occupation had
earnings of $15 and less than $20. Women engaged in the same four
occupations—secretarial work, bookkeeping, stenography, and ma­
chine operation—having the lowest proportions earning less than
$15 a week, also had the lowest proportions earning $15 and under
$20, although not in the same order. Cashiers and tellers, followed
by typists, had the largest proportions at $15 and under $20.
Somewhat less than one-fourth of the total earned $20 and under
$25 a week. For specific occupations the proportions were one-sixth
of the secretaries, about one-fifth of the clerks and of the cashiers
and tellers, and about one-fourth each of the stenographers, book­
keepers, typists, and machine operators.
Secretaries are the only group with proportions of any size earning
as much as $35 a week.
Wages and self-support
Practically seven-eighths of the 4,764 women reporting as to their
earnings and ability to care for themselves were self-supporting. A




11

STUDY OF EMPLOYED WOMEN

great contrast was noted in the median earnings of those who did and
did not so consider themselves, the figures being respectively $25.05
and $17. It is surprising that more than two-fifths of the women
earning less than $15 a week reported self-support. As earnings
increased, the proportions supporting themselves increased to the
point at which all who earned $40 or more stated that they were
self-supporting.
Wages and education
For the 4,783 women who reported education as well as earnings
the median earnings were the same as for the total—$24.60. For
one group, those who had completed high school, comprising more
than one-half of all reporting, the median was below that for the
total group, being $23.05. The highest median was $30.15, for the
women who had completed college.
The wage level rose with education, as it is shown to have done
with age. More than 60 percent (from 60 to 68 percent) in the various
education groups were massed in the wage classes following:
No high school, and high school incomplete, $15 and under $30; high
school complete, normal school, and college incomplete, $20 and
under $35; college complete, $25 and under $40.
Only about 1 in 50 of those who had completed college, in con­
trast to practically 1 in 16 of those who had attended normal school,
had weekly earnings of less than $15. The largest proportions earn­
ing $35 and under $40 and $40 and over were for the college graduates,
and the smallest were for those who had completed high school.
Table 5.— Weekly wage, by maximum general education—employed women
All women re­
porting
Weekly wage

High school

College

Less
than
high
school

Incom­
plete

Com­
plete

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

1000

5.1
20.4
23.1
24.4
14.0
8.6
4.3

3.3
12.5
25.0
28.3
16.3
10.3
4.3

5.1
19.2
22.6
26.0
13.4
9.3
4 6

5.5
24.8
24.9
24.3
12.1
6.2
2.2

5.9
12.9
22.7
20.3
19.9
12.6
5.6

4.6
11.3
18.7
22. 4
19. 2
13.5
10.3

2.1
6.9
10.3
16. 6
17.9

$25.15

$24. 75

$23. 05

$25. 25

$27. 75

$30.15

Number Percent

Percent...........

Percent with wage as specified

Normal

Incom­
plete

Com­
plete

4,783

Less than $15
$15, less than $20
$20, less than $25____ _____
$25, less than $30....... ...........
$30, less than $35, .
$35, less than $40
$40 and more........... ......... .

246
975
1.106
1,169
670
409
208

Median wage........ ............

$24. 60

The range of median earnings among women who were not depend­
ent was from $24.55 for those who had completed high school to $30.75
for those who had completed college. Among the groups who con­
sidered themselves not self-supporting, the range of median earnings
was from $16.60 for the women who had completed high school to,
$19 for those who had attended college.
Wages and training
More than 4,700 women reporting their earnings reported also as
to commercial training. More than 4,400 of these had had such
training. For this group the median of the earnings was $24.60.
126506°—35-----3




12

WOMEN WHO WORK IN OFFICES

For the 1,615 women whose commercial training had been secured
in high schools the median was $22.65, and for the 2,738 who had been
trained in business schools it was $24.95. This difference may not
have been the result of training only but due to experience as well.
However, when age and typo of training are correlated with earnings,
those with commercial-school training still had higher earnings than
those without such training.
For the women who had received their commercial training in high
schools, the median rose from $17.20 for the women under 20 years of
age to $30 for those 30 and under 35. For those whose commercial
training was in business schools, the medians advanced from $18
for those under 20 to $32.20 for those 35 years of age or more.
Wages and hours
For the women who had worked less than 39 hours and 39 and less
than 40 hours, the medians were alike, $24.75, and for those who had
worked 40 and less than 42 hours the amount was only 5 cents less.
The highest median was $28.55 for those who had worked 42 and
less than 44 hours, practically one-fourth of the reporting group.
For those who had worked over 48 hours, median earnings were $19.60,
the lowest of all, though representing the longest hours of work.
Only 1,547 of the 2,263 women who had worked some overtime
reported as to whether or not they had been paid for such work.
Less than one-third (30.6 percent) were reimbursed in any way.
Well over one-half of those reporting as to method of reimbursement
had been paid for their overtime work; the remainder had been given
time off.
Various amounts were paid to the 224 who reported money com­
pensation for overtime. Such reports as these were given:
$1 an evening for a clerk at $14 a week.
50 cents an hour for a clerk at $15.
75 cents for supper for a clerk at $20.
$1 an evening for a secretary at $18.
Time and a half per hour for a bookkeeper at $24.
Supper money for a stenographer at $20.
Time and a half for a secretary at $15.
$1 for 2 hours’ work for a stenographer at $28.
75 cents for supper for a stenographer at $28.
75 cents for supper (3 hours’ overtime) for a stenographer at $25.
$1.75 for two hours for a file clerk at $31.
50 cents an hour for a file clerk at $18.75.
$1 for dinner for a clerk at $90 a month.
$1 a night for a typist at $40 a month.

The median of the earnings of those who worked overtime was
slightly less than the median of those who did not, $24.55 as com­
pared with $24.80.
The median of the earnings for the 616 women reporting lost time
and earnings was $20.05. As the time lost increased, the median
earnings decreased from $20.90 for those who had lost less than 1
month to $18.25 for those who had lost 6 and under 12 months.
Bonus
Of the 4,141 women reporting as to whether or not they had received
a bonus in addition to their salary, one-eighth reported that they had
received some amount in this form of additional remuneration. Of
these 517 women, 263 reported the exact amount of money they had
received. About one-fourth of these had received less than $25,




STUDY OP EMPLOYED WOMEN

13

about one-fiftli $25 and under $50, another one-fourth $50 and less
than $100, and the remainder $100 and over. Of the 83 women who
reported that they had received as a bonus a proportionate part of
their salary, 39 had received 5 percent of their salary and only 4 had
received as much as 20 percent.
Little difference was noted in the median earnings of those who
received a bonus and those who did not, $24.60 for the first and $24.90
for the second.
Less than one-tenth of the typists, in contrast to almost one-fourth
of the cashiers or tellers, reported the receipt of a bonus. Practically
one-eighth of the women in the other specified occupations had been
paid a bonus.
Bonuses were less common in the smallest offices than in the others.
Establishments with 50 or more workers paid bonuses to about onefifth or one-sixth, but the practice affected only about 1 in 9 of the
employees in places with fewer than 5 workers.




Part II. STUDY OF WORKERS SEEKING EMPLOYMENT
[Information obtained by questionnaire from women applying for office work at employment agencies]

SCOPE OF STUDY

This part of the report deals with the information given by women
on questionnaires left at various employment agencies in 5 of the 7
cities where the Bureau conducted its extensive survey of the employ­
ment of women in offices. Both fee-charging and non-fee-charging
agencies cooperated. In another city, Atlanta, information was
secured from the records of the Community Employment Service, a
non-fee-charging agency that handles most of the employment work
of that city. The information obtained, though for a relatively small
group of the office workers unemployed at the time, gives an indica­
tion of the types of workers affected.
In the summary below it will be seen that data concerning 4,331
women, most of whom were unemployed at date of filling in the
questionnaire, were seen red
Number of
women

City
Total______ __

_______ _____

____

New York____ _____
_ _ _______
Philadelphia__ _____
__
Atlanta., __ ..._____
_____
Chicago _
_______
_
__
St. Louis _
____
_ _________
Des Moines._ _ ______ ____ _____
__ __

_ _

_

Percent

4, 331

100. 0

1, 061
367
724
1, 505
528
146

24.
8.
16.
34.
12.
3.

5
5
7
7
2
4

SUMMARY
Period of survey: 1931 to spring of 1932.
Number of women, 4,331.
Age (4,249 reporting):
Under 20 years, 16 percent; 20 and under 30 years, 68; 30 and under 40 years,
14; 40 years and over, 2.
Marital status (4,183 reporting):
Single, 83 percent; married, 10; widowed, separated, divorced, 7.
Education (4,205 reporting):
Grammar school, 8 percent; high school, 72; normal school, 4; college, 16.
Chief occupation (4,297 reporting):
Secretary, 26 percent; stenographer, 28; typist, 10; bookkeeper, accountant,
etc., 12; cashier, 4; clerk, 15; general office and miscellaneous, 5.
Time in office work (3,240 reporting):
Less than 1 year, 7 percent; 1 and less than 5 years, 40; 5 and less than 10 years,
35; 10 years and over, 18.1
1 The date of filling in these questionnaires varied from city to city with the time of the year in which
the particular city was visited. The survey as a whole extended throughout 1931 and the first few months
of 1932.

14




STUDY OF WORKERS SEEKING EMPLOYMENT

15

Time unemployed (3,534 reporting):
Less than 3 months, 48 percent; 3 and less than 6 months, 22; 6 and less than 12
months, 18; 1 and less than 2 years, 9; 2 years and more, 4.
Week’s earnings, present or last job (4,331 reporting):
Median, $23.
Distribution.—Less than $15, 8 percent; $15 and less than $20, 27; $20 and
less than $25, 24; $25 and less than $30, 22; $30 and less than $35, 12; $35 and
more, 9.
Median of the week’s earnings by age (4,249 reporting):
Under 20 years, $16; 20 and under 25 years, $21.10; 25 and under 30 years,
$25.75; 30 and under 40 years, $27.85; 40 years and over, $25.65.
Median of the week’s earnings by occupation (4,297 reporting):
Secretary, $28.20; stenographer, $20.85; bookkeeper, $25.10; cashier, $18.80;
typist, $20.25; clerk, $20.70; miscellaneous, $21.80.
Median of the week’s earnings by schooling (4,205 reporting):
Grade school, $21.05; high school incomplete, $21.35; high school complete,
$22.95; college or university incomplete, $25.45; college or university complete,
$29.40; normal school attended, $23.75.
•
Median of the week’s earnings by business school training (4,265 reporting):
With business school training (1,683), $23.15; without business school training,
(2,582), $22.90.
AGE

As was true of the girls in Young Women’s Christian Association
clubs and camps, the women seeking work through the employment
agencies covered were a young group. Of the 4,331 who made out
the questionnaires, 4,249 reported their ages; more than two-fifths
were 20 and under 25, and more than one-fourth were 25 and under
30. The summary following shows a relative similarity to the other
study in the various age groups.
Women re­
plying through Women ap­
camps and
plying for
clubs of
work at
Young Wom­ employment
en’s Christian
agencies
Association

Age

Total reporting--Number _____
Percent__
Under 20 vears
_
20, under 25 years ________
25, under 30 years___
30 years and over..

_

_____
...

5, 017
100. 0

4, 249
100. 0

12
46.
22.
18.

15.
41.
26.
16.

3
0
9
8

5
4
6
5

The ages of unemployed women varied considerably from city to
city. Fewer than 1 in 7 of those in Chicago, compared with almost
1 in 4 in New York, were under 20. Proportions in other cities fell
between these two, with the exception of Atlanta, where only 1 woman
in the 704 was under 20. More nearly similar proportions, roughly
two-fifths of those in each of the 6 cities, were 20 and not yet 25. In
every city but Philadelphia and Atlanta approximately one-fourth
were 25 and under 30. The proportions falling in the next age group,
30 and not yet 40, varied from one-tenth in New York to more than
onc-sixth in Philadelphia and in Atlanta. Only very slight propor­
tions of the women as a whole and in each of the 6 cities were as much
as 40.



16

WOMEN WHO WORK IN OFFICES
Table 6.—Age of women, by city—-women seeking employment
Women replying to questionnaire

Age

All cities

New York

Philadel­
phia

Atlanta

Chicago

St. Louis

Des
Moines

Num- Per- Num- Per- Num- Per- Num- Per- Num- Per- Num- Por- Num- Perber cent ber cent ber cent ber cent ber cent ber cent ber cent
4,249 100.0 1,043 100.0
Under 20 years___
658 15.5
20, under 25 years-. 1,758 41.4
25, under 30 years.. 1,131 26.6
30, under 40 years..
609 14.3
40 years and over _ _
93 2.2

252
414
246
111
20

24.2
39.7
23.6
10.6
1.9

355 100.0

704 100.0 1,485 100.0

521 100.0

81
132
65
63
14

1
.1
314 44.6
244 34.7
124 17.6
21 3.0

96
233
121
62
9

22.8
37.2
18.3
17.7
3.9

203
608
422
227
25

13.7
40.9
28.4
15.3
1.7

18.4
44.7
23.'2
11.9
1.7

141 100.0
25
67
33
22
4

17.7
40.4
23.4
15.6
2.8

MARITAL STATUS

Practically five-sixths of the women seeking work were single,
about one-tenth were married, and the remainder were widowed,
separated, or divorced. In 5 of the 6 cities the proportion of single
women varied by not more than about 10 points from that for the
whole, but in Atlanta the proportion was much less, fewer than onehalf being single. Close to 2 in 5 in Atlanta were married, while in
the other cities the proportions of married women were very small.
Atlanta also had the largest proportion of widowed, separated, or
divorced women, and Des Moines the next.
EDUCATION AND TRAINING

As was noted for the groups of women in the Young Women’s
Christian Association clubs and camps, close to three-fourths of the
women by whom maximum education was reported had attended
high school. More than one-half of these had completed the course.
About one-sixth had been to college, though only 1 in 4 of these had
attained a degree.
The remainder had either attended normal school or stopped after
the grammar grades, 4 percent and about 8 percent, respectively.
Practically two-lifths of those who reported as to business schooling
had had such training. Three-fifths of those who had gone no
further than the grammar grades in school had attended a business
college, while less than two-fifths of the high school students and only
about three-tenths of the university students had received such
training.
Women who reported
Maximum general education
Number

High school

_____

College-_ ______




-

_

. .

_____

-

_

_

---------

Percent

4, 205

100. 0

329
3, 028
1, 39(5
1, 632
171
677
507
170

7. 8
72. 0
4. 1
16. 1

STUDY OF WORKERS SEEKING EMPLOYMENT

17

TYPE OF BUSINESS

Of the 3,116 women in the 6 cities who reported the line of business
of their present or last employer, the largest number were from offices
connected with manufacturing or mechanical industries, the next
largest from mercantile and sales corporations, and the next from the
professional group. Only in Atlanta were offices of these types in­
cluded in the Bureau’s report on the employment of women in offices.
Other lines in which the women seeking employment had been engaged
were insurance, public utilities, bonds, publishing, mail order, and
banks.
In the largest cities included, Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia,
the same three types of business as for the group as a whole were most
frequently reported.
In Chicago the largest number of women (235) had been employed
in manufacturing, with mercantile and sales houses following, as for
the total, the professional offices ranking third. Work in professional
offices was reported by the largest group of women in New York, with
manufacturing second, and some mercantile or sales pursuit third.
In Philadelphia the same three were reported most frequently, but
the rank was manufacturing, professional, and mercantile and sales.
Manufacturing, mercantile and sales, and public utilities were
reported most often by the women in St. Louis, and the second and
third of these were mentioned most frequently on the Atlanta records.
The next two groups in Atlanta, an equal number in each, were mail
order and manufacturing. Only 112 women in Des Moines reported
their employer’s business, and of these the largest number had been
engaged in insurance.
OCCUPATION

Almost 4,300 of the women who filled in questionnaires reported
their work on the present or last job. As was true in the returns to
the Y. W. C. A., many gave more than one occupation, and because
of the nature of the data an arbitrary classification of the chief jobs
was necessary. The same classification was used in both studies,
with the exception of machine operators. The list for the women
seeking employment follows: Secretary, stenographer, bookkeeper,
cashier, typist, clerk, other.
The largest group, almost three-tenths of the total, was the stenog­
raphers, followed closely by the secretaries, who comprised more than
one-fourth of all. The smallest group, about 1 in 25 of the total, was
that of cashiers.
In Philadelphia, Atlanta, St. Louis, and Des Moines the largest
proportions of women seeking work were stenographers, while in
Chicago and New York secretaries were most numerous. In each
city the smallest group (except those combined as “other”) was the
cashiers.




WOMEN WHO WORK IN OFFICES

18

Table 7.—Chief occupation, by city—women seeking employment
Percent of women with occupation as specified
Chief occupation
All cities
Total reporting—Number. _
Percent...

Clerk

__ ...........................

New
York

Philadel­
phia

Atlanta

Des
Chicago St. Louis Moines

4,297
100.0

1,061
100.0

367
100.0

715
100.0

1,485
100.0

525
100.0

144
100.0

25.7
28.4
11.6
4. 1
10.0
15.2
5.1

25.9
18.8
15.5
3.9
7.1
22.5
6.4

25.9
34.9
10.6
4.1
8.7
13.4
2.5

10.8
36.4
10.6
5.9
7.3
17.9
11.2

33.9
26.4
10.6
3.4
11.0
11.4
3.2

24.2
36.0
8.8
3. i

18.1
36.8
10.4
6.9
14.6
10.4
2.8

10.1
1.7

Occupation and age
In the six cities considered together the largest proportion, approxi­
mately two-fifths, of the women reporting age and occupation were
20 and under 25 years. The largest proportions in the seven occu­
pational groups also were of these ages. The range was from about
one-third of the secretaries to close to one-half of the typists. The
occupations with more than the average proportion of women as much
as 40 years old were bookkeepers and secretaries, but even these had
only small percentages so reporting.
Table 8.—Chief occupation, by age—women seeking employment

Chief occupation

Percent.......... ...........-..........-

All
women
report­
ing

Percent with age as specified
Under 20, under 25, under 30, under 40 years
20 years 25 years 30 years 40 years and over

4,215
100.0

654
15.5

1,742
41.3

1,123
26.6

605
14. 4

91
2.2

1,081
1,198
489
171
420
642
214

9.0
22.5
11.0
14.0
19.0
16.4
11.7

34.0
43.5
41.7
37.4
48.3
46.4
39.3

33.5
21.7
29.7
26.9
22.4
24.0
29.0

20.4
10.8
14.1
19.9
9.3

3.1
1.6
3. 5
1.8
1.0
1.4

17.3

In New York the largest proportions of secretaries, bookkeepers,
and clerks were 20 and not yet 25, but the largest group of stenog­
raphers were under 20. Equal proportions of the typists fell m these
two age groups. In each occupational group much the smallest
proportion were 40 years and over.
In Philadelphia only two occupations—secretaries and stenog­
raphers—had as many as 50 women. The largest proportion of the
secretaries were 30 and not yet 40 years of age, and of the stenog­
raphers 20 and under 25.
,
.
In Chicago four occupations had their largest proportions m the
age group 20 and under 25 years, but in the case of secretaries well
over one-third were 25 and not yet 30. In St. Louis also the modal
age group was 20 and not yet 25 in four of the occupations. In Des
Moines only stenographers were sufficient in number for analysis.
Considerably more tban two-fifths of these were 20 and under 25
years.



STUDY OP WORKERS SEEKING EMPLOYMENT

19

In Atlanta all occupations but secretary had their largest propor­
tions in the age group 20 and under 25 years; for secretaries the
modal age group was 25 and under 30.
Occupation and education
The proportions of women with little and with considerable school­
ing show quite a range according to occupation. Only about 3 percent
of the secretaries and about 7 percent of the stenographers had
stopped school after the grammar grades, compared with about 12
percent of the cashiers, typists, and clerks. Varying proportions in
the different occupations reported high school as their maximum
education; about five-eighths of the secretaries did so, as compared
with close to four-fifths of the stenographers, cashiers, and typists.
Only 6 percent of the cashiers had attended a university, but close to
30 percent of the secretaries reported such training. Approximately
three-tenths of the secretaries who had been to college or university
had completed the course. The proportions of women who had
attended normal school varied much less, from 2.7 percent of the
typists to 5.7 percent of the bookkeepers.
In New York the largest proportion of the women in any city
included (more than 1 in 5) had had some university training and the
smallest proportion in any city reported high school as their maxi­
mum. Only 1 in 40 of the secretaries, compared with 1 in 8 of the
typists, reported their maximum as the grammar grades. About
one-eighth of the typists, the stenographers, and the bookkeepers had
attended a university, as compared with more than two-fifths of the
secretaries.
For 3 of the 4 occupations in which a comparison was possible of
those who had had business training and those who had not, much
higher proportions had gone directly to business training from
grammar school.
In contrast to New York, a much smaller proportion of the women
seeking work in Philadelphia reported university training, and a larger
proportion gave the grammar grades as their maximum schooling.
For only two occupations (secretary and stenographer) was informa­
tion available as to type of education. Close to 1 in 10 of the secre­
taries and about 1 in 6 of the stenographers had only a grammarschool education, as compared to more than 1 in 8 of the former and
only about 1 in 33 of the latter who had some university training.
For the group as a whole the proportion with business training who
reported grammar school as their maximum education was much
greater than of those without such training, 23.5 percent as compared
with 4.3 percent.
In Atlanta the proportions who reported specified types of general
education were quite similar to the group of six cities as a whole, a
somewhat larger part having been to high school and a smaller pro­
portion to college. About 6 percent of the secretaries, in contrast to
3 percent for the group of six cities, had only grammar-school training.
The proportions of those who had attended high school were very
nearly the same for the various occupations as for all women in the
Atlanta study. One in 12 of the bookkeepers and about 1 in 7 of the
secretaries had been university students.
Only for stenographers in Atlanta was it possible to compare those
with and without business schooling. The conditions as to general
education were much the same as in other cities.



20

WOMEN WHO WORK IN OFFICES

In Chicago the proportion with grammar school as a maximum was
only about one-half as great as that for the six cities as a whole and
that for New York. The proportion with college training was some­
what greater than for the six cities combined, though not quite so
large as for New York. It was three times as great as for Philadelphia.
The proportions of those in the various occupations who had been
only to grammar school ranged from one-half of 1 percent of the
secretaries to 10 percent of the cashiers. Those who had been to a
university ranged from 2 percent of the cashiers to more than 30
percent of the secretaries.
For three occupations, secretary, stenographer, and typist, comarisons have been made of those with and without business training,
n every case larger proportions of the women in these positions with
business training had only a grammar-school foundation. As else­
where, and as would be expected, larger proportions of those with
university training had not attended a business school.
The education reported by the women in St. Louis was quite dif­
ferent. A much larger proportion than in the other mid western cities
or in the six cities considered as a group (15 percent) had only a
grammar-school background, and a much smaller proportion (6.6
percent) than in the group as a whole had university training.
The proportions differed greatly with the occupations, for four of
which—secretary, stenographer, clerk, and typist—comparison was
possible. From one-twelfth of the secretaries to three-tenths of the
clerks had only grammar school as their maximum. About 1 in 25
of the clerks, as compared with 1 in 8 of the secretaries, had attended
a university.
For those with and without business training the conditions were
those previously described: Larger proportions of those with business
schooling than of those without had only grammar-school training,
and smaller proportions had university training. The same trend
was noted for two occupations, secretary and stenographer, the only
two on which comparisons could be based.
A much smaller proportion in Des Moines than in Chicago had no
more education than that afforded by a grammar school, and a much
larger proportion than in Chicago, Atlanta, or the 6 cities considered
as a whole had been to normal school. Due to the small numbers,
only the groups as a whole with and without business training can be
compared. As appears throughout, the proportion with college
training was much greater for those without business schooling than
for those who had had such schooling.

f

TIME IN OFFICE WORK

In 5 of the 6 cities (Atlanta the one excepted) women seeking em­
ployment reported the time that they had been employed in office
work. Of the 3,114 women who were unemployed at time of inquiry
and who reported the time they had been in office work, about 1 in
15 had had less than a year’s experience, and a somewhat larger
proportion, about 1 in 12, had had 1 and less than 2 years’ experience.
Proportions approximating one-tenth had worked from 2 to 3, from
3 to 4, and from 4 to 5 years. More than one-third had worked in
offices 5 and less than 10 years, and somewhat less than one-fifth had
had experience of 10 years or more.
In general there was little difference in these proportions in the
various cities.



STUDY OF WORKERS SEEKING EMPLOYMENT

21

DURATION OF PRESENT UNEMPLOYMENT

Of the 3,534 women who reported the time they had been out of
work, almost one-half had been unemployed for less than 3 months,
about one-fifth for 3 and less than 6 months, and a slightly smaller
proportion for 6 months to a year. Practically 1 in 8 of the women
had been out of work for a year or longer, some for as long as 5 years.
When the 6 cities were compared, New York had the largest propor­
tion (96 percent) unemployed for less than 1 year, and Atlanta the
smallest (70 percent).
By age
Though the majority of the unemployed women were young, it was
the older women who had been out of work for long periods. Of those
unemployed for less than 3 months, close to 3 in 5 were women under
20 and only about 1 in 5 were 40 or more. At the other extreme,
those who had been unemployed for a year or longer increased with
age from less than 7 percent of the women under 20 to 26.3 percent
of those 40 or older.
The same conditions were noted in each of the six cities as for the
group as a whole.
Table 9.—Duration of present unemployment, by age—women seeking employment
Percent with unemployment as specified
Duration of present unemployment

Total—Number______ ____ _
Percent_____ ___________
Less than 3 months___________ ..
3r less than 6 months ___________
6, less than 9 months.............. ............ .
9, less than 1 year__________
___
1, less than 2 years........ ..................

All
women
reporting Under 20 20, under 25, under 30, under 40 years
years of 25 years 30 years 40 years
of age
of age
of age
age
of age
and more
3,476
100.0

505
100.0

1,462
100.0

934
100.0

499
100.0

76
100.0

1,665
761
369
247
305
129

57.2
22.6
8.1
5.3
6.3
.4

51.2
20.0
10.9
7.7
8.2
2.0

45.4
23.3
9.7
7.4
8.5
5.7

37.3
24.2
12.2
6.4
12.4
7.4

22.4
21.1
21.1
9.2
15.8
10.5

By marital status
More than one-half of the single women reporting duration of unem­
ployment had been out of work less than 3 months, and somewhat
under one-fourth for 3 and less than 6 months.
Quite a different situation was noted among the married women, of
whom more than three-tenths had been out as long as a year. Of the
widowed, separated, or divorced women, more than one-third had
been out of work less than 3 months and somewhat less than threetenths for a year or longer.
Only for single women was it possible to make such comparisons
m the six cities. The largest proportion of single women who had
been out of work less than 3 months was about 3 in 5, for the women
in New York City. The smallest proportion, was about 1 in 5, for
those in Atlanta. Close to one-fourth (22.2 percent) of the single
women reporting in Atlanta, in contrast to only 3 percent of those
in New York, had been unemployed for a year or more.
Wide variations were shown among the married women in the two
cities in which it was possible to make comparisons, Atlanta and
Chicago. In Atlanta only about one-eighth of the married women



22

WOMEN WHO WORK IN OFFICES

had been unemployed for less than 3 months, in contrast to nearly
one-half of those in Chicago. Close to two-fifths of those in the
southern city, as compared with about one-fifth of those in Chicago,
had been out of work for a year or more.
Conditions among the widowed, separated, or divorced women in
Atlanta were much the same as among the married women.
By schooling
When duration of unemployment was correlated with schooling,
education appeared to have little effect on the length of time out of
work. This was true not only for the group as a whole but for the
cities considered separately.
By time in office work
Among those unemployed for less than a year, length of experience
seemed to have little or no relation to such unemployment. How­
ever, of those with experience of 5 and under 10 years or of 10 years
or more, naturally the older women, the proportions unemployed
for at least a year were greater than for any other group, about 1 in 10
and 1 in 6, respectively. This same condition was found true for
4 of the 5 cities in which comparisons could be made.
WAGES

Weekly wages 2 on their last jobs—or their present jobs if still
employed—were given by all the women covered. The median of
the wages was $23 for the group as a whole. For the two largest
groups of women, those from Chicago and New York City, with
respectively about one-third and one-fourth of the total, the medians
were higher than for all women and were very nearly alike—$25.05
and $25.15. The median wage in Atlanta, with about 1 in 6 of all
the women, was $21.55, and in Philadelphia, with about 1 in 12, it
was $20.25.
In St. Louis and Des Moines, with about 12 and 3 percent, respec­
tively, of the women, the median wages were the lowest, $18.80 and
$16.90.
.
.
The proportions of all women and of the women in each city earn­
ing some amount within specified groups may be seen in table 10.
Table 10.—Weekly wage, by city—women seeking employment
Women replying to questionnaire

All cities

Weekly wage

New York

Phila­
delphia

Atlanta

Chicago

St. Louis

Des
Moines

Num­ Per­ Num­ Per­ Num­ Per­ Num­ Per­ Num­ Per­ Num­ Per­ Num­ Per­
ber cent ber cent ber cent ber cent ber cent ber cent ber cent
528
724 100.0 1,505 100.0
367 100.0
4,331 100.0 1,061 100.0
Median wage____ $23.00 — $25.15 — $20. 25 — $21. 55 — $25. 05 — $18.80
97
58 3.9
84 11.6
40 10.9
41 3.9
351 8.1
182
298 19.8
202 27.9
135 36.8
267 25.2
$15, less than $20-.. 1,149 26.5
380
25.2
145
195
26.9
89
24.3
201
18.9
$20, less than $25.._ 1, 038 24.0
77
396 26.3
148 20.4
62 16.9
228 21.5
929 21.5
$25, less than $30___
16
238 15.8
58 8.0
31 8.4
153 14.4
$30, less than $35-__
498 11.5
135 9.0
11
37 5.1
10 2.7
171 16.1
366 8.5
$35 and more____
* For use of term, see foot of p. 8.




100.0
—

18.4
34.5
27.5
14.6
3.0
2.1

146 100.0
$16.90 —
31
65
28
18
2
2

21.2
44. 5
19.2
12.3
1.4
1.4

23

STUDY OF WORKERS SEEKING EMPLOYMENT

Wages and age
Of the 4,249 women reporting age and the weekly wage on the last
job, almost equal proportions, close to one-fourth, had wages of $15
and less than $20 and of $20 and less than $25. A slightly smaller
proportion, about one-fifth, had received $25 and less than $30.
More than one-tenth (11.5 percent) reported as their last wage some
amount from $30 to $35. Almost equal proportions, about onetwelfth, had weekly wages of less than $15 and of $35 and more.
The largest proportion of the women whose stipend weekly was
less than $15 was that of the women under 20 years of age, about
one-fourth. For the most part the proportions earning some amount
below $15 varied inversely with ago. For the women whose weekly
wage was $15 and less than $20, the largest proportion also was for
the women not yet 20. In general, as age increased the proportions
earning these amounts decreased.
The largest group of women earning $20 and less than $25 was the
women 20 and under 25 years old, close to one-third of whom reported
such wages. Only about one-sixth of the girls under 20 had a wage
of as much as $20.
Between 20 percent and 30 percent of all the women but those
under 20 reported a wage of $25 and less than $30; only 3 percent of
the youngest group had earned this much. Close to one-fifth of
those 25 and under 30 years and 30 and under 40 years had earned
$30 and under $35, and about the same proportion of those 30 and
under 40 and 40 and over had a wage of $35 or more.
Median earnings increased with age from $16 for those not yet
20 to $27.85 for those 30 and under 40. For the highest age group,
40 years and over, the median dropped to $25.65, almost identical
with that for women 25 and under 30 years.
Table 11.— Wage and age—women seeking employment
All women
reporting

Percent with wage as specified

Weekly wage
Number

4,249
350
1,130
1,014
910
487
358
$23. 00

Percent

Under
20 years
of age

20, under 25, under 30, under 40 years
25 years 30 years 40 years
of age
of age
of age
of age and over

100.0

658
100.0

1,758
100.0

1,131
100.0

609
100.0

93
100.0

8.2
26.6
23.9
21.4
11.5
8.4

26.0
67.6
12.9
3.0
.2
.3

7.5
29.5
31.3
21.4
7.3
3.0

3.1
14.6
21.2
27.3
20.1
13.7

1.8
9.4
18.9
29.6
18.9
21.6

2.2
11.8
24.7
26.9
16.1
18.3

$16.00

$21.10

$25.75

$27.85

$25.65

In New York the earnings reported were the highest in any of the
cities, though not very unlike those in Chicago. Only about 1 in 25
women had wages of less than $15; a somewhat larger proportion had
earned $15 and less than $20. More than 3 in 10 of the women re­
ported $30 and over. Naturally, the median of the wages of the New
York women were the highest of any, $25.15.




24

■WOMEN WHO WOBK IN OFFICES

In general, larger proportions of the younger than of the older
women had small weekly wages. Approximately 12 percent of the
girls under 20 had earned less than $15, as compared with only 1 per­
cent of those 20 and under 25 or 25 and under 30. About three-fifths
of the women under 20 years, as compared with about one-twentieth
of those in the groups 25 and less than 40 years, had earned $15 and
under $20. The proportions earning the highest amounts, $35 and
more, increased directly with age, from less than 1 percent of the
women under 20 to nearly 50 percent of those 30 and under 40.
Median earnings likewise increased with age, from $18.10 for the
women under 20 to $30.95 for those 30 and under 40 years of age.
In Philadelphia larger proportions than in New York City had
earned small amounts: About 1 in 9 reported less than $15, and more
than 1 in 3 some amount between $15 and $20. Only about 1 in 9
had earned $30 and more.
As was true of the women in New York, there was a close relation
between earnings and age. Nearly all the women under 20, about
one-half of those 20 and under 25, three-tenths of those 25 and under
30, and about one-seventh of those 30 and under 40 had earned less
than $20. No one under 20 had earned as much as $25, though more
than one-eighth of those 20 and under 25 years, more than two-fifths
of those 25 and under 30, and close to seven-tenths of those 30 and
under 40 had earned at least $25.
As age increased, the median earnings increased from $15.35 for
those under 20 years to $25.70 for those 30 and under 40 years.
Of the 724 women in Atlanta reporting their last wage, the propor­
tions were not very different from those of the group as a whole. How­
ever, a smaller proportion in Atlanta than in all cities had earned as
much as $30, about one-eighth as compared with one-fifth, while
close to one-eighth of the women in Atlanta, in contrast to about
one-twelfth of the total, had earned less than $15.
The median earnings increased as age increased from $18.60 for
those 20 and under 25 to $25.40 for those 30 and under 40.
As in other cities, the proportions in the lower-wage groups de­
creased as age increased. For those earning $30 and under $35 the
proportions increased with age, but the wage group $35 and over
had more women of 30 and under 40 years than of 40 years and more.
Of the 1,485 women in Chicago who reported age and wage, only
3.9 percent, exactly the figure for New York, had a wage of less than
$15. Almost one-fourth of the women—not so large a proportion as
in New York, but larger than in Philadelphia—had a wage of as much
as $30.
The largest proportion earning less than $15 was of the girls under
20, about one-fifth of whom had such earnings. The same group
had the largest proportion, close to two-thirds, who earned $15 and
less than $20. In the next wage class, $20 and less than $25, the
largest group was close to two-fifths of the women 20 and under 25
years old. For those earning $35 and over, proportions increased
with age from 2.5 percent of those 20 and under 25 years to close to
30 percent of those 40 years and older.
Median earnings increased as age increased from $17.10 for those
under 20 to $29.25 for those 30 and under 40. There was a slight
decline for the women of 40 or more.




STUDY OF WORKERS SEEKING EMPLOYMENT

25

St. Louis had the largest proportion, Des Moines alone excepted,
of women who had earned less than $15. The figure was slightly
under one-fifth. St. Louis had next to the smallest proportion—
only about 1 in 20—of women who had earned as much as $30.
In general, the proportions at the smaller amounts decreased and
those earning the larger amounts increased with age. More than 3
in 5 of the women under 20, but only about 1 in 20 of those 25 and
under 30, had earned less than $15; and only about 1 in 200 of those
20 and under 25, in contrast to 1 in 16 of those 30 and under 40, had
earned $35 or more.
The median earnings increased from $12.90 for those under 20
years of age to $24.25 for those 30 and under 40.
Larger proportions of women in Des Moines than in any other of
the cities, more than 1 in 5, reported wages of less than $15 and of
$15 and less than $20. As would be expected, women in this city
reported next to the smallest proportion earning $20 and less than
$25 and the smallest proportions earning $25 and less than $30 and
$30 and less than $35. None had earned so much as $35. For only
one age group, 20 and under 25 years, were there sufficient numbers
on which to base any comparisons. About equal proportions, approxi­
mately three-tenths, of the women of these ages had earned less than
$15, $15 and under $20, and $20 and under $25. Only a small pro­
portion had earned $25 and under $30. The median earnings for the
141 women were $16.75.
Wages and marital status
No great variation appears in the earnings of women of different
marital status for the group as a whole, but in some of the cities there
were such differences. The greatest difference in averages was for
New York, where the median earnings of the married women were $30
and those of the single women were approximately $25. In Chicago
the medians for single and married women were almost alike, approxi­
mately $25, but for the widowed, separated, or divorced women the
figure was higher, about $28.
Wages, education, and training
For those who reported their schooling, earnings followed the
logical course of advancing with education. The lowest median
earnings, $21.05, were for the women whose maximum general educa­
tion was grammar school; the next were for high school, $22.20; the
next for normal school, $23.75; and the highest, $25.70, were for
university training. Very little difference was noted in the median
earnings of those who had attended a business school, thus supple­
menting their general education, as compared with the earnings of
those who had not.
For the 1,050 women in New York City who reported earnings and
schooling, the median earnings according to education showed a range
of more than $8. The lowest median ($21.75) was for normal-school
students, the next, $22.65, was for the women who had gone no higher
than the grammar grades, $24.70 was for the high-school students,
and $29.95 was for the university students.
For the women with business-school training, the median earnings
were $25.05 for those whose general education was high school and
$28.60 for those who had been to a university. For the women with­
out business schooling, the group with high-school education had




26

WOMEN WHO WORK IN OFFICES

median earnings of $24.30 and those with university training had a
median of $30.20.
In Philadelphia it was possible to compare only the median earn­
ings of high-school trained women. For this high-school group as a
whole the median earnings were $19.85, while for those who had had
some additional business training the median was $20.45, and for
those without it was $18.90.
In Atlanta those who had not gone beyond grammar school had
slightly higher median earnings than those whose maximum educa­
tion had been in high school. The highest were for those who had
attended a university.
Somewhat less variation in earnings according to extent of school­
ing was apparent in Chicago. For those whose maximum general
education was grammar school, the median of the earnings was $23.50;
for high school it was $24.05; and for university it was $25.90. In
the business-school group, only a slight difference existed in median
earnings according to high-school or university background—$25.15
and $25.70, respectively. For these general education groups but
with no business schooling, the medians were $26.10 for the univer­
sity women and $23.75 for those with high school as their maximum.
In St. Louis only slight differences were noted. For the highschool trained the median of the earnings was $18.70, increasing to
$18.95 for those with business training and decreasing to $18.50 for
those without.
Only for the high-school group in Des Moines were any comparisons
possible. The median of the earnings of all the 109 women was
$16.80. For the 65 of these with no special business schooling, it was
$15.85.
For only one group, those whose maximum education was high
school, was it possible to compare the earnings of those who had and
had not attended a business school. The median earnings were
$23.05 for those who had been to business college and $20.05 for
those who had not.
Wages and experience
That experience in office work brings higher wages is clear from an
analysis of the data regarding the women in five of the cities, Atlanta
being excepted. Median earnings for the group as a whole increased
with office experience from $15.55 for women with experience of less
than 1 year to $28.60 for those who had been in such work 10 years
or more.
The largest proportion in the wage group of under $15 is the
women with experience of less than 1 year, more than two-fifths of
the total.
Well over one-lialf of those with experience of 1 and less than 2
years had earned $15 and less than $20. More than one-third of
those who had worked for 4 and less than 5 years had earned $20
and less than $25, and close to one-third of those with experience of
5 and less than 10 years had wages of $25 and less than $30. Almost
one-fourth of those who had worked for 10 years or longer had a
weekly wage of $30 and under $35, and a like proportion of $35 and
over.




STUDY OF WORKERS SEEKING EMPLOYMENT

27

Wages and occupation
Wlien the women’s work was correlated with weekly wage, great
variations were noted. The highest median earnings were $28.20 for
those employed as secretaries and the lowest were $18.80 for the
cashiers.
Well over two-fifths of the secretaries, as compared with about
one-tenth of the stenographers, earned $30 or more a week. Some­
what more than one-fourth of the bookkeepers had earned as much
as this, but much smaller proportions of clerks, cashiers, and typists
reported a wage of as much as $30.
In 5 of the 6 cities, Des Moines the one excepted, secretaries had
the largest proportions with wages of $30 or more, bookkeepers
ranked next, and stenographers next. There was, however, great
variation in the proportions of the secretaries earning as much as
$30. Close to two-thirds (63 percent) of those in New York had
earned $30 and more, while in St. Louis only about one-seventh had
earned so much. The proportion of stenographers earning $30 or
more was highest in Chicago, where about one-sixth had earned at
least $30, but the figure for New York was only slightly different.
The median earnings for secretaries ranged downward from $30.75
in New York to $22.75 in St. Louis. For stenographers the highest
median was $23.35, the Atlanta figure, and the lowest was for
St. Louis, $18.35. For medians for women engaged in the various
occupations see table 12.
Table 12.

Median wage, by occupation and city—women seeking employment
Median of the weekly wages reported

City
Total
New York____ _______
Philadelphia ......... .. _ ... ...
Atlanta________ _____ __
Chicago.. _ ... __
St. Louis. _____________
Des Moines ____________ _




$25.15
20.25
21.55
25.10
18.80
17.00

Secre­
tary
$30. 75
25. 25
27. 50
29. 30
22. 75

o

Stenog­
rapher

Book­
keeper

$20. 30
18.65
23. 35
23.15
18. 35
18.40

$25. 65

$22. 25

$20.60

23. 20
25.85

20.15
20. 90
17.00

17.85
21.40
16.15

Cashier

$20.95

Typist

Clerk