Full text of Women as Workers : A Statistical Guide
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i
U B R A R Y
WOMEN
WORKERS
A
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
M a r t i n P.
Durkin,
Secretary
_
WOMEN'S BUREAU
I .
IK
F r i e d a S. M i l l e r , Director
Washington 25, 0. C.
D- 65
Statistical
Guide
This report was prepared under the direction of
Mary N. Hilton, Chief of the Research Division,
by Jean S. Campbell, Chief of the Statistical
Branch. The charts and tables were compiled
by Regina M. Neitzey and other staff members
of the Statistical Branch.
CONTENTS
Page
I.
II.
III.
NUMBER OF WOMEN WORKERS
Long-Term Trend
Changes Since 19^0
1
2
OCCUPATIONS
Clerical Workers — *
Private Household Workers
—
—
Professional and Technical Workers - - Operatives
—
Farm Workers
Service Workers Except Private HouseholdSales Workers
Craftsmen - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Managers, Officials, and Proprietors - INDUSTRY AND CLASS OF WORKER
Class of Worker in Nonagricultural
and Agricultural Employment —
- - —
Major Industry Distribution
Manufacturing Industries —
—
- - —
Federal Government Employment
Employment Among Farm Women - - - - - —
8
8
9
9
10
10
11
11
11
18
19
19
20
21
IV. UNEMPLOYMENT
Numbers
In Contrast to Men
—
Women Among the Employed and Unemployed V.
LABOR TURNOVER AND LENGTH OF TIME ON THE JOB
Labor Turnover in Selected Manufacturing
Industries —
- - - —
- —
- -- Turnover Among Men and Women —
- - —
Length of Time on the Job
—
VI. AGE
Long-Term Labor Force Changes
Labor Force Changes Since 1<&0
Occupations - —
-
—
36
36
37
Page
VII. MARITAL STATUS
Population Changes - - —
Labor Force Changes —
Labor Force in Relation to
Population
Occupations-
58
58
- - -
59
60
VIII. MOTHERS
Labor Force Participation Since 19^0 Ages of Children of Working Mothers Marital Status of Mothers
68
68
69
IX*
X.
PART-TIME EMPLOYMENT
Occupations Employing Part-Time
Workers During 1951
Age of Part-Time Workers During 1951 Work Patterns by Marital Status
During 1950
77
INCOME
Wages and Salaries
Husband-Wife Income
Residence - - —
—
Age
82
83
85
85
—
—
- - - -
76
77
XI. THE LABOR RESERVE - WCMEN NOT IK THE
LABOR FORCE
Expansion of the Nation's Labor ForcePrevious Work Experience
96
97
X. EDUCATION
Years of School Completed —
- —
Employment of School Enrollees —
—
College Degrees Earned by Women - - Field of Study in College Training - -
102
102
103
10k
kh
TECHNICAL NOTE
For sale by the Superintendent ot Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office
Washington 2H, D. C. - Price 50 cents
Tables
List
Page
Page
TABLE
TABLE
1.
2.
3.
if.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10-
11.
12.
13.
Total population and total labor
force, by sex: 1890-1950
Women in the civilian population
and labor force: 19^0-1953
Annual average number of persons in
the civilian labor force: 19^0-1952
Major occupation group of employed
women: l$kO, 19^5, and 19^7-1953 Percent women formed of all employed
persons in each occupational
group: 191*0, 19^5, and 19^7-1953 Percent distribution of employed men
and women, by occupation: 19^0,
19^5, 19*7, 19^9, 1951, and 1953 Class of worker of employed women:
19^0, 1946, 1950, and 1953
Major industry group of employed
women: 19^0, 1950, and 1952 - - Number of employed women in manufacturing industries: 1950-1953 Percent distribution of employed
women and percent women formed of
all workers in manufacturing industries: 1950-1953
Employment in federal civilian
service: 1923-1952
Employment status of women living on
farms: 1950-1952
Urban-rural residence of women in the
population and labor force: 19^0
and 1950
14.
5
15*
6
16.
7
13
1718.
15
19.
17
20.
23
25
21.
27
22.
23.
29
24.
31
32
25.
33
II
Unemployment among women in the labor
force: 19^0-1953
Labor turnover rates of women in
selected manufacturing industries:
1950-1952 (quarterly)
Labor turnover rates of women and men
in selected manufacturing industries: 1952
Median years on current job:
January 1951
Median years on current jpb, by occupation group: January 1951 - - - - Total labor force, by age and sex:
1890-1950
Labor force participation rates of the
total population, by age and sex:
1890-1950
Age of women in the civilian labor force:
19^0-1953
Civilian labor force participation rates
of women, by age: 19^0-1953
Percent distribution of employed
women in major occupation groups,
by age: April 1953
Percent distribution of employed
women, by major occupation group
andege: 1951 and 1953
Marital status of women in the
civilian population and labor force:
19^0, 19hh, and 19V7-1952
35
39
hi
^2
h9
51
53
55
56
57
63
Page
TABLE
26*
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
3k.
35.
36,
Page
TABLE
Percent distribution of women in the
civilian population and labor force,
by marital status: 19^0, 19^4, and
19V7-1952 - Civilian labor force participation
rates of women, by marital status:
19^0, 19W, and 19V7-1952
Major occupation group of employed
women, by marital status; April 1952
Women in the labor force, by marital
status and presence or absence of
children: 19^0, and 19^8-1952
Labor force participation rates of
women, by marital status and presence or absence of children: 19^0,
and 19^8-1952
Marital status of mothers with children
under 18 years of age, in the population and the labor force: 19^0,
and 19^6-1952
Marital status of mothers with children
under 6 years of age, in the population and the labor force: 19^61952
Full-Time and Part-time status of women
and men who worked during 19 51 > "by
major occupational groups - —
- - Women and men who worked part-time during 1951* hy age
Full-time and part-time status of
women who worked during 1950, by
marital status and presence or
absence of children - - - - - - - - Wage or salary income of workers, by
sex: 1939, 1945, 19^7, 19W-I951 - -
37-
65
66
67
71
73
74
75
79
80
8l
87
Median wage or salary income of
experienced women and men in
the labor force, in selected
major occupation groups:
1939 and 1951
38. Distribution of families with
money income, and labor force
status of wife: 1951 and 1952 39- Male and female heads of families
and family median income: 1951 Proportion of wives in the labor
force in 1951 and 1952, in relation to husband*s income - - - fcl. Total money income of women and
men, by residence: 19^8-1952 —
kSL. Median income of women and men, by
age groups: 1952
k-3* Status of women not in the labor
force, by age: April 1953
Age and marital status of women
not in the labor force: 19^0,
I9M1. and 1952
k5. Women with work experience during
and after World War II, who were
not in the labor force in March
1951, by age
k6. School attainment of women and men
25 years and over: 191*0 and 195047. School enrollees Ik to 2k years
of age, and their employment:
19kOr 19^6-1951
College degrees earned "by women:
1890-1952
49. College degrees earnedtoyvomen,
by field of study: 1951-52
89
90
91
93
94
95
99
100
101
107
109
110
111
List of Charts
Page
Page
NUMBER
NUMBER
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.
X.
XI.
XII.
XIII.
XIV.
Population and labor force: 18901953
Number of employed persons in major
occupation groups: April 1953 - Percent of women and men in each
occupational group: 1953 - —
Occupational patterns: 1940, 1945
to 1953
Women in agriculture and nonagriculture: 1953
Employed women by industry: 1940
and 1952
Women in manufacturing industries:
1950 and 1953
Proportion of men and women workers
in manufacturing industries:
1953
Number of women in federal civilian
employment service: 1923-1952 - Labor turnover rates of women:
1950, 1951, 1952
Job separation rates of men and
women: 1952 —
Age of population and labor force:
1890 and 1950 proportion of women in the population who worked: 1890 to 1950 - Age distribution of women workers:
19^0, 1945, 1950 and 1953
fc
12
3A16
22
24
26
28
30
38
40
48
50
XV. Median age of women workers: 1940 to
1953
XVI. Number of women in population and labor
force by marital status: 1940, 1944,
19^8, 1952
XVII. Marital status of women in the population and labor force: 1940, 1944,
194T-1952
XVIII. Marital status of women workers and presence or absence of children: 1952
and 1940
XIX. Proportion of all mothers who worked:
1940, 1946 to 1952
- XX. Characteristics of women part-time
workers - - - - - - - - - - - - - - XXI. Wage and salary income: 1939 to 1951 XXII. Comparison of 1939 and 1951 wage or salary
incomes for selected occupations - - XXIII. Proportion of wives in the labor force
in 1952 in relation to husband's
income - - —
- - - - - - - - - - XXIV. Status of women not in the labor force:
April 1953
XXV. Years of school completed by persons
25 years of age and over: 1940
and 1950 - XXVI. Proportion of school enrollees who
were employed: 1951 -
52
IV
54
62
64
70
72
78
86
88
92
98
106
108
I.
NUMBER OF WOMEN WORKERS
Long-Term Trend
were a little less than half of the population
Ik years and over; in 1950, when they numbered
57 million, women were a little more than half
of this population*
According to the 1950 Census of Population,
the number of women in the total labor force in
1950 was about k^ times as large as the number
who were working in 1890. Many factors have
contributed to the tremendous increase in the
number of working women in this country, and
one of the most basic has been the growth in
the population.
Whereas the woman population almost tripled
during these years, the woman labor force more
than quadrupled. Population growth alone,
therefore, does not account for the number of
women workers today, by comparison with 1890.
At the same time there has been an increasing
proportion, of women engaged in work outside of
their homes, a proportion which has risen by
more than 50 percent from 1890 to 1950. In
1890, less than 20 percent of the woman
During the past 60 years, the number of
persons in the population of working age (ik
years and over) has almost tripled* The increase in the number of women during these
years has been slightly greater than the increase in the number of men. In 1890, women
1
population Ik years and over were in the lahor
force. At this rate, women workers would have
numbered only about lOg- million in 1950, or
about two-thirds of the number actually reported (table l).
Underlying this trend toward the increasing
participation of women in the market place have
been significant changes in the economic life of
the Nation, and in the social customs and modes
of living of the people. Most of the productive
activities of the country have been transferred
from home to factory; but women's work is still
required to perform them. Furthermore, this
change requires increased money income in the
family in order to obtain the goods and services
which were formerly provided by unpaid labor in
the home*
Additional factors which have contributed
to and are reflected in the growth in the proportion of women who work outside of their homes
have been the trend toward urbanization and the
concomitant increase in apartment-house living,
a declining birthrate (at least until recent
years), and increasing education for women which
has fitted them for a variety of new jobs.
This increasing tendency for women to work
occurred along with a declining proportion of
men who were working: Between 1890 and 1950,
the number of men in the labor force more than
doubled, but this was slightly less than the
growth in the male population of working age
during these years. In other words, the proportion of men who were working in 1950 (79 percent) was somewhat less than the proportion who
were working in 1890 (84 percent). As a consequence, in 1890, almost 2 out of every 10 workers
were women; in 1950, about 3 out of every 10 workers were women (table l).
Changes Since 19*K)
The changes which have occurred in the woman
labor force since 19^0 represent a continuation of
the long-term trend toward an increasing proportion
of women in the Nation's civilian work force. This
trend was, of course, accelerated by the stimulus
of World War II. During the war years, women's
work outside of the home was required to perform
not only those jobs which were customarily carried
on by women, but also those jobs which were vacated
by men who were inducted into the armed services.
In March 19k0, before World War II, there had
been about ill- million working women in the United
States. At that time, 28 percent of all women Ik
years and over in the population were in the labor
force; and they formed one-fourth of all workers.
By April 19lf5. after more than 3 years of war,
there were 19? million women in the labor force.
Thirty-seven percent of the women of working age
were working; and more than a third of the civilian workers were women.
This dramatic increase in the woman labor
force in a 5-year period was directly attributable, of course, to World War II. Following the
war, men were discharged from the armed services
to resume civilian jobs, and the Nation adjusted
to a postwar economy. This was accompanied by an
exodus of women from the labor force, families
were reunited, and the birthrate increased sharply. A postwar low point in the participation of
women in the Nation's work force was reached by
19^7, when 16 million women, or 30 percent of the
woman population of working age were in the labor
force. Even in 19^7, however, the proportion of
the Nation's workers who were women was 2 points
above the 19^0 level (table 2).
Following the postwar low year of 19^7, the
rising cost of living and the ever-pressing family
need for additional money income forced many women
back into the labor force. In addition, of course,
increased employment opportunities as a result of
wartime labor-force experience were undoubtedly an
encouragement to many women to seek employment outside of the home. Average annual employment of women during the year 1950 was 18.7 million, or onethird of the woman population. These women formed
30 percent of all civilian workers.
Since, in the main, all men of working age who
are able to work are already in the labor force, any
crisis in our national life which requires the expansion of the civilian labor force or the Armed
Forces must result in additional numbers of women
finding employment outside of their homes. During 1951, as a result of such a crisis in Korea,
the number of women in the labor force averaged
19.3 million, by comparison with 18,7 million
during the previous year. This growth in the
number of women workers was responsible for maintaining the civilian labor force at approximately
its pre-Korean level, in spite of the induction
of large numbers of young men into the armed
services (table 3).
During the year 1952, there were - on the
average - 19^ million women, or more than a third
of the woman population, in the labor force. This
number, though not the proportion of the woman
population, exceeded the average for the wartime
year of 19W- (table 3),
In recent months there appears to have been
some levelling-off in the need to utilize women
as replacements for male civilian workers. April
1953 figures show just under 19 million women in
the labor force.
CHART
I
POPULATION AND LABOR FORCE, 1890-1953
(14 YEARS OF AGE
AND
OVER)
1890-19501/
1940-1953 2/
MILLION
SOURCE 1 U.S. Bureau
MILLION
of
the Census
2/Estimates
26 22 86
4
MILLION
Table 1. Total Population and Total Labor Force, by Sex:
1890-1950
(In thousands)
Total
Population
14 years
and. over
Year
1950
1940
1930
1920
1910 lJ - 1900 1890
112,731
101,103
89,101
74,144
61*, 321
51,1+38
41,797
Labor force
jfercem;
of
Number
population
60,428
53,299
47,404
40,282
-
27,640
21,833
53-6
52.7
53-2
54.3
-
53-7
52.2
Women 2/
Labor force
Population
Percent
14 years
of
Number
and over
population
57,103
50,549
44,013
36,190
30,959
25,024
20,293
16,512
13,015
10,396
8,229
-
^,999
3,704
28.9
25.7
23.6
22.7
-
20.0
18.3
Men
Population
14 years
and over
55,628
50,554
45,088
37,954
33,362
26,414
21,505
Labor force
Percent
of
Number
population
43,916
40,284
37,008
32,053
-
22,641
18,129
78.9
79-7
82.1
84.5
-
85-7
84.3
1/ Data refer to April, except 1890 (June), 1900 (June), and 1920 (January).
2/ Data for women in 1950 and 19^0 as shown in this table are not comparable with data for these years as shown
~
in Table 2.
3/ Comparable labor force data not available.
Source:
U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. 1950 Census of Population. Data include Armed
Forces and employed civilians and their families overseas.
1890-19^0: Data computed from
John D* Durand, Labor Force in the United States, 1890-1960, New York, Social Science Research
Council, 19WJ.
5
Table 2• Women in the Civilian Population and Labor Force:
19^0-1953
(In thousands)
Population
14 years
and
over 2/
Year
1953
1952
1951
1950
1949
1948
1947
1946
1945
1944
19^3
19^2
1941
1940 -
-
-
58,368
57,566
56,899
56,236
55,592
54,953
54,400
53,610
52,860
52,350
51,910
51,430
50,800
50,140
Labor force
Number
18,912
18,798
18,607
18,063
17,167
17,155
16,320
16,590
19,570
18,450
18,100
15,460
13,930
13,840
Percent of
population
32.4
32.7
32.7
32.1
30.9
31.2
30.0
30.9
37.0
35.2
34.9
30.1
27.4
27.6
Percent
of all
workers
30.1
30.4
30.1
29.0
28.2
28.3
27.6
29.4
36.1
34.0
33.0
27.7
25.3
25.4
1/ Statistics are for April of each year except 19^0, where they refer to
the last week in March.
2/ Noninstitutional.
Source: U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current
Population Reports.
6
Table 3. Annual Average Number of Persons in the Civilian Labor Force:
19^0-1952
(in thousands)
Year
1952
1951
1950
1949
1948
1947
1946
1945
1944
19^3
19l*2
i 9 4!
1940
l/
Number
of men
and
vomen
62,963
62,881*
63,099
62,105
61,442
60,168
57,520
53,860
54,630
55,540
56,410
55,910
55,640
Women
Number
of
men
Number
43,450
43,612
44,442
44,075
43,858
43,272
40,740
34,830
35,^60
36,840
40,300
41,270
41,480
19,513
19,272
18,657
18,030
17,583
16,896
16,780
19,030
19,170
18,700
16,110
l4,64o
14,160
Percent of
woman
population l/
33-8
33-8
33-1
32.4
31.9
31-0
31.2
35-9
36.5
36.0
31-3
28.7
28.2
Percent
of all
workers
31.1
30.6
29.6
29.O
28.6
28.1
29.2
35-3
35-1
33.7
28.6
26.2
25.4
Noninstitutional.
Source:
U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population
Reports *
7
II.
OCCUPATIONS
As the number of clerical workers has increased^ the proportion of women who find employment in these jobs has also increased. In 19^0,
1 out of every 5 employed women was a clerical
vorker; in 1953> 1 out of every h women was in
this kind of job. Among employed men, on the
other hand, less than 1 out of 15 is a clerical
worker, and this proportion has varied only
slightly since 19^0 (table 6).
In April 1953, better than 1 out every 4
women who were working - more than 5 million
women - were employed in clerical occupations.
One out of every 5 women employed, or almost 4
million women, were operatives or factory workers.
These two occupational, groups accounted for almost
half of all employed women in the spring of 1953*
Service workers, professional or technical workers,
and private household workers each accounted for
about another 2 million women; the saleswoman
group employed about lj million women. Other
occupational groups each had less than a million
women.
Of the 5 million men and women clerical
workers in 19^0, slightly more than half were
women- In 19^5, J out of 10 clerical workers
were women. Following the war, of course, the
proportion of women in these occupations declined
from its wartime peak; but the effect of this wartime eaqperience persisted in that the proportion
of women in clerical jobs remained considerably
above the prewar level. In 1953 almost two-thirds
of the clerical workers were women (table 5) •
Since 19^0 there have been a number of significant changes in the kinds of jobs that women hold
and in the proportion of women workers who are in
each type of occupation:
Clerical Workers
Private Household Workers
Certainly the most dramatic change since 19^0
has been the increase in the number of women clerical workers - from 2g- million in 19^0 to more than
5 million in 1953* Although the number of women
clerical workers declined slightly following World
War II, by 1951 - with the impact of the Korean
crisis - the number had exceeded the previous wartime peak. Today the number of women clerical
workers is about the same as it was at the height
of World War II (table k).
Probably the most important change which has
occurred in the occupational pattern of employed
women since 19^0 is that today only 10 percent of
employed women are in private household work,
vhereas 18 percent were in this occupation before
the war. That the proportion engaged in private
household work declines as other job opportunities
increase is evidenced by the fact that during the
8
var, vhen the demand for vomen in defense Industries vas greater than today, the proportion of
vomen in private household work vas even lover
(table 6).
In 19^0, out of a total of 12 million
employed vomen, there vere 2 million private
household vorkers. In 19^5* *kile World War II
vas still in process, there vere only about lj
million private household vorkers, out of a total
of more than 19 million employed vomen (table 4).
Although more vomen vere vorking in these lovpaying jobs folloving World War II, neither the
number nor proportion of vomen so employed has
risen to the prevar level. In 1940, the number
of vomen household vorkers vas the same as the
number of vomen operatives. In 1953* there vere
more than tvice as many vomen operatives as private household vorkers.
Today, aljnost all private household vorkers
are vomen* Only about 3 percent of the persons
engaged in this occupation are men, vhereas in
1940, about 6 percent vere men (table 5).
Professional and Technical Workers
In April 1953 there vere approximately 2
million vomen employed as teachers., nurses, velfare vorkers, librarians, medical technicains,
and in similar professional and technical Jobs.
These vomen numbered over 1/3 million more than
vere similarly engaged in 1940 (table 4).
Despite this increase in the number of women professional and technical vorkers there has
been a decline in the proportion of vomen vho
find employment in these jobs today, by comparison with 19k0} and during World War II the decline vas even greater. In 1940f about 13 percent
of all employed vomen vere professional or technical vorkers. During the var, in 1945, this proportion dropped to 8 percent. Today, 1 out of
every 10 employed vomen is a professional or
technical vorker (table 6). These changes may be
accounted for, in part, by the fact that, during
the var vhen jobs vere plentiful, many more vomen entered employment directly vithout spending
years in the necessary professional or technical
training. Also, some vomen may have left lovpaying professional jobs for more renumerative
vork in other occupations.
In 1940, the
million vomen in professional
and technical occupations vere a little less than
half of all such vorkers. Today the 2 million
vomen in these jobs are only slightly more than
a third of all such vorkers (table 5).
Operatives
In 1953* vomen operatives, most of vhom are
semiskilled factory vorkers, constituted the
second largest group of employed vomen, folloving
only vomen clerical vorkers. One-and-a-half million more vomen are employed in these jobs today
than vere so employed in 1940. The number today,
hovever, is about 3/4 of a million less than vere
employed during World War II. The number of vomen
vho have found employment as operatives since 1940
has fluctuated in accordance vith the expanded
manpower needs of defense industries and the size
of our Armed Forces. When men returned from
military service and defense production was
curtailed following World War II, the number
of women operatives dropped from k^ million
in 19^5 to less than 3J million by 19U7.
Again, between 1950 and 1951> as a result of
the Korean crisis, the number of women operatives increased by ^ million - the sharpest
year-to-year increase which has occurred
since the end of World War II (table k).
The changes in the proportion of employed women in factory jobs since 19^0 have been
less dramatic than the numerical changes.
Since 19^0 about a fifth of all employed women
have held factory jobs, except, of course, during World War II, when almost a fourth of all
employed women were working as operatives
(table 6).
likewise, the proportion of operatives
who were women has shown little change since
19*K), when about a fourth of all such workers
were women; except, again, during the wartime
year of 19^5* when almost two-fifths of the
factory production workers were women (table 5).
Farm Workers
Another occupational group in which the
employment of women fluctuates sharply in accordance with national emergencies is thar of farm
workers. (Most women engaged in farm work are
employed as farm laborers and not as farmers or
farm managers.) In March 19*K), about 2/3 million
women were employed in farm work, and they
formed less than a tenth of all such workers.
In April 19^5, almost 2 million women were working on farms and they constituted more than a
fifth of all such workers. Since the war, with
the exception of 19^9 when they numbered 1 million,
the number of women farm workers has declined
steadily, and is not almost at the 19^0 level
(tables b and 5).
In 19^0, only about 5 percent of all employed
women, but almost 25 percent of all employed
men, were working on farms. During the war, the
proportion of women engaged in farm work about
doubled as women replaced men called to armed
service and the proportion of men in farm work
consequently declined. Following the war, the
proportion of women engaged in farm work returned'
to its prewar level, while the proportion of men
so employed has staedily declined and today is
only half of what it was in 19^0.
Service Workers Except Private Household
Service workers include such persons as
waitresses, cooks, hospital attendants, beauticians, elevator operators, practical nurses,
and so forth. The number of women employed in
these jobs has almost doubled since 19^0; and
today there are more than 2 million women engaged in the service occupations (table
In 19^0, two-fifths of the persons employed
in the service occupations were women. During
the war almost half of these employees were women*
The proportion of women declined immediately following World War II; hut since 19^9 it has heen
increasing again and today it is close to the wartime peak (table 5).
April 1953> &n<i only 300 thousand at the height of
World War II (table 4). These jobs occupy about
20 percent of all employed men but only about 2
percent of employed women (table 6).
Little change has occurred in the percent of
employed women or men who find Jobs in these service occupations. About 7 percent of employed men
and 13 percent of employed women work in service
jobs today; and these proportions are approximately
the same as in 19*K> (table 6).
During World War II women constituted almost
5 percent of all craftsmen and foremen, when the
shortage of trained men forced the opening of some
of these jobs to women. Following the war, however,
women resumed their traditional proportion of 2 or
3 percent of all such workers.
Sales Workers
Managers, Officials,and Proprietors
As with service workers, the number of women
salespersons has almost doubled since 1940. Today
there are almost l*r million women employed in these
jobs (table k).
Almost a million women were employed as managers, officials, or proprietors in April 1953*
This was almost double the number of women in such
jobs in 191*0 (table k).
Little change has occurred in the proportion
of employed women or men engaged in sales work about 8 percent of the women and 5 percent of the
men are working in these Jobs today - almost the
same proportion as were employed in 19^0 (table 6).
The proportion of employed women in these
jobs is about half that of men, and the proportion
has increased only slightly for both women and men
since 19^0 (table 6).
During the war women formed more than half of
all salespersons, by comparison with their 19^0
proportion of slightly more than a quarter of all
such workers. Today women are about two-fifths of
all sales workers, a proportion they have maintained
throughout the postwar period.
Craftsmen
Relatively few women are employed as craftsmen
or foremen* They numbered about 250 thousand in
During World War II women formed about 17
percent of all managers, officials, and proprietors, an increase of 5 percentage points over
their proportion in 19^0. Today they are only 2
points below their 19^5 level, although there
have been some fluctuations in the intervening
years (table 5)•
CHART
TT50TT
NUMBER OF EMPLOYED PERSONS IN MAJOR OCCUPATION GROUPS
APRIL,
1953
W O M E N
MILLIONS
PROFESSIONAL, TECHNICAL
KINDRED WORKERS
M E N
OF WORKERS
AND
FARMERS AND FARM MANAGERS
MANAGERS, OFFICIALS AND
PROPRIETORS
EXCEPT FARM
"^i
CLERICAL AND KINDRED WORKERS
SALES WORKERS
CRAFTSMEN, FOREMEN
KINDRED WORKERS
AND
OPERATIVES AND KINDRED WORKERS
PRIVATE HOUSEHOLD WORKERS
SERVICE WORKERS
EXCEPT
PRIVATE HOUSEHOLD
FARM LABORERS AND FOREMEN
LABORERS
EXCEPT FARM AND M I N E
SOURCE: U. S. Bureau of the Census
12
Table k. Major Occupation Group of Employed Women:
19^0, 19^5, and I9V7-I953
(In thousands)
Major occupation group
Number of employed women - - - Professional, technical and kindred
workers - - - - - - - - - - - - - Farmers and farm workers
-----Farmers and farm managers - - - Farm laborers and foremen - - - Managers, officials and proprietors,
except farm - - - - - - - - - - - Clerical and kindred workers
- Sales workers - - - - - - - - - - - Craftsmen, foremen and kindred
workers - - - - - - - - - - - - - Operatives and kindred workers - —
Private household workers
Service workers, except private
Laborers, except farm and mine
1/
- - -
1953
1952
1951
1950
1949
1948
1947
1945
1940
18,434
18,234
17,890
17,176
16,356
16,529
15,800
19,310
11,920
1,928
730
150
580
2,026
780
166
614
1,784
813
205
608
1,862
916
253
663
1,477
1,057
236
821
1,584
974
274
700
l,54o
910
260
650
1,510
1,930
1,570
690
_
888
5,090
1,434
978
5,284
l,4i6
1,039
4,931
1,264
941
4,539
1,516
867
4,542
1,386
915
4,497
l,4oi
780
4,130
1,320
800
4,900
l,44o
450
2,530
830
268
3,862
1,854
244
3,^96
1,748
211
3,737
1,872
181
3,215
1,771
165
3,199
1,666
184
3,429
1,671
160
3,420
1,690
300
4,610
1,670
110
2,190
2,100
2,300
80
2,134
128
2,143
97
2,168
68
1,911
85
1,797
78
1,770
80
l,98o
170
1,350
100
-
-
Statistics are for April of each year except 19^0, where they refer to the last week in March.
Source:
U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports; and U. S. Department of
Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Monthly Labor Review, August 19^7*
http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/
Federal
Reserve
Bank of St. Louis
2G22B
6 Q-53-3
13
CHART
TT50TT
PERCENT OF WOMEN S MEN IN EACH OCCUPATIONAL GROUP:
1953
ALL OCCUPATIONS
PRIVATE HOUSEHOLD
WORKERS
SALES WORKERS
CLERICAL WORKERS
PROFESSIONAL, TECHNICAL,
KINDRED WORKERS
WOMEN
MEN
MANAGERS, OFFICIALS,
PROPRIETORS, EXCEPT FARM
FARMERS,
FARM WORKERS
s
CRAFTSMEN, FOREMEN,
KINDRED WORKERS
SOURCE: U. S. Bureau of the Census
0
14
SERVICE WORKERS,
EXCEPT PRIV. HOUSEHOLD
OPERATIVES,
KINDRED WORKERS
LABORERS, EXCEPT
FARM 8 M I N E
Table 5* Percent Women Formed of All Employed Persons in Each Occupational Group:
1940, 19^5, and 191*7-1953 1/
Major occupation group
Total
Professional, technical and kindred
workers - - - - - - - - - - - - Farmers and farm workers - —
- Farmers and farm managers - - Farm laborers and foremen - - Managers, officials and proprietors,
except farm - - - - - - - - - - Clerical and kindred workers
Sales workers - - - - - - - - - - - Craftsmen, foremen and kindred
workers - - - - - - - - - - - - Operatives and kindred workers
—
Private household workers —
— Service workers, except private
household - - - - - - - - - - - Laborers, except farm and mine - -
1953
1952
1951
1950
1949
1948
1947
1945
1940
30.1
30.3
29.8
29-3
28.3
28.3
27.9
36.O
25.9
35.9
12.5
4.0
27.4
39.1
12.6
4.1
28.7
37 A
12.5
M
26.0
41.8
13.0
5.5
27.4
36.6
13.9
M
29.2
38.7
13.5
5-9
27.2
39.9
11.8
5.1
25.0
46.5
22.4
45.4
8.0
14-5
65A
38.8
16.3
65.1
38.4
16.6
65.1
3^.9
14.8
59-3
39.0
13.8
61.2
37-7
14.3
61.2
38.8
13.5
58.6
39-9
17.4
70.3
54.1
11.7
52.6
27.9
3.0
30.0
97-3
2.8
28.7
97.9
2.5
29.7
97
2.4
26.9
92.1
2.1
27.5
91.6
2.3
28.0
92.5
2.1
28.1
92.3
4.4
38.3
93-8
2.1
25.7
93-8
44.8
2.2
46.1
3.6
47.4
2.5
45.4
2.2
44.1
2.6
42-7
2.4
43.6
2.3
47.8
6.1
40.1
3.2
-
-
-
-
1/ Statistics are for April of each year except 19^0, where they refer to the last week in March.
Source: U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports; and U. S. Department of
Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Monthly Labor Review, August 19^7*
15
CHART TT50TT
OCCUPATIONAL PATTERNS: 1940, 1945 TO 1953
PERCENT OF WOMEN WORKERS ENGAGED IN SELECTED FIELDS
THESE JOBS INCREASED..
'40
45 47 '49 '51
CLERICAL
'40
'53
'45
'47
'49
'51 '53
'40
O P E R A T I V E
'45
'47
'49
'51
'53
M A N A G E R I A L
THESE JOBS DECREASED ~
13
'40
'45
'47
'49 '51
P R O F E S S I O N
'53
'40
AL
45
PRIVATE
'47
49
H O U S E
'51
'53
HOLD
i20
THESE JOBS SHOWED LITTLE CHANGE...
12
12
12
10
'40
SOURCE 1
'45 '47 '49 '51
SERVICE
*0
'53
'40
U. S. Bureau of the Census
16
'45 47 '49
SALES
'51
*53
Table 6. Percent Distribution of Employed Men and Women, by Occupation: 1940, 19^5, 19^7* 19^9, 1953, and 1953
Major occupation
group
Total
Professional, technical
and kindred workers Farmers and farm workers
Farmers and farm
managers - - - - Farm laborers and
foremen - - - - Managers, officials and
proprietors, except
farm
-------Clerical and kindred
workers - - - - - - Sales workers
Craftsmen, foremen and
kindred workers — Operatives and kindred
workers - - - - - - Private household
workers - - - - - - Service workers, except
private household - Laborers, except farm
and mine - - - - - -
1953
Women
Men
1951
Women
Men
19^9
Men
Women
19^7
Men
Women
19^5
Men
Women
1940
Men
Women
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
8.0
11-9
10.5
3.9
7-1
13*5
10.0
4-5
6.2
15.8
9.0
6.4
5.7
16.7
9-7
5-8
5-1
19.5
7.8
10.0
5-5
23.3
13.3
5-7
8.3
.8
9.4
1.1
11.0
1.4
11.9
1.7
-
-
-
-
3.6
3.1
4.1
4.8
5-0
4.8
4.1
-
-
-
-
12*2
4*8
12.3
5.8
13.0
5-3
12.2
4.9
11.0
4.1
9-9
3-8
6.3
5.3
27.6
7.8
6.3
5.6
27.6
7-1
7.0
5.5
27.8
8.5
7-1
4-9
26.1
8.4
6.0
3-5
25.4
7-5
6-7
6-3
21.2
7-0
20.0
1.5
19.6
1.2
18.1
1.0
18.0
1.0
19.0
1.5
14.7
•9
21.1
21.0
21*0
20.9
20.3
19.6
21.7
21.7
23.9
18.5
18.4
.1
10.1
.1
10.5
.4
10.2
•3
10.7
•3
8.6
.4
17.6
6.6
12.5
5.6
12.0
5.8
11.7
5-6
11.2
6-3
10.3
5.9
11.3
8.4
.4
8.9
8.1
•5
7-6
-9
8.8
.8
•5
7-8
•5
1/ Statistics are for April of each year except 19^0, where they refer to the last week in March.
Source: U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports; and U. S. Department of
Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Monthly Labor Review, August 19^7*
17
III.
INDUSTRY AMD CLASS OF WORKER
Class of Worker in Nonagricultural and
Agricultural Employment
About 95 percent of all employed women work
in nonagricultural industries. Almost all of
these women are wage and salary workers; only
about 6 percent are self-employed. Among the
wage and salary workers, more than 2^ million
women are employees of Federal, State, or local
governments; almost another 2 million are in private household work; and the remaining 12 million are wage or salary workers in private
employment (table 7).
Since 19^0, at least four-fifths of all
employed women have been wage and salary workers,
and the remainder have been self-employed or unpaid family workers. Figures differentiating
self-employed women from unpaid women family
workers have been available only since 1946; and
these figures indicate that less than 10 percent
of the women vho are in the labor force are selfemployed. In 1953> these women were only 6 percent of
employed women. Among all employed
workers, both women and men, the combined group
of the self-employed and the unpaid family workers has declined from a fourth of all workers in
191*0 to less than a fifth in 1953- Women were lb
percent of all self-employed and unpaid family
workers in 19^0. In 19^5, when women were apparently caring for the business enterprises of their
soldier-husbands, this proportion rose to 28 percent. In 1953, women accounted for 20 percent of
all self-employed persons and unpaid family workers
combined (table 7)*
Only about 5 percent of
or less than 1 million, work
During the spring and summer
vesting seasons, this number
all employed women^
in agriculture•
and the fall haralmost doubles.
In off-season months roughly from 10 to 15
percent of the persons in agriculture are women.
In the harvesting seasons, however, this proportion may be as high as one-fourth of all workers.
Depending upon the season of the year, from more
18
than a half to almost three-fourths of women
farm workers may be unpaid family workers who
do farm work for at least 15 hours a week
(table 7).
Major Industry Distribution
Four major industry groups - manufacturing,
retail trade, professional and related services,
una personal services - accounted for the employment of more than three-fourths of all women
workers in both 19h0 and 1952. Within this
period of time, however, a significant change
had occurred in the distribution of women within
these four groups: Whereas in 19^0, a quarter of
all women were employed in personal services and
only a fifth in manufacturing industries, by 1952
these proportions were more than reversed, with
nearly a quarter in manufacturing and less than
a sixth in personal services (table 8).
In manufacturing, the proportion women were
of all workers had increased only slightly between 191*0 and 1952. During this same period,
however, the proportion women formed of retail
trade workers increased 10 points - from less
than a third to two-fifths of all such workers
(table 8). Although the proportion of workers
in personal services who were women declined
during the 12-year period, women were still almost three-fourths of all employees in the industry.
Not more than 5 percent - less than a million
women - were employed in each of the remaining
major industry groups in 1952* However, the proportion women were of all workers in these industries increased within the decade; and in 1952,
women were two-fifths of all employees in finance,
insurance, and real estate, and about a quarter
of all persons employed in entertainment and
recreation and of all public administration employees (table 8).
Manufacturing Industries
Four industries accounted for the employment
of more than half of the 4.6 million women in
manufacturing industries in March 1953- These
industries were the following; Apparel and other
finished textile products, with almost a million
women; textile-mill products, and electrical
machinery, each with more than half a million
women; and food products, with slightly more than
one-third million women (table 9) •
Since 1950, only relatively small changes
have occurred in the industry distribution of
women in manufacturing. However the cumulative
effects of these changes have been sufficient to
produce a noticeable change in the "durable-nondurable" distribution of women: In 1950, more
than two-thirds of the women were engaged in the
production of soft gooda - apparel, textiles,
food, leather goods, etc.; and the remainder
vere engaged In heavy industries, such as
machinery, transportation equipment, fabricated metal products, ordnance, etc. By
1953, reflecting the stepped-up production
for defense purposes, the proportion of
vomen employed in durable goods had increased 9 points, to h2 percent; and the proportion in nondurable goods had declined 8
points, to 58 percent.
The most dramatic increase in the employment of vomen in heavy industries vas in ordnance
and accessories. From only k thousand vomen in
1950, the number of employed vomen increased to
51 thousand vomen in 1953* or from only 17 percent of all ordnance vorkers to 27 percent of
all vorkers in this field (tables 9 and 10),
Women vere three-fourths of all vorkers in
apparel manufacturing, nearly three-fifths of
all vorkers in tobacco manufactures, and a third
or more of all vorkers in textile, electrical
machinery, leather products, instruments, and miscellaneous manufactures, in March 1953 (table 10).
Data are not available from the same source
to indicate hov many of the vomen employed in
manufacturing are production vorkers, and hov
many are clerical, administrative, and supervisory vorkers. According to the 19^7 Census of
Manufactures, hovever, 81 percent of all vomen
and 8k percent of all men in manufacturing vere
production vorkers. For vomen, this proportion
ranged from a high of 9^ percent or more in
tobacco, textile, and apparel manufacturing, to
a lov of 46 percent or less in primary metals,
printing and publishing, and petroleum and coal
products manufacturing, the latter vith less than
a quarter of the vomen employed as production
vorkers.
During World War II, of course, it vas as
production vorkers, particularly in the durablegoods industries, that vomen vere added to the
labor force in such impressive numbers, to reach
a wartime peak in November 19U3 of 5 million
vomen in all manufacturing industries, double
the number vho vere so employed before the var.
Women rose from only 8 percent of all durablegoods production vorkers in October 19^0 to 2k
percent of all such vorkers in 19^3. In nondurable-goods industries vomen increased from
39 to
percent of all production vorkers during
this period.
Federal Government Employment
In June 1952, there vere slightly more than ^
million vomen vorking for the Federal Government
in civilian jobs. These vomen constituted about
a fourth of all Government vorkers (table 11).
In 1923j the first year for which data are
available by sex, there were only 80 thousand
vomen in the Federal service and they formed
only a sixth of all Government workers. Their
numbers increased slowly in subsequent years
and in June 19^1, before Pearl Harbor, there
were only 266 thousand women in Federal jobs,
a fifth of all Federal workers (table 11).
Necessity temporarily opened the Federal
service to women, and 2 years after the outbreak
of war their numbers approached 1 million; this
was more than a third of all Federal civilian
workers, better than double the proportion they
had formed 10 years earlier.
Immediately following the war, of course,
the size of the Federal civilian service declined
by 20 percent, but the number of women employed
declined by bo percent. In 19^5, women were 38
percent of all Federal workers. In 19^6, women
were displaced by men, many of whom were now
eligible for veterans 1 preference in the Federal
service; and the proportion of women declined to
28 percent. Today, women are only a fourth of all
Federal workers (table 11).
Employment Among Farm Women
In April 1952, there were about 8 million
women, lb percent of the woman population, who
262286 O - 53 - 6
were living on farms. Only about a fifth of
these women - about l|* million - were employed.
More than half of this group were in nonagricultural industries (table 12). However, April is
not a month of high seasonal employment among
farm workers; therefore, these figures fail to
show that during the harvesting seasons many
additional farm women will be engaged as unpaid
family workers on family farms. (See ch. II,
Occupations - Farm Workers.)
Limited employment opportunities for farm
women is probably one of the factors involved in
the shift in population from rural to urban areas.
This population shift has been a significant development in this country in the last decade. According
to the 1950 decennial census, the proportion of the
woman population living in rural farm areas was
reduced from a fifth an an eighth between 19^0 and
1950. The proportion of women living in urban
areas, on the other hand, increased from threefifths to two-thirds during this period. The residential distribution of the woman labor force, of
course, followed a similar pattern (table 13).
Although the labor force participation rate of
women living in rural farm areas increased during
the decade, in 1950 it was only 16 percent,half the
worker rate for women living in urban areas
(table 13)•
CHART
WOMEN IN AGRICULTURAL AND NONAGRICULTURAL INDUSTRIES'1953
NUMBER
MILLIONS
OF W O M E N - A P R I L
1953
0
AGRICULTURAL WORKERS
NONAGRICULTURAL WORKERS
CLASS OF WORKER, APRIL 1953
IN
IN AGRICULTURAL
INDUSTRIES
NONAGRICULTURAL
INDUSTRIES
WOMEN
IN AGRICULTURE5 1952
THOUSANDS
THOUSANDS
-jlSOO
I500T
1000
IOOO
FARM LABORERS AND FOREMEN
500
500FARMERS
JAN.
SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of the
Census
SS
APRIL
AND FARM
MANAGERS
JULY
OCT.
Table 7. Class of Worker of Employed Women: 19^0, 19^6, 1950, and 1953 -/
Total
Wage or salary workers Self-employed and unpaid
family workers 2/
- - Self-employed vorkers
—
Unpaid family workers
Employed in agriculture
Wage or salary workers
Self-employed vorkers
Unpaid family workers
Percent
distribution
Number of women
(in thousands)
Class of
Worker
-
-
-
Employed in nonagricultural
industries
-------Wage or salary vorkers 2/ Private household workers.
Government vorkers - - - Other wage or salary
vorkers
------Self-employed and unpaid
family workers 2/ - - - Self-employed vorkers - Unpaid family workers - -
Percent of
all workers
1953
1950
1946
18,434
17,176
16,130
11,920 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
30.1 29.3 29.8 25.9
16,330
14,824
13,600
10,240
88.6
86.3
84.3
85.9
32.4 32.0
2,104
1,178
926
2,352
1,410
942
2,530
1,320
1,210
1,680
u.4
6.4
5.0
13-7
8.2
5-5
15-7
8.2
7.5
14.1
19.5 19-1 20.7 14.4
12.7 13-3 13.1
61.7 56.2 55.8
77^
98
160
516
923
46
253
625
1,360
i4o
360
860
700
120
190
390
4.2
.5
•9
2.8
5.4
•3
1-5
3.6
8.4
•9
2.2
5.3
5-9
1.0
1.6
3.3
12.8 12.8 16.6
8.0
9-2
5.6
7-5
3-6
h.3
5-5 7-3
50.2 48.7 49.7 28.7
17,660
16,232
1,862
2,294
16,253
1^,778
1,756
2,233
14,770
13,460
1,400
2,o4o
11,220
10,120
95.8
88.1
10,1
12.4
94.6
86.0
10.2
13.0
91.6
83.4
8.7
12.6
94.1
84.9
12,076
10,790
10,020
65.5
62.8
62.1
1,428
1,018
410
1,474
1,157
317
1,310
960
350
7.7
5.5
2.2
8.6
6.7
1.8
8.1
6.0
2.2
1940
1,100
1953
1950
1946
1940
1953
32.0
33*0
89.9
35.8
Source: U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports»
23
31.6
32.8
88.7
36.3
32.5 29.7
32.1
33-3
88,1
36.6
30.0
31.3
29.7 29.2 30.2
9.2
23.7 22.9 23.5 21.8
18.3 19.1 I8.7
86.9 81.1 79.5
1/ Statistics are for April of each year except 19^0, vhere they refer to the last week in March*
2/ Detail not available for these groups in 19^0.
1950 1946 1940
CHART TT50TT
EMPLOYED WOMEN BY INDUSTRY-1940 and 1952
(PERCENT
DISTRIBUTION)
CENT
PERC
3.5
OTHER
INDUSTRIES
S.I
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATinM
AGRICULTURE
TRANSPOti fATION. COMMUNICATION
4.2
Z l ^ N C g T l N S U R A N C E . REAL
UTILITIF.<T
F I ^ T
5.0
26.4 >
PERSONAL
15.8:
SERVICE
.»•• • • • • •
PROFESSIONAL
IWit
SERVICE
•.v.-Xv.v.'.v.v 6,9
RETAIL T R A D E
mmMMmrn. ?! .-.9. I l l
MANUFACTURING
1940
SOURCE
:
1952
U . S . Bureau of the Census
24
Table 8. Major Industry Group of Employed Women: 19^0, 195q and 1952
Major industry
group
All groups - - - Manufacturing
Retail trade
Professional and related
services - - - ---Personal services Finance, insurance and real
estate - - - - - - - - Transportation, communication
and other public utilities
Agriculture, forestry and
fisheries - - - - - — Public administration - - Wholesale trade - Business and repair services
Entertainment and recreation services - - - - - Construction - - - - - - Mining
Number (in thousands)
1940
1952
1950
Percent distribution
1952
1950
1940
Percent of all workers
1952
1950
1940
18,234
16,674
11,920
100.0
100.0
100.0
30.3
29.0
25.9
4,310
3,826
3,765
3,403
2,540
2,021
23.6
21.0
22.6
20.4
21.3
17.0
26.5
40.9
25.4
36.2
23.2
30.7
2,956
2,888
2,735
3,000
2,018
3,145
16.2
15-8
16.4
18.0
16.9
26.4
60.1
71.6
55-2
70.7
57.4
73-2
912
856
497
5-0
5-1
4.2
42.9
42.7
32.5
830
663
377
4.6
4.0
3.2
17.6
14.9
11.8
8l4
774
418
218
692
743
452
159
533
371
199
84
4.5
4.2
2.3
1.2
4.2
4.5
2.7
1.0
4.5
3.1
1.7
.7
12.6
24.9
48.516.7
10.2
25.4
19.3
13.4
6.2
20.5
16.0
9.5
146
128
14
125
68
15
87
37
12
.8
•7
.1
.7
.4
.1
•7
•3
.1
27.0
3-1
1.6
24.4
2.2
1.8
21.3
1.8
1-3
1/ Data refer to April 1952, March 1950, and March 19^0.
Source: U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports.
25
CHART Y H
WOMEN IN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES' 1950 and 1953
NUMBER OF WOMEN ( I n thousands)
DURABLE
ELECTRICAL
electrical)
FABRICATED METAL
PRODUCTS
INSTRUMENTS
AND RELATED
STONE, CLAY, AND
GLASS
PRIMARY
PRODUCTS
LUMBER
METAL
AND
AND
TEXTILE-MILL
TOBACCO
900
1000
PRODUCTS
GOODS
^
PRODUCTS
AND LEATHER
AND
ALLIED
ALLIED
1vtf? "'.. JL
< ~ ,fv. + f
PRODUCTS
PRINTING, PUBLISHING AND ALLIED
RUBBER
8 00
MANUFACTURING
FOOD AND KINDRED
AND
700
PRODUCTS
APPAREL AND OTHER FINISHED TEXTILE
PRODUCTS
PAPER
600
PRODUCTS
NONDURABLE
CHEMICALS
5 00
ACCESSORIES
MISCELLANEOUS
LEATHER
400
FIXTURES
AND WOOD
ORDNANCE
300
EQUIPMENT
(except
FURNITURE
200
MACHINERY
TRANSPORTATION
MACHINERY
100
GOODS
PRODUCTS
;y»-* *
-
+* ' *
:
1
PRODUCTS
PRODUCTS
PRODUCTS
PRODUCTS
MANUFACTURES
PRODUCTS OF PETROLEUM
3
AND C0A1,
SOURCE- Bureau of Labor
Statistics
26
>d
3-V.
"I
Table 9*
Number of Women in Manufacturing Industries:
1950-1953
(In thousands)
1953
Industry
1952
1951
1950
- - - - - - - - -
4,622.5
4,238.0
4,280.0
3,752.7
Durable goods - - —
-----Nondurable goods
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1,919.7
2,702.8
1,665.0
2,573-0
1,598.4
2,681.6
1,238.3
2,514.4
Apparel and other finished textile products Textile-mill products - - - - - - - - - - - Electrical machinery
Food and kindred products
Transportation equipment —
- - —
- - —
Machinery (except electrical)
Fabricated metal products
Printing, publishing, and allied industries Leather and leather products
Chemicalsft*^allied products - - - - - - - Instruments and related products
- Paper and allied products —
Stone, clay, and glass products - - —
Primary metal industries - - - - - -
980.8
542.9
504.5
344.4
255.4
244.9
235.1
212.1
204.2
146.4
125.0
124.0
94.1
928.8
516.7
416.3
337.9
964.7
912.0
546.5
303.6
332.2
107.2
Furniture and fixtures - Tobacco manufactures - - - - - - - - - Lumber and wood products (except furniture)
Ordnance
accessories - - - - - - - - Products of petroleum and coal
Miscellaneous manufacturing industries - -
73-2
56.1
52.8
51.2
15.3
201.2
All manufacturing
—
-
82.3
76.6
203.9
235.7
199.0
203.4
188.9
143.7
110.8
112.6
87.9
77-6
71.1
64.3
55.2
50.9
44.0
14.7
174.6
l/ Data are for March of each year.
Source: U. S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
27
568.6
401.7
350.8
163.8
219.3
209.0
206.9
192.1
134.4
101.9
222.6
96.3
71.7
73-7
66.2
55-3
55.3
10.4
12.5
202.8
168.6
166.1
193.8
181.7
115.1
76.8
108.2
78.0
59.6
60.3
56.2
53-8
50.4
4.4
10.8
167.4
CHART TT50TT
PROPORTION OF MEN AND WOMEN WORKERS IN
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES - 1 9 5 3
DURABLE
PERCENT
GOODS
PERCENT
100-
-100
58
75-
-75
50-
—
50
—
25
1
ELECTRICAL
MACHINERY
MISC. MFG.
INSTRUMENTS
ORDNANCE
NONDURABLE
PERCENT
FABRICATED
METALS
FURNITURE
S T O N E , CLAY,
GLASS
MACHINERY
(EXCEPT ELEC)
TRANSPORTATION
LUMBER
0
PRIMARY
METALS
GOODS
PERCENT
— 100
100 —
72
73
76
76
94
61
-75
-50
m
-25
3
1E I
t
APPAREL
TOBACCO
LEATHER
TEXTILES
RUBBER
PRINTING
FOOD
PAPER
-
i
CHEMICALS
PRODUCTS OF
PETROLEUM & COAL
SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics
28
Table 10. Percent Distribution of Employed Women and Percent Women Formed of All Workers
in Manufacturing Industries: 1950-1953 l/
Percent distribution
Industry
All manufacturing
Durable goods - Nondurable goods
Apparel and other finished textile
products ------------Textile-mill products
Electrical machinery
Foodft^flkindred products
- - -.
Transportation equipment
------Machinery (except electrical)
Fabricated metal products - - - - - - Printing, publishing, end allied
_
industries - - - - —
Leather and leather products - - - - Chemicals and allied products
Instruments and related products - - • paper and allied products
Stone, clay, and glass products
•
Primary metal industries —
* Rubber products - - —
- •
Furniture and fixtures
Tobacco manufactures
Lumber and wood products (except
furniture)
Ordnance and accessories
------- —
Products of petroleum and coal
Miscellaneous manufacturing industries -
1953
1952
1951
1950
1953
1952
1951
1950
100
100
100
100
27
26
27
27
42
58
39
6l
37
63
33
67
19
38
18
38
18
38
17
38
21
12
11
7
6
5
5
22
12
10
8
5
6
5
23
13
9
8
4
5
$
24
15
8
9
3
4
4
78
44
42
2k
13
14
20
77
43
40
24
13
14
19
77
43
40
24
11
14
19
76
43
38
24
10
13
19
5
5
4
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
1
5
4
3
2
3
2
2
2
2
1
5
5
3
2
3
2
2
2
1
1
27
51
19
38
24
17
6
28
19
58
27
50
19
36
23
17
6
27
18
58
28
47
18
36
24
17
6
28
17
59
27
46
17
33
23
16
5
26
16
57
1
1
1
1
7
27
6
41
7
28
6
39
7
22
5
4i
7
17
5
40
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
2/
5
%
2/
5
1/ Data are for March of each years'/ Percent not shown where less than 1*
Source: U. S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
262286 O - 53 - 5
Percent of all workers
29
£/
i
CHART
TT50TT
NUMBER OF WOMEN IN FEDERAL CIVILIAN EMPLOYMENT
1923 —
1952
THOUSANDS
'23
THOUSANDS
'24
'29
l
'34
39 40
30
4l
43 44 '45 46 47 48 49 '50 '51 '52
Table 11*
Employment in Federal Civilian Service:
1923-1952
1/
(In thousands)
Year
1952
1951
1950
19^9
1948
19^7
1946
1945
1944
"
-
Number
of men
and
women
2,419
.._ ___ —2,313
1,819
_ — — 1,929
_ — — 1,860
_ _ — 1,850
- — 2,299
_ _ _
2,915
2,941
Women
Percent
of all
Number
workers
597
573
40 6
434
424
441
646
2/1,093
1,106
Year
24.7
24.8
22.3
22.5
22.8
•23-8
28.1
37.5
37.6
3/ 1943
1941
19^0
1939
1934
1929
1924
1923
Number
of men
and
women
2,793
1,358
1,003
920
673
560
5 522
516
Women
Percent
Number
of all
workers
961
266
186
173
103
80
78
81
1/ Data refer to June, except 1944 (July).
2/ Partially estimated.
3/
Full-time regular employees only.
Source:
U. S. Civil Service Commission. Data for Continental United States only.
31
34.4
19.6
18.6
18.8
15.3
14.3
14.9
15.8
Table 12•
Number of vomen
(in thousandsJ
Employment
status
1950-1952
Percent
distribution
1/
Percent of woman
population 2/
1952
1951
1950
1952
1951
1950
1952
1951
1950
8,075
7,965
8,391
100.0
100.0
100.0
14.0
l4.0
14.9
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
l,66l
1,637
760
1,838
1,792
793
1,924
1,851
896
20.6
20.3
9.4
23.1
' 22.5
10.0
22.9
22.1
10.7
8.8
9.0
93-6
9-9
10.0
94.4
10.7
10.8
97.1
- - - - - - - - - - -
877
24
999
46
955
73
10.9
•3
12.5
.6
11A
•9
5.0
4-3
5.9
6.4
5-9
8.2
6,127
6,467
79^
76.9
77-1
16.5
16.0
16.9
Women living on farms - In labor force - Employed - - - Agriculture
Nonagricultural
industries Unemployed - - -
Employment Status of Women Living on Farms:
Not in the labor force - - - -
6,kl>^
Employment of Women Living on Farms
1952
1951
1950
Employed - - - _
100.0
100.0
100.0
Agriculture - - - - Nonagricultural
industries - - - -
46.4
44.3
48.4
53-6
55-7
51.6
1/
Data refer to April of each year,
2/
Civilian noninstitutional population, ik years and over*
Source:
U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports; and Department
of Agriculture, Bureau of Agricultural Economics.
32
Table 13-
Urban-Rural Residence of Women in the Population and Labor Force:
19^0 and 1950
Number of vomen
(in thousands)
Residence
1950
Percent
distribution
1940
1950
I
1940
Percent of
total
1950 |1
1
1940
100.0
50.8
50.0
60.9
19.5
19.7
52.0
49.2
47.1
51.6
49.1
46.5
Population
Total —
Urban - - - - Rural nonfarm Rural farm - - -
- - -
57,042
50,549
- - - ----- - - -
38,622
10,935
7,485
30,772
9,838
9,939
100.0
67.7
19.2
13-1 |
Labor Force
Total
Rural nonfarm
Rural farm - -
-
16,501
12,845
100.0
100.0
27.5
24.3
- —
- - - - - -
12,838
2,485
1,178
9,606
2,032
1,207
77.8
15.1
7-1
74.8
15.8
9.4
31.2
22.9
14.5
29.5
21.0
11-5
Labor Force Participation Rates
Urban - - - - - Rural nonfarm - Rural farm —
-
Source:
1950
1940
33.2
22.7
15.7
31.2
20.7
12.1
U* S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, 1950 and 19^0 Census
of Population. (Population and labor force in Continental United
States.)
33
IV.
UNEMPLOYMENT
Persons who are not working, either because
they are not able or do not wish to work, are not
considered part of the labor force and, therefore,
are not among those classified as "unemployed.11
In April 1953* unemployed women, those actually
seeking work, numbered almost i million; however,
these women represented only 2§ percent of all
women in the labor force. Furthermore, at that
time women formed no greater proportion of the
unemployed than of the employed.
returning from the armed services and seeking
civilian jobs, noticeably higher than for
women, many of whom were leaving the labor
force following the war. With the advent of
the Korean crisis, the picture was again reversed, and the rate for women exceeded that
for men. Like the World War II picture, this
development unquestionably resulted from the
influx of women into the labor market for the
purpose of securing jobs expected to arise from
defense expansion.
Numbers
Women Among the Employed and Unemployed
Since 19^0, unemployment among women has
dropped from about 2 million to less than ^ million, the low point being approximately £ million
during the war years 19IA and 19^5* Beginning with
the postwar year 19^6, the number of unemployed women fast began to approach the 1 million mark, until
1951 when the employment effects of the Korean crisis
caused a reversal of this trend, bringing the number
down again to the post-World War II level of J million.
In Contrast to Men
Traditionally, the unemployment rate for men is
higher than for women; however, this pattern has been
subject to deviations when men are being inducted into
or released from the Armed Forces. As one might expect, the unemployment rates for both men and women
were at their lowest during World War II, but slightly higher for women than for men because war-occasioned
job opportunities brought large numbers of women into
the labor force to seek work. The postwar period
(19^6 to 1950), however, showed the traditional picture, with unemployment rates for men, who were
34
The proportion which women form of all employed persons has risen steadily since 1940,
from about l/k to almost 1/3 of the total; the
only marked fluctuation in this trend has been
the definite increase during World War II.
Among the unemployed, however, no such steady
or clear trend is evident. Rather, the proportion which women form of the unemployed has
shown a number of fluctuations which are directly related to expansion and contraction of the
labor market: The proportion rose sharply during World War II, fell sharply after the war and
rose sharply again with the Korean engagement.
This reflects clearly the tendency of a sizable
segment of the woman population to enter the
labor force during times of emergency, and
withdraw when heavy demands for labor have subsided or not materialized. However, in view
of the small but steady increase in women's
proportion of the employed, it is also clear
that some of these new entrants become permanent
members of the labor force.
Table Ik.
Year
1953
1952
1951
1950
19^9
1948
1947
1946
1945
1944
1943
1942
1941
1940
1/
~
Number of
unemployed
women
(in thousands)
478
564
716
887
811
626
520
460
260
270
500
1,010
1,690
1,920
Unemployment
rate
19^0-1953
Percent women
formed of-
Women
Men
Unemployed
Employed
2.5
3-0
3-8
4-9
4.7
3-6
3.2
2.8
1-3
1-5
2.8
6.5
12.1
13.9
2.5
2.4
2.4
6.0
5-0
3.6
4.4
4.7
.8
1.0
1.4
5.0
11.4
15-9
30.2
35.0
4l.l
25.2
30.1
30.3
26.9
28.5
21.5
19.7
49.1
42.9
49.5
33-1
26.5
23.0
29.8
29.3
28.2
28-3
27.6
29.4
36.1
34.0
33.0
27.7
25.3
25.4
Statistics are for April of each year except 19^0, vhere they refer to the last
week in March.
Source:
Unemployment Among Women in the Labor Force:
U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports,
35
V.
LABOR TURNOVER AMD LENGTH OF TIME ON THE JOB
Labor Turnover in Selected Manufacturing Industries
goods industries for which rates are available
voluntary separations among men and women occurred
at the same rate, namely 23 per 1,000 employees.
In two individual industries within the durablegoods group, quit rates were higher for women than
for men: In electrical machinery and in instrument
manufacturing (table 16).
The rate at which persons -voluntarily quit their
jobs is affected by the availability of other jobs.
Following the Korean crisis, as employment in defenseconnected industries expanded, the quit rate for women
increased. For the month of April 1950, just prior to
the Korean outbreak, women were quitting their jobs at
a rate of 18 per 1,000 women employees. In April 1951,
this rate had increased to 26, and in April 1952 it was
24.
Moreover, in 1950 the rate for involuntary separations among women - layoffs, discharges, etc. - was
about the same as the rate for voluntary separations,
or 17 women per 1,000 women employees. In April 1951*
however, while the quit rate for women was 26 per 1,000
women, the involuntary separation rate was 20 per 1,000.
In April 1952, the rates on voluntary and involuntary
separations for women were 2k and 21 (per 1,000 employees),
respectively (table 15).
Hiring of women workers in manufacturing plants was,
of course, considerably stimulated by the Korean crisis.
The rate of hiring changed from 35 vomen per 1,000 employees in April 1950 to
women per 1,000 employees in
April 1951, or an increase of almost 30 percent. In
April 1952, there was a decline in the hiring rate by
comparison with 1951, but the rate was still 17 percent
above what it had been in April 1950 (table 15).
Turnover Among Women and Men
Labor turnover rates for men and women separately
are available for 20 manufacturing industries. These
rates for April 1952 indicate that in those durable-
In the nine other heavy industries for which
rates were reported, quit rates were approximately
the same for women as for men, with the following
two exceptions: In furniture manufacturing, where
women are about a fifth of all workers, the women's
quit rate was substantially lower than men's. In
lumber manufacturing (primarily a man-employing
industry) the men's quit rates were substantially
higher than the rates for women (table 16).
In nondurable-goods industries, on the other
hand, the overall quit rates for the industries
reported are considerably higher for women than for
men - respectively, 26 and 18 per 1,000 employees.
Women quit their jobs at a somewhat higher rate
than men in the large women-employing industries
of apparel, tobacco, and leather manufacturing.
(About 50 percent or more of all of the employees
in these industries are women.) Women also leave
their jobs voluntarily at a higher rate than men
in the rubber, paper, chemical, and petroleumproducts manufacturing industries. With the exception of petroleum products, between a fourth
and a fifth of all employees in these industries
are women (table36).
36
The common generalization, then, that quit
rates for women are consistently higher than for
men is obviously in need of certain modifications.
Differences in the rates between women and men
in the durable and nondurable industries suggest
that the relatively lower wage rates in the large
woman-employing industries may be an important
factor in explaining some of the turnover among
women workers.
In industries in which women were about a
fifth of all enqployees, involuntary separations
from factory jobs - layoffs, discharges, etc.,
- were higher for women than for men in four durable-goods industries in April 1952 - electrical
machinery, instruments, fabricated metal products,
and miscellaneous manufacturing; and in three
nondurable-goods industries, namely rubber, food,
and paper manufacturing. Involuntary separation
rates for men were higher than for women in ordnance
and furniture manufacturing, among the durable-goods
industries; and in apparel, textile, tobacco, chemical and leather manufacturing among the soft-goods
industries.
Length of Time on the Job
A January 1951 survey by the U. S. Bureau of
the Census revealed that men, on the average, had
been employed about k years at the job which they
were holding at the time of the survey, whereas
women had been employed only a little more than
half as long at their current job (table 17) •
Part of this difference is accounted for by
the fact that the woman labor force, on the whole,
is slightly younger than the male labor force •
However, it must also be noted that the greatest
discrepancies between men and women in length of
262286 O - 53 - 6
time on the job exist in the upper age groups. In
fact, women 20 to 2k years of age are inclined to
stay with the same employer to a somewhat greater
extent than men. Among women in the older age
groups, however, there were many who had left the
labor market to assume full-time homemaking responsibilities, and who did not return to jobs outside of
their homes until they had reached their middle
years. Thus, women 55 to 64 years had been employed
at the same job for only half as long as men in the
same age groups (table 17).
Single women, primarily because they are
younger women, had been with the same employer for
an average of only 2 years. Married women without
children under 18 years of age, on the other hand,
had an average time of almost 3 years on the job,
only a year less than that for men. Mothers of
young children under 6 years of age, as migftt be
expected, showed the lowest median years on the
job - less than 1 year (table 17).
Among women, private household workers, service
workers, and sales workers showed the lowest, and
farm workers the highest, average time on the same
job. Among men, farm laborers and other laborers
were the least stable employees, with farmers, and
managers and officials showing the most stability.
Though relatively few women are employed as craftsmen their average time with the same employer was equal
to men's. Interestingly enough,the stability of women
opeatives was not very much less than that of men
operatives. Among men and women clerical workers,
however, men had been with the same employer for
a considerably longer period of time than women.
Men in this occupation are older as a group than
are the women so employed; and, in addition, men
probably were offered more opportunities for advancement in their jobs (table ItJ).
CHART
TT50TT
LABOR TURNOVER RATES OF WOMEN
(SELECTED MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES)
RATE PER 1 0 0 EMPLOYEES
JAN.
APR.
JULY
OCT.
JAN.
APR.
JULY
1 9 5 0
^INCLUDES DISCHARGES AND M I S C E L L A N E O U S
SOURCE:
1 9 5 1
SEPARATIONS
U. S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics
38
OCT.
JAN.
APR.
JULY
1 9 5 2
OCT.
Table 15*
Labor Turnover Rates of Women in Selected Manufacturing
Industries; 1950-1952 (Quarterly)
(Per 100 women)
Month and
year
Separations
Total
Quits
Other 1/
Total
accessions
1952
October - - - - - July - - —
—
April
January - - - - - -
4.5
4.9
4.5
4.8
3.2
2.8
2.4
2.4
1.3
2.1
2.1
2.4
6.1
5-2
4.1
5.2
October - - - - - July
- - - - - - April
January
5.2
4.7
4.6
4.2
2.6
2.6
2.6
2.5
2.6
2.1
2.0
1.7
4-9
4.4
4.5
5.4
October - - - - - July
- April - January - - - - - -
4.1
2-9
3-5
3-8
2-7
2.0
1.8
1.7
1.4
.9
1-7
2.1
5.4
4.8
3.5
4.1
1951
1950
l/
Includes discharges, lay-offs, and miscellaneous separations.
Source:
U. S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics,
Employment and Payrolls*
39
CHART TT50TT
JOB SEPARATION RATES OF MEN AND WOMEN: 1952
SELECTED MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES
RATE PER 100 EMPLOYEES
MEN
WOMEN
RATE PER 1 0 0 EMPLOYEES
MEN
Electrical
Machinery
WOMEN
Instruments
MEN
WOMEN
Ordnance
MEN
WOMEN
MEN
WOMEN
Furniture
Fabricated
Metal
MEN
WOMEN
Stone, Clay
Glass
MEN
WOMEN
Machinery
MEN
WOMEN
MEN
Transportation
QUITS
WOMEN
|
WOMEN
Apparel
MEN
RATE PER 1 0 0 EMPLOYEES
MEN
WOMEN
Tobacco
MEN
WOMEN
MEN
Leather
WOMEN
Textiles
MEN
WOMEN
Rubber
• I N C L U D E S DISCHARGES AND M I S C E L L A N E O U S SEPARATIONS
SOURCE; U . S . DEPT. OF L A B O R , BUREAU OF LABOR S T A T I S T I C S
WOMEN
Primary
Metots
| LAYOFFS*
RATE PER 1 0 0 EMPLOYEES
MEN
MEN
Lumber
40
MEN
WOMEN
MEN
WOMEN
Paper
MEN
WOMEN
Chemicals
MEN
WOMEN
Products of
Petroleum a Coal
WOMEN
Misc. Mfg.
Industries
Table l6*
Labor Turnover Rates of Women and Men in Selected Manufacturing Industries:
1952
1/
(Per 100 employees)
Separations
Total
accessions
Percent women
formed of all
employees 2/
Women
Men
Women
Men
Women
Men
Women
Manufacturing
26
4.5
4.0
2.4
2.2
2.1
1.8
4.1
Durable goods - Total
Electrical machinery
Instruments and related products - - - - Ordnance and accessories
- - - - - - - - Fabricated metal products (except ordnance,
machinery, and transportation equipment)
Furniture and fixtures
- - - - - - - - - Stone, clay and glass products
Machinery (except electrical)
Transportation equipment
- - - - - - - - Lumber and wood products (except furniture)
Primary metal industries
- - - - - - - - Miscellaneous manufacturing industries
—
17
38
35
4.4
5.2
4.1
2.8
2-3
2-3
1.5
2.1
1.8
2.4
2.6
1-5
1.4
2.5
1.8
1.8
1.2
28
2.8
1-3
•7
4.3
3-7
2.9
4.2
19
4.6
4.0
3-2
3.2
4.1
2.9
3-0
7-3
4-5
2.0
2.2
2.4
1-7
3.8
1-9
2.6
1.6
4-7
5-3
3-1
4.6
4.6
4.3
5-3
4.4
3-8
5-6
3-3
4.5
5-0
Industry group
Nondurable goods - Total - - - Apparel and other finished textile products
Tobacco manufactures - - - - - - - - Leather and leather products
Textile mill products
" "
Rubber products - - - - - - - - - - - - - Food and kindred products
paper and allied products
Chemicals and allied products
Products of petroleum and coal
1/
2/
]/
18
17
14
13
7
6
39
37
76
60
49
43
27
24
23
19
Total
3.2
6
1.9
6.0
3.4
3-5
5.1
5-4
3-2
5.0
2.7
4.5
3-1
2.4
1.2
Quits
2.8
2.1
2.4
2.1
1.6
Other 3/
.8
2.2
2.6
3-8
1-9
41
l . l
1.7
.8
1.4
4.6
2.8
2.6
1.8
2.1
2.5
1-7
1.8
1.0
2.6
1.4
3-5
2.1
3-2
1.9
2.6
2.2
2-3
1.8
1.5
1.0
2.3
2.2
1-5
1-3
2.5
1.6
1.3
2.2
2.0
3-1
4.4
4.6
3-3
3.5
6.4
4.7
3-3
5-5
2.3
3-1
2.2
1.8
.8
.6
2.1
1.3
4.0
4-3
2-5
4.4
3-8
4.2
4.6
3-8
1.4
.4
1.6
.6
2.4
2.0
1.6
U. S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment and Payrolls.
1-5
2.7
Data refer to April of eacn year.
Data for March 1952.
Includes discharges, lay-offs, and miscellaneous separations.
Source:
•7
2.7
1.7
1.6
1.9
3-0
1 . 1
2.6
Men
1/
Table 17- Median Years on Current Job:
Age
Total employed - - 14
18
20
25
35
45
55
65
to 17 years
- - - and 19 years - - - to 2k years —
to 34 years
to 44 years —
to 54 years
- - - to 64 years
- - - years and over - - -
- - -
- - - -
January 1951
Women
Men
2.2
3-9
Total employed women
0.5
.6
1.4
1.8
3-1
4.0
4.5
4.9
0.8
.6
1.2
2.8
4.5
7.6
9.3
10/
Married women - - - - - - - — — —
With no children under 18 years
of age
- - - - - - - - - - With one or more children under
18 years of age —
- - - - With children under 6
years of age
With children 6 to 17 years
of age - - - - - - - - -
Marital status
Women
-
-
Single women - —
- —
Widowed, divorced or separated
women - - - - - - - - - - — _
-
.
2.2
«
2.1
-
2.8
-
1-3
-
.8
-
2.1
2.0
— _
2.7
JL/ Current job was defined for all workers as a continuous period of employment,
but with the following variations for different classes of workers: For wage
and salary workers - with a single employer; odd job workers - at the particular type of Job; self-employed - in a particular type of business or professional practice in the same locality; and unpaid workers - on the familyoperated farm or business. In government employment, different agencies or
bureaus were considered as different employers.
Source:
U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population
Reports.
42
Table 18. Median Years on Current Job, by Occupation Group:
January 1951
Occupation group
Women
Men
Total employed
2.2
3.9
Professional, technical, and kindred workers - Farmers and farm managers - - - - - - - - - - - Managers, officials, and proprietors, except farm
Clerical and kindred workers - - - - - - - —
Sales workers
—
—
- - - Craftsmen, foremen, and kindred workers
—
Operatives and kindred workers
Private household workers - —
Service workers, except private household
Farm laborers and foremen - —
- - - - - - - - Laborers, except farm and mine
- -
- - - - -
2.5
7-1
- - — --
2.5
1.6
lf.2
2.3
1.2
1.2
4.8
1/
—
—
- - - -
k.2
M
9.6
5.3
3-9
2.6
3-1
1/
2.9
2.k
1.6
1/ Base too small to justify computation.
Source:
U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current
Population Reports.
43
VI. AGE
4^ times, while the number of men increased
Between 1690 and 1950 the population of working
about 2g- times. The greater proportion of
age (l4 years and over) underwent important changes
both of these increases was in age groups
in size, sex composition, and age distribution. The
45 years and over, with women in these ages
size of the population of working age increased alshowing an almost ninefold increase. Thus,
most threefold, from 42 million to 113 million, with
the number of women 45 years and over increaswomen accounting for a slightly larger proportion of
ed 4 times in the population, but almost 9
the increase than men. The sex composition was retimes in the labor force (table 19).
versed. In 1890* Bien is the working-age groups outnumbered women by moiethan 1 mill ion; in 1950, women
in these groups outnumbered men by almost
million.
In vie^ of this tremendous increase in the
Most significantly, the number of men and women 45
number of older women who were working, it is
years and over increased substantially more than the
understandable that the median age of women
number under 45: Whereas men and women 45 years and
workers advanced from 25 years in 1890 to 36
over quadrupled in number, those under 45 only doubled. years in 1950, the most rapid change taking
place between 1940 and 1950 when World War II
created many additional job opportunities for
Long-Term Labor Force Changes
women. Although the median age for men in the
labor force advanced during this period, it
Like the population, the labor force increased
was a much smaller change, from 34 years to 39
almost threefold between I89O and 1950 - from 22 milyears. The median age of women workers today
lion to more than 60 million• Changes in the sex and
is only 3 years below that of men workers;
age composition of the labor force were substantially
whereas
in 1890, it was 9 years (table 1 9 ) .
more pronounced than in the population. The number
of women in the labor force increased approximately
Almost 1 out of every 3 women of working
wage was in the labor force in 1950, as contrasted
with less than 1 out of every 5 in 1690. The proportion of women in the population who work increased since 1690 in every age group} except 14
to 19 years. Almost three times the proportion
of women between 35 and 54 years of age and twice
the proportion of women 25 to 34 and 55 to 64 were
working in 1950. Clearly then, it was women between the ages of 35 and 54 who had the greatest
effect on the overall participation rates of women
workers (table 20).
In the decade 1940 to 1950, changes in the
woman labor force continued to follow the longterm pattern of an overall increasing participation rate with the emphasis on the older age
groups. However, the pattern was somewhat more
pronounced during this short period than during
the preceding 50 years. Well over one-third as
many women - 3*5 million - were added to the
labor force during this one decade as during the
previous 5 decades. Had women's participation in
the labor force followed the same average rate of
increase between 1940 and 1950 as during the previous 50 years, only about 2\ million would have
been added to the woman labor force. Likewise, if
the participation rates of older women had not
increased so significantly between 1940 and 1950,
262286 O - 53 - 6
the median age of women workers probably
would have risen only 1 or 2 years rather
than 4 years (table 20).
Labor Force Changes Since 1940
Before World War II women under 35 years
of age outnumbered their elders in the woman
labor force; and even at the height of the war
(1945), they still predominated in the labor
force. But, when the war was over, a greater
proportion of these younger women left the
labor force to take up duties of home and family,
while many of the older women remained at work.
Thus, in 1947 - for the first time - women 35
years and older outnumbered younger women workers. In 1953> these older women constituted 56
percent of the woman labor force; the number of
women in the age groups 18 to 34 years in the
labor force had decreased while all other age
groups, even 65 years and over, increased in
comparison with 1940 (table 21).
The proportions of women who work increased
sharply in all age groups during World War II,
reaching a peak in 1945* After the war, participation rates dropped for all age groups, but not
so sharply for groups 35 years and over. In
1953> women in all age groups except 20 to 34
were participating in the labor force to a
greater extent than in 1940; but significantly, only in the age groups 45 to 64 were
women participating at a higher rate than in
1945. Today, therefore, a smaller proportion of the women in the child-bearing, childrearing age groups are in the labor force
than in 1940; while a much higher proportion
of the women in older age groups are working
(table 20)«
Occupations
Almost half of the 18 million employed
women in April 1953 were between the ages of
25 and 44 (table 23). More than half of these
women were employed as clerical or factory
workers, whereas slightly less than half of
all women workers were so employed (table 24).
Clerical work is, of course, a very
important field of work for women - more than
one-fourth of all employed women were clerical
or kindred workers in 1953- However, clerical
work as a fieldft>rwomen decreases in importance
as age advances. Young women (l4 to 24 years)
are heavily concentrated in clerical work* Next
to clerical work, young women are found in factory, private household work, or service work,
but to a substantially lesser degree (table 24).
Although women 25 to 44 years of age outnumber all other age groups in clerical occupations (as they do in most occupations because
of their larger numbers), they are almost as apt
to be factory workers as clerical workers. This
group, like young workers, also tends to be in service work next to clerical and factory work. However, professional work is almost as important to
them as service work (table 24).
The next older group, 45 to 64 years of age,
tends to spread more evenly over the occupational groups, with some concentration in clerical and
factory work (table 24). Significant proportions
of this group are also found in service work, professional work, and private household work - in
that order of importance.
Elderly women, 65 years and over, are concentrated in private household work and service
work. One-fourth of the employed women in this
age group in 1953 were private household workers
and one-fifth were service workers. Undoubtedly
this is, in large part, due to the fact that
women of advanced years may prefer the part-time
schedules which frequently are possible in such
work and, in addition, are not so well able to
secure or hold the office jobs which are so popular among young women. On the other hand, we
find that only in this elderly group is there
a significant concentration in the group called
"Managers, officials, and proprietors, except
farm." Perhaps this is due to their mature
years, length of experience in their chosen
fields, or inheritance of businesses from their
husbands. In addition to these three occupational
groups, women 65 years and over are found also in
professional work and factory work (table 24).
In sunmary, one might say that the young
woman is most likely to be an office worker; the
mature woman, an office or factory worker; the
older woman, an office, factory, or service
worker; and the elderly woman, a private household or service worker (table 24).
Although the overall occupational distribution of women workers showed no significant
changes between 1951 and 1953, there were more
occupational shifts among older women than
among young women. Young women (l4 to 24 years)
showed some movement out of service work into
clerical work, while women 25 to 44 years of
age moved out of clerical work and into factory
and service work. Older women (45 to 64 years)
moved into professional, clerical, and sales
work as well as into the crafts field and left
factory and private household jobs. Women 65
years and over shifted mostly into private
household work but also into professional and
clerical work, having moved out of the sales
and crafts fields. All age groups showed some
decrease in the group termed, "Managers, officials, and proprietors, except farm."
CHART
AGE OF POPULATION
TT50TT
AND LABOR
FORCE: 1890 and 1950
1890
1950
MILLIONS OF PERSONS
6
5
4
3
2
1
0 1
2
3
4
MILLIONS OF PERSONS
13
9 6
12
II
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
I
0
1
2
3
4
3
6
7
A G E GROUP
6 5 and OVER
6
3
4
T
to
64
45
to
54
3 5 to
44
25
to
34
2 0 to
24
14 to
19
2
WOMEN
MEN
SOURCE1 U.S. Bureau of the Census and
Social Science Research Council
55
WOMEN
In labor force
] Not in labor force
48
MEN
8
9
10
II
12
13
Table 19. Total Labor Force, by Age and Sex: 1890-1950
1/
(In thousands)
<r -
to 19
to 24
to 34
to 44
to 54
to 64
years
14
20
25
35
45
55
65
Women 2/
to 19 years - to 2k years - to 34 years - to 44 years
to 54 years - to 64 years - years and over
14
20
25
35
45
55
65
years
years
years - years - years
years - and over
1890
53,299
47,404
40,282
27,640
21,833
4,o4l
7,169
14,682
13,766
10,816
7,049
2,904
4,014
7,723
13,683
11,241
9,072
5,432
2,134
4,386
7,063
11,634
10,268
7,615
4,400
4,587
5,865
10,327
2,981
3,774
5,732
3,997
2,783
2,038
3,437
1,563
4,064
4,481
7,072
5,279
3,599
2,031
1,114
16,512
1,47*
2,521
3,839
3,762
2,902
1,507
509
13,015
10,396
1,591
2,316
2,581
8,229
1,640
1,785
2,011
1,303
4,999
1,230
1,179
1,139
869
3,704
984
938
789
427
304
36.1
43,916
2,569
4,650
-
60,428
- - - - - - - --
- -- —
- —
-
—
Men 2 / - - - - to 19 years
to 24 years - - - —
to 34 years
to 44 years —
- - to 54 years - - - - to 64 years
years and over - —
Median age
1900
1950
Total 2/
14
20
25
35
45
55
65
1930
1920
1940
Age and sex
- -
1,395
2,688
3,607
2,500
1,691
859
275
1,823
8,340
6,163
652
1,630
936
1,224
618
243
441
180
427
245
127
31.7
30.0
28.4
25.8
24.6
37,008
2,795
4,747
9,053
8,445
6,391
3,782
1,795
32,053
22,641
2,834
3,302
5,933
4,627
3,172
18,129
1,997
7,915
5,540
2,394
40,284
2,619
5,035
10,076
8,741
7,381
4,573
1,859
38.9
37.8
37.3
44.7
10,843
10,004
1/ Data rerer zo Aprix, e ^ o
2,947
4,080
8,316
7,037
5,294
2,996
1,383
—,,
172
90
2,836
987
4,943
3,570
2,479
1,458
846
33.7
33.6
1,786
•
p/ Details do not necessarily add to totals because of rounding. Figures for
periods prior to 19^0 adjusted to include persons of unknown age.
Source: See Table 1.
49
CHART TT50TT
PROPORTION OF WOMEN IN THE POPULATION WHO WORKED:
1890 — 1950
1890
1900
1920
1930
ALL AGES
1940
1950
1890
1900
1920
1930
1 4 - 1 9 YEARS
1940
1950
1890
1900
1920
1930
2 0 - 2 4 YEARS
1940
1950
1890
1900
1920
1930
2 5 - 3 4 YEARS
1940
1950
1890
1900
1920
1930
3 5 - 4 4 YEARS
1940
1950
1890
1900
1920
45-54
1940
1950
8
8
1890
1900
1920
1930
1940
65 YEARS a OVER
1950
1890
1900
1920
1930
5 5 - 6 4 YEARS
1940
1950
50
1930
YEARS
S0URCE : U.S. Bureau of the Census
Table 20. Labor Force Participation Rates of the Total Population,
by Age and Sex: 1890-1950 l/
l4
20
25
35
45
55
65
Age and sex
1950
1940
1930
1920
1900
1890
Total
53.6
52.7
53-2
54.3
53-7
52.2
-- -
31.6
61.7
61.4
64.0
62.3
53.0
23.7
27.2
66.7
64.1
61.3
58.5
51.4
23.7
31.4
64.9
61.3
59-7
58.5
52.4
30.6
39.8
63.1
60.1
58.9
58.6
52.4
31.6
44.4
60.9
58.3
57.1
56.0
50.5
36.0
37-2
60.6
58.2
56.4
54.9
52.0
38.6
------
28.9
25.7
23.6
22.7
20.0
18.3
years - years - - —
-years
—
years —
- - - years —
- - - years and over - - - - -
23.2
42.8
31.5
34.6
33^
22.7
7.9
18.9
45.6
33.4
27.3
22.4
16.6
.6.0
22.8
41.8
27.O
21.7
19-7
15.3
7-3
28.3
37.5
23.7
19.2
17.9
14.3
7-3
26.8
31.7
19.4
15.0
14.2
12.6
8.3
24.5
30.2
16.8
12.7
12.5
11.5
7-6
78.9
79-7
82.1
84.5
85.7
84.3
40.0
81.1
92.6
94.1
91-3
83.O
41.3
35-4
88.5
95.7
95-4
92.7
84.6
42.2
40.1
88.8
95-9
95-7
93-8
86.5
54.0
51.5
69.9
95-7
95.4
93-5
86.3
55.6
62.0
90.6
94.9
9^.5
50.0
90.9
96.0
95-9
93.9
89.0
68.2
to 19
to 24
to 34
to 44
to 3k
to 64
years
years - —
years —
- years
years
---years —
years
---and over - - Women
14
20
25
35
45
55
65
to 19
to 2k
to 34
to 44
to 54
to 64
years
Men
14
20
25
35
45
to
to
to
to
to
19
24
34
44
54
years
years
years
years
years
-
-
- - - - - - - - —
—
- -
65 vears and over - - - - -
92.8
86.1
63.2
1/ Data refer to April, except 1890 (June), 1900 (June), and 1920 (January).
Source:
See Table 1.
51
CHART
TT50TT
AGE DISTRIBUTION OF WOMEN WORKERS: 1940,1945,1950,1953
NUMBER OF WOMEN
6 5 YEARS AND OVER
5 5 TO 6 4
13,840
' 2.2
19,570
••J-; - 2.5
WORKERS
THOUSANDS)
(IN
l00
PERCENT
>8,063
18,912
SSw 8 2
YEARS
m m
Mill
13.2
45
TO 5 4
15.2
YEARS
is.a
18.0
3 5 TO 4 4
YEARS
, W 19.4 .V.
I********
• ••••lit*
• • ««*••**'
.\\• 20.7 •\\
• *
•'••••••a*
• ••••••a*
^ ^
• •••••••a
• ••••••••
.V.; 23.6 .v,;
• • • __ . « • *
• •
2 5 TO 3 4
YEARS
27.6
22.7
22.4
22.2
^
2 0 TO 2 4
YEARS
16.7
20.4
— —
14,4
—. —• —
YEARS
13.9
10.5
1940
12.9
""
^
14 TO 19
_
,
9.3
1945
1950
SOURCE: U.S.Bureau of t^e Census
52
9.0
1953
Table 21. Age of Women in the Civilian Labor Force: 19^0-1953^/
(In thousands)
Age
1953
1951
1950
1949
1948
1947
1946
1945
1944
1943
1942
1941
1940
18,912 18,798 18,607 18,063 17,167 17,155 16,320 16,590 19,570 18,450 18,100 15,460 13,930 13,840
Total
14 to 19
14 and
16 and
18 and
20 to 24
25 to 34
35 to 44
45 to 54
55 to 64
65 years
1952
years - 15 years
17 years
19 years
years - years - years - years - years - and over
-
Median age 3/- - -
1,768 1,724 1,677 1,767 1,81*4 1,820 1,930 2,720 2,730 2,580 1,910
189
280
170
188
158
188
259
155
181
H
1,704
176
534
994
2,438
4,192
4,470
3,556
564
1,016
2,442
4,226
4,360
3,558
2,584
4,188
4,203
3,382
1,968 1,920 1,954
524
574
584
2,598
4,045
4,056
3,245
37-5
37.2
36.8
546
1,020
36.9
513
529
543
530
983 1,083 1,112 1,120
2,484
3,880
3,898
3,027
1,868 1,605
576
509
2,703
3,839
3,749
2,907
1,599
515
36.2
35.5
H
1
I
2,690
2,B30
3,640
3,580 7,420
2,690
l,46o 4,000
440
4io
35-0
34.3
934
1,506
3,270
4,450
4,060
2,969
1,611
490
33-5
809
847
1,624 1,583
3,24o 2,930
4,142 4,358
3,888 3,722
2,749 2,595
1,321 1,415
380
500
32.9
33.1
l,46o
57
4,370
333
1,070
2/
2,520
2,820
3,906
3,820
3,113 8,190 2,680
2,212
1,830
1,117
920
380 1,370
310
32-7
32.2
31.9
Percent distribution
Total
14 to 19
14 and
16 and
18 and
20 to 24
25 to 34
35 to 44
45 to 54
55 to 64
65 years
- -
years - 15 years
17 years
19 years
years - years - years - years - years - and over
_ -
-
-
-
__
__
— —
__
—
100.0
100.0
100.0
9.0
0.9
2.8
5.3
12.9
22.2
23.6
18.8
10.4
3-1
9.4
1.0
3.0
9.3
0.8
2.9
5-5
13-9
22.5
22.6
18.2
10.5
3-1
5.4
13.0
22.5
23.2
18.9
10.2
2.8
100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
9-3
1.0
2.8
5-4
14.4
22.4
22.5
18.0
10.3
3.2
10.3
0.9
3-1
6.3
14.5
22.622.7
17-6
9.3
3-0
10.7
1.1
3-2
6.5
15.8
22.4
21.9
16.9
9-3
3.0
11.2
1.0
3-2
6.9
16.5
22.3
21.9
16.5
8.9
2.7
11.6
-
17.1
44.7
24.1
2.5
13-9
1.4
4.8
7-7
16-7
22.7
20.7
15.2
8-2
2.5
l4.8
1.4
4.6
8.8
17.6
22.4
21.1
14.9
7.2
2.1
14.3
1.0
4.5
8.7
16.2
24.1
20.6
14.3
7.8
2.8
12.4
-
18.2
25.3
20.1
14-3
7.2
2.5
1/ Statistics are for April oi each ^ear except 1940, vhere they refer to the last week in March.
2/ Not available.
^ ^
J
I; F o r t h e ^ ^ 19 ln and 1946, median computed on estimated age intervals smaller than those shown in table.
SOURCE :
U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports.
262286 O - 53 - 5
53
31-4
-
58.8
9.8
10.5
0.4
2.4
7-7
20.4
27.6
19*4
13.2
6.6
2.2
C H A R T TT50TT
MEDIAN AGE OF WOMEN
WORKERS
1 9 4 0 TO 1953
YEARS OF AGE
YEARS OF AGE
40
40
1940
SOURCE:
1942
1944
1946
1948
u. S. Bureau of the Census
54
1950
1952
1953
Table 22.
Age
Jotal 14 to 19
14 and
16 and
18 and
20 to 24
25 to 34
35 to 44
45 to 54
55 to 64
65 years
years 15 years
17 years
19 years
years years years years years and over
Civilian Labor Force Participation Rates of Women, by Age:
1952
1951
1950
1949
1948
1947
1946
1945
1944
1943
1942
1941
32.4
32.7
32.7
32.1
30-9
31.2
30.0
30-9
35.2
34.9
30.1
27.4
26.7
8.0
27.9
27.5
7-4
26.7
48.7
28.7
27.7
28.8
37.0
39.9
9-3
25-3
8.1
25.3
48.1
44.3
34.2
39-7
39-2
28.6
8.5
8.6
26.8
t9-7
43.4
34.7
39-9
39-4
27.2
8.2
45.0
34.6
39-0
38.1
26.6
8.6
25.2
45.6
44.6
33-6
38.2
37-1
28.2
27.6
9.3
9.7
Civilian noninstitutional population.
last week in March.
2/
Not available.
27.9
7-6
25.4
49.1
41.9
32.5
37-4
35.2
24.3
8.8
49.6
44.9
32.5
36.5
34.4
25.O
9.2
24.2
48.9
44.3
31.2
35-4
32.3
23-5
8.1
H
2/
12.2
40.8
67.3
47.0
H
H
7.8
54.9
40.2
40.7
36.9
27.5
9.6
H
H
H
H
% K
2/
2/
V 49.1
H
47.6
35.5
39.4
3 6.6
37-0
40.5
34.6
39-2
39.3
33-0
25.4
2/
23.1
7.6
10.3
26.7
33.2
28.5
20.5
8.0
H
2/
H
2/
H
2/
Statistics are for April of each year except 1940, where they refer to the
U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports.
1/
1953
1/
Source:
1940-1953
55
Table 23. Percent Distribution of Employed Women in Major Occupation Groups, by Age:
April 1953
number
Un
thousands)
Total
Total employed women - - - - - -
18,434
100.0
Professional, technical, and kindred workers Farmers and farm managers - - - - - - - - - - Managers, officials, and proprietors, except
farm
___ — -Clerical and kindred workers - - - —
— -Sales workers - - - — - - - - —
-----Craftsmen, foremen, and kindred workers - - - Operatives and kindred workers - - - - - - - Private household workers - — — — - - - Service workers, except private household - - Farm laborers and foremen - - - - - - - - - - Laborers, except farm and mine
--------
1,928
150
888
5,090
1,434
268
3,862
1,854
2,300
580
80
Major occupation group
14-24
25-44
45-64
years
years
years
21.5
46.0
29.4
3.1
100.0
100.0
16.3
1-3
48.1
29.3
32.2
57-3
3-5
12.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
1.6
34.1
23.7
46.2
44.4
39.9
42.5
55.8
38.6
45.0
20.5
34.3
44.1
25-6
32.5
35.0
41.4
30.0
7-2
•9
2.1
•7
12.7
17.1
21.2
15.9
15-1
27-5
44.0
40.0
4o.o
Source: U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports.
56
65 years
and over
1.6
7-7
5-0
3.4
2.5
Table 24. Percent Distribution of Employed Women, by Major Occupation Group and Age: 1951 and 1953
1951
1953
Major occupation
group
Total employed women - Professional, technical, and
kindred workers - - - - - Farmers and farm managers - Managers, officials, and
proprietors, except farm Clerical and kindred workersSales workers — - - — - Craftsmen, foremen, and
kindred workers - - - - —
Operatives and kindred workers
Private household workers - Service workers, except
private household
Farm laborers and foremen —
Laborers, except farm and
mine — . . .
Total, 14
years
and over
Total, 14
65
years
14-24 25-44 45-64 years
years years years and over and over
65
14-24 25-44 45-64 years
years years years and over
100.0 100.0 100.0
100.0
100.0
10.9
.5
11.4
1.6
12.0
3-2
10.0
1.1
8.1
.2
10.7
1.0
10.4
2.0
9.5
3.4
4.8
27.6
7.8
• 3 4.8
43.8 26.7
6.8
8.6
7-4
19-3
9-1
11.3
8.1
5.3
5-8
27.6
7.1
1.0
42.1
7-9
5-8
28.1
6.4
8.6
17.5
7.4
14.7
7.2
6.8
1-5
21.0
10.1
•9
16.6
9-9
1.4
25.4
8.5
2.2
18.3
11.1
.4
10.6
25.O
1.2
20.9
10.5
1.0
16.2
9.8
1-3
24.3
7.7
•9
20.5
13.7
2.7
10.2
24.9
12.5
3:1
9-2
2.2
12.0
2.7
14.8
4.4
20.4
3-5
12.0
3-4
10.5
2.4
10.9
3.4
14.4
4.1
16.6
4.1
.4
.6
.5
.4
.9
.4
.6
100.0
10.5
.8
7-9
.1
•3
100.0 100.0 100.0
•5
1/ Statistics are for April of each year.
Source: U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Beports.
57
100.0
VII.
MARITAL STATUS
Population Changes
Labor Force Changes
Since 19*10, the number of single women in the
population has been steadily declining - from almost Ik million in 1940 to only 11 million in 1952,
a decrease of more than 20 percent. During this same
12-year period, the number of married women in the
population has steadily increased, from 30.1 million in 1940 to 38.7 million by 1952, an increase
of 28^ percent. There has also been an increase of
1.8 million widowed or divorced women in the population (table 25)*
Partly as a result of these population
changes, the marital composition of the woman
labor force has changed dramatically in the
last 12 years. The population decline in
single women was reflected by an almost equal
decline in the number of single women in the
labor force: From 6.7 million in 1940 to 5.5
million in 1952, a decrease of 18 percent.
Among married women workers, on the other
hand, there was an increase in number of more
than 100 percent - from 5 million in 1940 to
10.4 million in 1952; and among widowed and
divorced women there was a 40-percent increase
in the number working, from slightly over 2 million to nearly 3 million during these years
(table 25).
Reflecting these numerical changes, the marital distribution of the woman population today differs
oarkedly from what it was in 1940. In 1952, only a
fifth of the woman population Ik years and over
were single, and two-thirds were married; in 1940,
more than a fourth of the women were single, and
only three-fifths were married. The proportion of
widowed and divorced women in the population was about the same in 1952 as in 1940 - approximately 14
percent (table 26).
More than half of the woman labor force
today is married. In 1940, however, married
women formed only a little more than a third
of all women workers. The proportion of single
58
vomen workers, by contrast, declined from alaiost
a half in 19^0 to considerably less than a third
by 1952. The proportion of widowed and divorced
women in the labor force, as in the population,
has remained the same - about 15 percent of the
woman labor force (table 26).
Population changes alone, however, do not
account for the "new (married) look" of today's
women workers, by comparison with 191*0. Married
women increased by 29 percent in the population
during these years, but by more than 100 percent
in the labor force because a much larger proportion of married women sought jobs outside of
their homes during this period. In 1 9 ^ , only
17 percent of the married women in the population were workers; but in 1952 about 27 percent
of these women were workers. Among single women,
and divorced and widowed women, on the other hand,
the proportions in the labor force changed very
little in these years - about one-half for single
vomen and about one-third for widowed and divorced
women (table 27).
Labor Force in Relation to Population
This phenomenal increase in the proportion of
married women who work began during the years of
World War II, when the proportion of married women
who were working or seeking work increased from 17
percent In 19^0 to 26 percent in 19Vf. These women,
of course, were needed as replacements for men
who had left civilian jobs to serve in the Armed
Forces, and many of these women were the wives
of servicemen. Following World War II, there
was a definite decline in the number and proportion of married women who were working, as
men returned from the Armed Forces and families
were reunited. By I9W, however, the participation rate for married women had again begun to
increase, and by 1951 exceeded the World War II
peak (table 27). Undoubtedly the primary impetus to this post-World War II increase in the
proportion of married women who are working has
been the need for married women1 s contributions
to the economic solvency of their homes and
families, as well as the common American desire
for an improved standard of living. (See ch. X,
Women as Heads of Families and Annual Income.)
The need for additional workers in the
Nation's civilian labor force during World War II
was responsible also for an increase in the proportion of single women who were working - from
kQ percent in 19^0 to 59 percent in 19V*. However, this proportion returned to about its prewar level following the war, and has remained
fairly constant ever since (table 27). As a
matter offeet, there are relatively few single
women today who are not already working. In
the age group 25 to
years, for example, 83
percent of all single women in the population
are in the labor force, as compared with only
27 percent of the married women of these ages,
many of whom have young children* The World
War II expansion in the proportion of single
women who were working undoubtedly occurred
chiefly among girls of school age (l4 to 19
years) who, during the war years as today,
comprised the bulk of single women not already
in the labor force. (See ch. XI, Labor Reserve.)
Occupations
Regardless of marital status, women workers
tend to concentrate in a few occupations: More
than a third (37 percent) of the employed women
in April 1952 were in clerical, sales and kindred jobs(of which almost 80 percent were clerical jobs); about a fifth were in service occupations; another fifth worked as operatives or on
kindred jobs; and about a tenth were in professional or technical occupations. However, within
these major concentrations marital status has some
effect in determining the kind of occupation in
which a woman finds employment (table 28).
Almost half (47 percent) of all employed
single women were in clerical, sales or kindred
jobs in April 1952. This is understandable,
of course, since single women workers are byand-large younger women (having a median age of
25 years). Consequently, they are often new
entrants to the labor market; relatively free
from family responsibilities, and able to undertake the full-time, year-round work required in
these jobs.. For these reasons, they are frequently willing to accept the relatively low wage levels
common to many clerical jobs. Furthermore, clerical jobs are apt to be full-year Jobs which result in higher annual incomes than many service
jobs; also, they require a shorter training
period, relative to earnings, than professional
and technical jobs; and they are considered by
many to have more prestige than the !,blue-collar"
factory jobs. These factors undoubtedly explain
vhy service occupations claim only 17 percent of
all employed single women, professional and
technical jobs only 16 percent, and operative
jobs or factory work only 13 percent (table 28).
Among married women with husbands present,
only slightly more than a third are clerical or
sales workers, almost a fourth are operatives,
about a fifth are service vorkers, and only a
tenth are professional and technical workers.
It Is impossible, of course, to generalize
about the widely varying family responsibilities -which this group of women carry;
however, many, and especially those among
them who have children, are likely to work
intermittently during the year. (See ch. IX,
Part-Time Employment.) Those factory jobs
which are most commonly open to women often
require no previous work experience or training, provide relatirely short on-the-job
training, and - relative to the training
required - offer higher earnings than service jobs. These factors account, in part,
for the relatively high proportion of married
women who find employment as operatives (table 28) *
involuntarily, as they find themselves heads
of families or faced with the necessity for
self support. Service jobs are in many cases
the only jobs available to them under these
circumstances (table 28).
Because married women are more than half
of all employed women, the proportion they form
of the women employed in each of the major occupation groups is greater than that of either
single women or widowed, divorced, and separated
women, with two exceptions: Among professional
and technical women, the proportion of single
women is about as high as the proportion of
married women (42 percent and 43 percent respectively). Among farmers and farm managers, more than
half of the employed women are widowed, divorced,
or separated. In general, married women form from
two-fifths to a half of all employed women in each
major occupation group exceptcperatives and proprietors and managers where they constitute threefifths; and farm laborers,where they form four-fifths
of all women engaged in these occupations.
Widowed, divorced, and separated women
tend to concentrate in service Jobs, which
employ more than a third of this group.
Another fourth are found in clerical or sales
jobs, and a fifth are employed in factories•
This is the group of women most likely to be
forced into the labor market suddenly and
61
C H A R T TT50TT
NUMBER OF WOMEN IN POPULATION AND LABOR FORCE BY
MARITAL STATUS: 1940,1944,1948,1952
M A R R I E D
MILLIONS
40-i
MILLIONS
r40
W O M E N
•
NOT IN LABOR
FORCE
30
30
E l IN LABOR
FORCE
20-
-20
10
r 10
1940
1944
ALL
1948
1940
1952
1944
HUSBAND
MARRIED
1948
SINGLE
1940
1944
HUSBAND
WIDOWED AND DIVORCED
MILLIONS
15-
MILLIONS
rl5
10-
to
5-
h5
0-
1940
1944
1948
1940
1952
SOURCE 1 U.S.Bureau of the Census
1952
PRESENT
62
1944
1948
1952
0
1948
1952
ABSENT
Table 25. Marital Status of Women in the Civilian Population and Labor Force:
1940, 1944, and 1947-1952 l/
(In thousands)
Marital status
1952
1951
1950
1949
1948
1947
1944
1940
In population
Women, 14 years and over - - Single
- -- --
-
Husband present - —
- - —
—
Husband absent
—
In armed forces - - - - - - - - Other
Widowed and divorced
- - -
58.034
57,354
56,635
56,001
55,364
54,806
52,759
50,549
11,068
38,670
36,510
2,160
478
1,682
8,296
10,946
38,124
35,998
2,126
398
1,728
8,284
11,126
37,451
35,925
1,526
11,174
37,013
35,323
1,690
11,623
35,783
34,289
1,494
12,078
35,212
33^58
1,754
13,936
30,090
28,517
1,574
7,958
7,516
12,875
32,948
28,667
4,287
2,788
1,493
6,936
H
2/
8,058
H
I7
H
2/
H
H
6,523
In labor force
Women, 14 years and over - - Single
Married - - - - -
-
Husband absent
Other
Widowed and divorced
1/
Statistics
March).
2/
Not available.
Source:
18,812
18,602
17,795
17,167
17,155
16,323
18,449
13,840
5,532
10,350
9,222
1,128
226
902
2,930
5,430
10,182
9,086
1,096
158
938
2,990
5,621
9,273
8,550
723
5,682
8,739
5,943
8,281
7,553
728
6,181
7,545
6,676
869
2,931
2,597
7,542
8,433
6,226
2,207
1,464
743
2,474
6,710
5,o4o
4,200
840
2/
2/
2,090
H
2/
2,901
1,939
780
t
2,%6
H
2/
H
2/
are for April of each year except 1940 (the last week in March), and 1950 (first week in
U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports.
CHART TT50TT
MARITAL STATUS OF WOMEN IN THE POPULATION AND LABOR FORCE
1 9 4 0 , 1 9 4 4 , 1 9 4 7 to 1952
(PERCENT
DISTRIBUTION)
POPULATION
LABOR FORCE
PERCENT
100
PERCENT
100
1940
1944
SOURCE1
1947
1948
1949
1950
U.S. Bureau of the Census
1951
1952
11221
1940
Single
64
1944
t^^SI
1947
Married
1948
1949
1950
1951
1952
Widowed and divorced
Table 26. Percent Distribution of Women in the Civilian Population and Labor Force,
by Marital Status: 1940, 1944, and 1947-1952 1/
Marital status
1952
1951
1950
1949
1948
1947
1944
1940
In population
Women, 14 years and
over - - - - •
Single - - - —
— .
Married
Husband present - - •
Husband absent - - •
In armed forces - •
Other
Widoved and divorced •
-
-
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
19.1
66.6
62.9
3-7
.8
2.9
14.3
19.1
66.5
62.8
3.7
.7
3-0
14.4
19.6
66.1
63.4
2.7
20.0
66.1
63.1
3.0
21.0
64.6
61.9
2*7
22.0
64.2
61.0
3.2
27.6
59.5
56.4
3.1
14.2
14.0
14.4
13.7
24.4
62.5
54.3
8.1
5-3
2.8
13.1
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
40.9
45.7
33.7
12.0
7.9
4.0
13.4
48.5
36.4
30.3
6.1
12.9
In labor force
Women, l4 years and
over - - - - •
Single
Married - - - - - - - Husband present - - •
Husband absent — In armed forces - -.
Other
Widowed and divorced 1/
- -
100.0
100.0
29.4
55.0
49.0
6.0
1.2
4.8
15.6
29.2
54.7
48.8
5-9
.8
5.0
16.1
100.0 ' 100.0
31.6
52.1
48.0
4.1
33.1
50.9
46.4
4.5
34.6
48.3
44.0
4.2
37.9
46.2
40.9
5.3
16.3
16.0
17.1
15.9
15.1
Statistics are for April of each year except 1940 (last veek in March), and 1950 (first week
in March).
Source:
U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports.
65
Table 27. Civilian Labor Force Participation Rates of Women, by Marital Status:
19kQ,
and 19^7-1952 1/
Marital status
Women, l1* years and over
Sing}?
Married - - - - - - - - - Husband present - - —
Husband absent - - - - In armed forces
Other
Widowed and divorced
1/
1952
1951
1950
191*9
191*8
19Vr
19V*
191*0
32.1*
32A
31.1*
30.7
31.0
29.8
35.0
27.4
50.0
1*9.6
23.6
51.1
23.1
22.5
46.2
22.0
48.7
51.2
21.1*
20.0
58.6
25.6
21.7
1*8.1
26.7
25.2
51.6
50.5
2l*.8
50.9
26.8
49.5
51.5
52.5
1*9.8
35.7
25.3
52.2
^7.3
53-6
35.3
39.7
5^.3
36.1
23.8
1*7 A
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
36.0
35.1
36.8
3^.6
16.7
ll*.7
53-^
_
32.0
Statistics are for April of each year except 19*K> (last week in March), and 1950 (first week
in March) o
Source:
Uo S« Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports.
66
Table 28. Msjor Occupation Group of Employed Women, by Marital Status: April 1952
(in thousands)
Major occupation group
Marital
status
Professional,
Number Clerical;
Operative! techniof
sales,
cal and
and
employed
and
Service
kindred kindred
workers kindred workers
workers workers
workers
ProprieCraftstors,
men,
managers,
Farm foremen, Farmers Laborers,
and offi- laborers1 and
and
except
cials, exand
kindred farm
farm and
cept farm foremen workers managers
mine
Total employed women -
18,234
6,700
3,882
3,496
2,026
978
6l4
244
166
128
Single
Married, husband
present
------Other marital status - -
5,360
2,534
924
678
850
138
116
82
14
24
8,946
3,096
3,928 i 1,070
1,606
1,352
870
306 |
594
246
480
18
116
46
66
86 j
60
44
2,058
760 1
Percent distribution by occupation
Total
100.0
Tfi. 7
21.3
19.2
11.1
5.4
3.4
1.3
•9
•7
Single
Married, husband
present
Other marital status - -
100.0
47.3
17.2
12.6
15.9
2.6
2.2
1.5
•3
.4
100.0
100.0
34.6
27.2
18.0
34.4
23.0
19.3
9-7
7-8
6.6
6.3 •
5.4
•5
1.3
1.2
•7
2.2
•7
Percent distribution by marital status
Total
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
Single
Married, husband
present
Other marital status - J
29.4
37.8
23.8
19.4
42.0
14.1
18.9
33.6
8.4
18.8
1+9.1
21.5
46.2
16.0
41.4
34.8
58.9
21.7
42.9
15.1
60.7
25.2
78.2
2.9
47.5
18.9
39.8
51.8
46.9
34.4
Source: U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports.
67
VIII. MOTHERS
Labor Force Participation Since 19k0
Of the almost 19 million women in the labor
force in April 1952, more than
million - about
3 out of 10 - vere mothers of children under 18
years of age. This number vas about 3^ times as
large as the number of mothers vho vere vorking in
l$k0 (table 29).
Almost one-fourth of all of the mothers in
the population, vith children under 18 years of age,
vere vorking in 1952. Exactly comparable data
for 19^0 are not available. Hovever, it has been
estimated that the
million mothers vho vere
vorking in 19*1-0 represented less than 10 percent
of the mothers in the population at that time.
In other words, in 19^0, less than one-tenth of
the mothers in the population, vho had children
under 18 years of age, Were working; by 1952,
almost one-fourth of such mothers vere in the
labor force (table 30).
Betveen 19^0 and 19^6, during the years
of World War II, the number of vorking mothers
more than doubled, and the proportion of mothers
who vere vorking increased about 10 percentage
points. Furthermore, the end of the var did
not bring about any. reversal of this trend; for
both the number and the proportion of vorking
mothers continued to increase steadily (tables
30 and 31).
Ages of Children of Working Mothers
Of the 5& million vorking mothers in April
1952, about 2 million had one or more young
children under 6 years of age. The remaining
3^ million vomen had older children only (betveen the ages of 6 and 17 years). The 2 million mothers of young children represented a
little more than 10 percent of the voman labor
68
force in 1952, whereas mothers of older
children only, represented about 17 percent
of the woman labor force (table 29).
Working outside of the home is, of
course, most difficult for mothers of young
children, and this is reflected in the proportion of those mothers who are so engaged,
by comparison with mothers who have children
of older ages only. Whereas a little more
than a third of the mothers of children between
the ages of 6 and 17 years were working, only
about a sixth of the mothers of preschool age
children were in the labor force in 1952.
Furthermore, the increase during the post-war
years in the proportion of working mothers who
had young children has been less pronounced
than the increase among those who had children
of school age only (table 30).
Marital Status of Mothers
In view of the dual responsibility and
physical strain involved for mothers who are
employed outside of their homes, it may be
assumed that the vast majority of mothers who
vork do so for economic reasons. This explains,
in part, the tremendous difference in the proportion of working mothers among women who are
living with their husbands by comparison with
women who have children but who are widowed,
divorced, or separated. Among the latter group,
more than half were in the labor force in 1952.
Among women whose husbands were present, on the
other hand, only a fifth were in the labor force
(table 31)•
Among mothers of young children, only
about 14 percent whose husbands are present
were in the labor force; and while there has
been a steady increase in this proportion
since 1946, the difference between 1946 and
1952 is one of only 4.5 percentage points.
Among mothers who are widowed, divorced, or
separated, on the other hand, two-fifths were
in the labor force in 1952 and an even greater
proportion in 1948, respectively 6 and 10 percentage points over 1946 (table 32).
In the population, 90 percent of all
mothers are women whose husbands are present.
Therefore, despite the tremendous differences
in the participation rates of mothers by their
marital status, those mothers whose husbands
are present form four-fifths of all mothers in
the labor force. And we must assume that, for
many of these women economic reasons force
them - as well as the widowed, divorced, and
separated women - to accept the tremendous
responsibilities of home, children, and outside job (table 31)-
CHART TT50TT
MARITAL STATUS OF WOMEN WORKERS & PRESENCE°R ABSENCE
OF CHILDREN - 1 9 5 2 & 1940
NUMBERS IN MILLIONS
1952
18.8
No Children
With Children Under 18 Years Old
NUMBERS IN MILLIONS
13.8
SOURCE:
U . S . Bureau
of t h e
Census
70
1940
Table 29. Women in the Labor Force, by Marital Status and Presence or Absence
of Children: 19k0, and 19^8-1952 1/
(in thousands)
Marital status and age
of own children
1952
1951
1950
1949
1948
1940
- - -
18,812
18,602
17,795
17,167
17,155
13,840
Women ever married - - - - - - - With no own children under 18 With own children under 18 - —
Under 6 years
—
6 to 17 years only - - - - - Single women - - - - - - - - - - -
13,280
7,984
5,296
2,054
3,242
5,532
13,172
7,910
5,262
2,040
3,222
5,430
12,174
7,549
4,626
1,701
2,925
5,621
11,485
7,152
4,333
1,623
2,710
5,682
11,212
2/ 7,042
~ 4,165
2/ 1,559
2/ 2,606
5,943
7,130
5,630
Women, l4 years and over - —
$
1,500
6,710
1/ Statistics are for April of each year except 19*^0 (last veek in March), and 1950 (first veek in March).
2/ Estimated: therefore, aggregates do not add to total.
3/ Includes some vomen who also have children between 6 and 17 years of age.
4/ Not available.
Source:
U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports.
71
CHART TT50TT
PROPORTION OF ALL MOTHERS WHO WORKED
1 9 4 0 , 1 9 4 6 TO 1952
MOTHERS WITH CHILDREN UNOER
|Q YEARS OF AGE®
MOTHERS WITH CHILDREN UNDER
6 YEARS OF AGE
1940
INCLUDES MOTHERS WITH CHILDREN UNDER 6 AND 6 TO 17 YEARS OF AGE
® NOT AVAILABLE
SOURCE:
U. S. Bureau of the Census
72
Table 30.
Labor Force Participation Rates of Women, by Marital Status and Presence
or Absence of Children: 1940, and 1948-1952 1/
Percent of women in the population vho were
in the labor force
Marital status and age
of own children
1952
1951
1950
1949
1948
1940
- - - - - - -
32.4
32.4
31.4
30.7
31.0
27.4
Women ever married - - - - - - - - With no own children under 18 - With own children under 18
Under 6 years 3/ —
6 to 17 years only - - - - - - Single women - - - - - - - - - - - -
28.3
32.4
23.8
15-7
35.1
50.0
28.4
32.6
23.8
15.8
34.8
49.6
26.8
31.4
21.6
13.6
32.8
50.5
23.6
30.4
20.3
13.0
30.7
50.9
25.6
30.5
20.2
12.8
30.7
51.1
19.5
2/
1/
Women, l4 years and over
1/
Statistics are for April of each year except 1940 (last week in March), and 1950 (first week
in March).
2/ Not available.
3/
H
$
4B.1
Includes some women who also have children between 6 and 17 years of age.
Source:
U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports,
73
Table 31. Marital Status of Mothers with Children Under 18 Years of Age, in the Population
and the Labor Force: 1940, and 1946-1952 1/
(In thousands)
Mothers with children under 18 years of age
Married, husband present
Widowed, separated, divorced
Total
Labor force
Labor force
Year
1952
1951
1950
19^9
1948
19^7 2/
1946 2/
1940 2/
Civilian
population
Number
22,286
22,143
21,459
21,308
20,617
19,240
19,140
17,3^3
5,296
5,262
4,626
4,333
4,165
3,588
3,^90
1,500
Percent
of
population
Civilian
population
23.8
23.8
20,170
19,818
19,597
19,509
18,818
17,619
17,010
21.6
20.3
20.2
18.6
18.2
8.6
1/
Number
4,180
4,070
3,604
3,^15
3,151
2,795
2,580
3/
Labor force
Percent
of
population
Civilian
population
20.7
20.5
18.4
17.5
2,116
2,325
1,862
1,799
1,799
1,621
2,130
16.7
15.9
15.2
1/
1/
Number
1,116
1,192
1,022
918
1,014
793
910
Percent
of
population
52.7
51.3
5^-9
51.0
56.4
48.9
42.7
3/
1/ Statistics are for April of each year except 1940 (last week in March), 1946 (February), and 1950
(first week in March).
2/ Data for 1940, 19^6, and 1947 are for families (other
present and families with female head; these data are
which relate to persons. (Persons include members of
assumed that persons with children are more likely to
population.
^J
than sub-families) with male head married, wife
not exactly comparable with data for later years
families and sub-families*) However, it is
be in families than are other persons in the
Not available-
Source: U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports.
74
Table 32. Marital Status of Mothers with Children Under 6 Years of Age, in the Population and the
Labor Force: 1946-1952 1/
(In thousands)
Total
Labor force
Year
1952
1951
1950
1949
1948
1947 2/
1946 2/
Civilian
population
13,062
12,884
12,529
12,492
12,142
10,918
10,500
Number
2,054
2,oho
1,701
1,623
1,559
1,312
1,240
Percent
of
population
15-7
15-8
13.6
13.0
12.8
12.0
11.8
Mothers with children under 6 years of age
Married,, husband present
Widowed, separated, divorced
Labor force
Labor force
Civilian
population
Number
12,162
11,890
11,799
11,718
11,399
10,314
9,490
1,688
1,670
1,399
1,285
1,222
1,067
890
Percent
of
population
13.9
14.0
11.9
11.0
10.7
10.3
9.4
Civilian
population
900
994
730
774
743
6o4
1,010
Number
366
370
302
338
337
245
350
Percent
of
population
40.7
37.2
41.4'
43.7
45-4
40.6
34.7
1/ Statistics are for April of each year except 1946 (February), and 1950 (March).
2/ Data for 1946 and 1947 are for families (other than sub-families) with male head, married, wife present,
and families with female head. These data are not exactly comparable with data for later years which
relate to persons. (Persons include members of families and sub-families.)
Source:
U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports.
75
IX.
PART-TIME EMPLOYMENT
Private household work is predominantly a
woman's job; 98 percent of the part-time workers
in this occupation are women. These workers
often work by the hour or by the day in private
homes; and during 1951> about 60 percent - or
3 out of every 5 household workers - were employed on a part-time basis, i.e., for less than 35
hours a week (table 33).
Persons classified as part-time workers are
those who ordinarily work at jobs for less than 35
hours per week. During 1951> about 10J million
persons worked on a part-time basis. This group
represented 15 percent of the 70 million persons
who worked at some time during 1951 (table 33).
Part-time employment is more common among
women than among men: One-fourth of the 2k .6 million women who worked at some time during 1951 had
part-time jobs, whereas less than a tenth of the
million men who worked during the year were
on a short schedule (table 33).
Sales work is another occupational group
in which large proportions of part-time workers
are found, particularly among women. Almost kO
percent of the women salespersons - though only
IT percent of the men so employed - were parttime workers during 1951- As with the retail
trade industries which employ part-time sales
women in large proportions, the service industries
such as restaurants, beauty shops, etc., often
find it advantageous to employ help on a parttime basis. Twenty-five percent of all women
service workers other than in private households
were working for less than 35 hours a week during 1951 (table 33).
Occupations Employing Part-Time Workers During 1951
Farm laborers and private household workers
are the two occupation groups with the largest
complement of part-time workers. Among women farm
laborers almost two-thirds, and among men farm
laborers about one-third were employed for less
than 35 hours a week. Many of the farm laborers
working on a part-time basis are unpaid family
members who work as needed during busy periods
on the family farms. (Unpaid family workers are
considered as part of the labor force if they
work as much as 15 hours a week on a familyoperated farm or business.) Women on farms, of
course, have much less opportunity for continuous
full-time employment than do the women in urban
communities (table 33).
Among clerical workers and operatives, the
two largest woman-employing occupation groups,
accounting for the employment of almost 50 percent of all working women, the proportion
of part-time workers was smaller - only about
12 percent in each group - during 1951
(table 33)-
76
Age of Part-Time Workers During 1951
Among women part-time workers, almost 60
percent were between the ages of 25 and 54
years. Among men part-time workers, on the
other hand, only 20 percent were found in
these ages during 1951. Young boys, between
the ages of 14 and 17 years, and older men,
55 years and over, formed the bulk of the
male part-time labor force.
Among both young women and men of 14 to
17 years, almost two-thirds of all persons who
worked at some time during 1951 were employed
on a part-time basis. A high percentage of
girls and boys of this age group are enrolled
in school, which accounts for the prevalence
of part-time work among them (table 34).
Again, in the l8-to-24-year age group, the
proportion of young women who worked part time
vas about the same as the proportion of young
men - 15 percent among women and 12 percent among
This is the age group of greatest full-time
labor force participation among women (table 3*0For women in the age groups 25 to 6k years,
however, the proportion of women part-time workers
reflects the fact that many women have child-rearing
or homemaking responsibilities and, therefore, often
cannot accept full-time jobs* Most of the men of
these ages, on the other hand, work at full-time,
year-round jobs.
In the older age groups, 65 years and over, the
Proportion of women workers in part-time jobs is
again much higher than the proportion of men
Workers in such jobs. Job opportunities for both
men and women in these ages are, of course, limited.
In addition, among women, many have had no previous
or recent work experience which would qualify them
for full-time jobs; among men, past the traditional
retirement age of 65 years, also, opportunities
for full-time employment are limited (table 34).
Work Patterns by Marital Status During 1950
Not marriage per se, but presence or absence
of young children in the home, is the key factor in
determining not only vhethev a woman works full or
part time, but also - among full-time workers whether she works throughout the year or on an intermittent basis. Among married women with no children
under 18 years, and among widowed, divorced, and
separated women, and single women, about a fourth
of those who worked were on a part-time basis during 1950. (Comparable data for 1951 are not available.) Among women with children, however, almost
two-fifths worked on a part-time basis (table 35).
Three-fourths of all married women workers
without children, as well as of the widowed, divorced,
and separated women, and the single women who were
employed, worked at full-time jobs during 1950.
Furthermore, more than half of the women in these
marital groups worked for at least half a year;
and at least two-fifths of them were full-time,
year-round workers (table 35)•
Among women with children, on the other hand,
only about two-fifths of those with children between 6 and 17 years, and only a fourth of those
with children under 6 years worked at full-time jobs
for a half year or more (table 35).
CHART
X£
CHARACTERISTICS OF WOMEN PART-TIME
AGE
DISTRIBUTION
DURING
WORKERS
D I S T R I B U T I O N OF W O M E N W O R K E R S BY F U L L AND
PART-TIME
WORK A N D
BY MARITAL S T A T U S
DURING 1 9 5 0
1951
14 TO 17 YEARS
PART-TIME
JOBS
FULL-TIME
JOBS
18 TO 2 4 YEARS
26
WEEKS
OR
27
TO 4 9
WEEKS
50
TO 5 2
WEEKS
2 5 TO 3 4 YEARS
wmm
LESS
3 5 TO 4 4 YEARS
PERCENT
IOOT-TS
4 5 TO 5 4 YEARS
PERCENT
=V-r 100
5 5 TO 6 4 YEARS
6 5 YEARS
AND OVER
OCCUPATIONAL
DISTRIBUTION
DURING
PERCENT
0
20
1
FARM
LABORERS
1
HOUSEHOLD
WORKERS
SALES
WORKERS
1951
1
. -XA
1
1
r; "1
-J'.'-jJ
1
M
1
'
CLERICAL
WORKERS
1
SERVICE
WORKERS
OPERATIVES
NO CHILDREN
UNDER
18 YEARS
PROFESSIONAL
WORKERS
6
SOME
UNDER
YEARS
6
CHILDREN
UNDER
YEARS
-V
OTHER
OCCUPATIONS
MARRIED
1/ INCLUDES
SOURCE1 U.S. Bureau of the Census
NO CHILDREN
78
WOMEN
SINGLE, WIDOWED, SEPARATED AND
OTHER
WOMEN WORKERS 1/
DIVORCED.
Table 33. FuJJ.-Time and Part-Time Status of Women and Men Who Worked During 1951, by Major
Occupational Group
Women workers
Major occupational group
«
All occupations (in thousands)
—
Men workers
Total
Full-time
Part-time
Total
Pull-time
Part-time
24,598
18,206
6,392
45,364
41,338
4,026
Percent distribution
Total
Professional, technical and kindred
vorkers - —
_
_ __
Farmers and farm managers - - - - - - —
Managers, officials and proprietors,
except farm
Clerical and kindred workers
Sales workers Craftsmen, foremen, and kindred workers Operatives and kindred workers
Private household workers Service workers, except private household
Fann laborers and foremen
Laborers, except farm and mine
100.0
74.0
26.0
100.0
91.1
8.9
100.0
100.0
85.6
62.7
14.4
37.3
100.0
100.0
94.6
92.9
5.4
7.1
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
87.1
88.1
61.6
93.6
87.1
41.5
75.5
35.9
78.9
12.9
11.9
38.4
6.4
12.9
58.5
24.5
64.1
21.1
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
97.3
94.8
83.3
95.4
93.9
50.0
85.7
65.3
84.4
2.7
5.2
16.7
4.6
6.1
50.0
14.3
34.7
15.6
Source: U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports.
79
Table 34. Women and Men Who Worked Part-Time During 1951 > by Age
Percent distribution
of part-time workers
Age
All ages
14
18
25
35
45
55
65
to 17
to 24
to 34
to
to 54
to 64
years
- - - - - -
years
years years years years years —
and over
Source:
—
—
—
- - -
—
—
- - - - -
Proportion part-time workers
formed of all workers
Women
Men
Women
Men
100.0
100.0
•26.0
8.9
15-5
11.4
18.3
21.3
17.5
10.8
5.3
38.5
14.8
7.9
5-4
7-0
10.6
15.8
65.7
15.3
21.2
25.2
26.2
28.6
45.0
64.5
11.6
3-0
2.2
3^
7.0
22.2
U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population
Reports•
80
Table 35.
Full-Time and Part-Time Status of Women Who Worked During 1950, by Marital
Status and Presence or Absence of Children
(Percent distribution)
Married
Other
With children under
18 Years
Work experience
during 1950
No
children
under 18
years
All
women
Total
Women vho worked during 1950
100.0
100.0
100.0
At full-time jobs
13 weeks or less
14 to 26 weeks
27 to 49 weeks - - _ _
50 to 52 weeks
73 A
8.9
9.8
17.9
36.8
69.5
10.3
10.8
18.6
29-9
76.1
6.5
9.1
20.1
40.3
At part-time jobs
26.6
30.5
23.9
Source:
Total
None
under 6
years
Some
under 6
years
Total
Widowed,
divorced,
separated
Single
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
62.7
14.1
13.2
16.8
19.0
64.0
9.4
U.4
18.1
25.3
6l.l
19.0
14.7
15.3
12.3
77-9
8.5
17.3
44.9
77.7
5.9
8.1
19.4
44.3
78.0
8.4
8.8
15.6
45.2
37-3
35.7
38.9
22.1
22.5
22.0
U, S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports.
81
X. INCOME
times, thereby widening the traditional gap
between women's and men's wage and salary
income. Whereas women's income amounted to
59 percent of men's in 1939* it amounted to
only
percent of men's in 1951 (table 36).
Even though there are more job opportunities
for women and more women are working today than
before World War II, women's income from their
jobs has increased less than has men's income,
since 1939* In 1951, the median income of working women was only about two-fifths that of men,
whereas in 1939 it was nearly three-fifths of
men's.
From these facts on income it appears that the
large numbers of women who have entered the labor
force throughout the past decade have found employment in those lower-paying jobs which were always
open to women or in those which were vacated by
men who moved into the higher-paying jobs created
by war and defense conditions. Furthermore, women
apparently have remained in these lower-paying jobs;
consequently men's income from wages and salaries
has increased at a greater rate than women's.
Wages and Salaries
Between 1939 and 1951 the median wage and
salary income of women, like that of men, showed
a significant increase - from $555 per year to
$1,361 per year. In other words, women's income
increased almost l*jr times. However, during this
time men's income increased slightly more than 2
It is interesting to note that war and
defense conditions did not result in any
increase in women's income in relation to
men's. As a matter of fact, there was a substantial decrease in women's income relative
to men's between the prewar year of 1939 and
the postwar year of 19^5. This was followed
by a small increase in women's relative earnings in 19^7; and again, gradual decreases
each year from 1948 through 1951. These
developments suggest that war and defense
periods drew many younger men from lowerpaying jobs into military service, and provided men in civilian employment with significantly better job opportunities than women.
Furthermore, men were successful in keeping
these jobs (table 36).
The proportion of women with wage or
salary incomes whose incomes from this source
were under $2,000 decreased by 30 percentage
points between 1939 and 1951; nevertheless,
82
67 percent of all vomen wage or salary workers
in 1951 still had incomes below that amount. By
contrast, only 27 percent of all men wage or salary workers had incomes under $2,000* Whereas
women in the $5,000 and over group formed less
than one-half of 1 percent of all women wage and
salary workers in 1939 and 1951, men in this
group increased by 11 percentage points between
these years, and had become 12 percent of all men
vage and salary workers by 1951 (table 36).
The widening of the gap in wage and salary
incomes of women and men is further evidenced by
comparative income data for six occupational
groups. In all of these occupational groups
except two - professional and technical workers
and managers, officials, and proprietors - increases in men's earned incomes between 1939 and
1951 exceeded those in women's. This is particularly important in view of the fact that the two
groups excepted employ only about 15 percent of
all women workers. Proportionately speaking,
therefore, the important woman-employing occupational groups are providing greater increases in
vages to men than to women (table 37)These facts are undoubtedly significant in
considering the persistent labor shortages in
occupations frequently filled by women. For
example, although women have continued to
dominate the clerical field, there is still
a shortage of such workers; yet, at the same
time, men's incomes in these occupations
are increasing more rapidly than women's.
In none of the six occupational groups
in 1951 did women's income amount to as much
as two-thirds of men's; and in the sales worker
group, women's income was only one-third of
men's (table 37).
Husband-Wife Income
As might be expected, families in which
both husband and wife work have higher incomes
than those in which only the husband works.
In 1952, only a fifth of the families with
the wife in the labor force as cou$>ared to
a third of those with the wife not in the
labor force had total money incomes under
$3,000 dollars for the previous year. Almost
half of the families with husband and wife
working, but only a fourth of those with the
wife not working, had incomes above $5/000.
Total money income includes income from selfemployment, interest, rents, annuities, etc.,
in addition to wage and salary income (table
38)-
Both the extent to which wives participate
in the labor force and the level of wives1 incomes when they do work are directly related
to the husbands1 incomes. The percent of wives
in the labor force decreases markedly in accordance with the husbands' incomes. Whereas about
one-third of the wives were working in families
in which the husbands' incomes were between
$1,000 and $3,000, only about one-seventh of
the wives were working when their husbands'
incomes were $6,000 or more. Furthermore, 1951
data show that the median income of working
wives of husbands with incomes of $4,000 or more
was close to $2,000, while incomes of wives whose
husbands earned less than $2,000 a year was only
about $1,000 (table 40).
Among the reasons for these relationships
may be the fact that husbands and wives tend to
have similar backgrounds, education, experience,
and work qualifications; furthermore, wives of
higher-income men may be reluctant to accept
low-paying jobs, since their need for additional
income is less pressing than in low-indome families .
In 1951, median income in the United States
was lowest for families with a female head, and
highest for families having a male head with wife
in the labor force. However, even when the
wife was not in the labor force, families
headed by a man had substantially higher
median incomes than families headed by a
woman, with a difference of more than $1,400
per year (table 39).
The significance of this discrepancy in
family income becomes apparent when one considers that there are more than 4 million
families, 1 out of every 10, in the United
States with a woman head. Three-fourths of
these families are located in urban areas,
where the difference in family incomes is
even more marked than in the country as a
whole: In urban areas, where almost 1 out
of every 8 families has a woman head, the
median income of male-headed families with
the wife in the labor force is almost twice
that of families with a female head. Even
where the wife is not in the labor force,
the income of urban families with a male
head exceeds that of families with a female
head by 6t) percent, or $1,500 (table 39).
Clearly then, low incomes of women, relative
to men, affect not only the women themselves,
but also the large number of families for
which these women hold sole or primary
responsibility.
Residence
Age
In urban areas, vomen's total money income
- including money from wages, salary, selfemployment, rents, interest, etc. - averaged
about two-fifths of that of men in 1951, In
rural areas, women's total money income averaged
less than a third of men's (table 4l). In rural
areas, of course, about two-thirds of the woman
labor force is composed of unpaid family workers,
many of whom work only during the planting or
harvesting seasons on the family farms. (See
II, Industry and Class of Worker.)
Almost twice as many men as women had some
money income in 1951- Among persons 14 years of
age and over, slightly more than 4 out of every
10 women as compared with 9 out of every 10 men
had some money income that year. For both men
and women, the median income figure was lowest
for the 14 to 20 year old group. For both, incomes increased after 20 years of age; however,
women's median income began to diminish at 35
years uhile men's did not begin to decrease until 45 years of age* These data reflect the
fact that msny women 35 years and over have
family responsibilities and so are not in the
labor force, and, also, that men - by comparison with the women who axe working - are more
likely to work in fields which permit them
greater opportunities for advancement as they
acquire seniority and experience (table 42).
The proportion of unpaid family workers
among the woman labor force in farm areas is
considerably greater than the proportion of
these workers among the male labor force in
these areas. These differences account, in
part, for the fact that the total money income
of women in rural-farm areas averaged only 35
percent of the money income of women in urban
areas in 19pl> whereas men in rural areas had
a median money income of nearly half (46 percent) that of men in urban areas* However,
for both women ana men in rural areas total
money income excludes payments in kind, and
urban-rural comparisons must be evaluated with
this in mind.
Whereas men's and women's median income
was about the same in the l4 to 20 year group,
men's income increasingly exceeded women's in
the upper age groups, ranging from about 1§times as large as women's at 20 to 25 years
to 3 times women's at 55 to 65 years. At 65
years and over, however, men's median income
dropped to only twice that of women's (table 42).
CHART
H I
MEDIAN WAGE OR SALARY INCOME: 1939 to 1951
WOMEN
$ 980
$U4I
2 0 8
$1,189
K
1948
1949
$1,203
$1,361
1950
1951
$555
1939
EACH SYMBOL REPRESENTS
$200.00
$ 3,083
$ 2,670
$ 2,079
$939
1939
1947
1948
U.S. Bureau of the Census
86
1949
1950
1951
Table 36. Wage or Salary Income of Workers, by Sex: 1939, 1945, 1947, 19W-1951
Women
Wage or salary
income
1951
1950
Men
1948
1949
1947
1945
Median income - - $1,361 $1,203 $1,208 $1,189 $1,141 $980
1939
1951
1950
1949
1948
1947
1945
1939
$555 $3,083 $2,670 $2,476 $2,445 $2,260 $2,079 $939
Percent distribution
Persons with wage or
salary income - - Under $1,000
{1,000, under $2,000
$2,000, under $3,000
{3,000, under $5,000
$5,000 and over - -
-
100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
41.9
25.3
22.6
9-7
0.5
45.4
26.2
22.0
6.2
0.3
44.4
29.6
20.3
5.6
0.2
44.1
31.3
20.1
4.2
0.3
45.5
35.1
15.7
3.1
0.5
50.8
37.6
9.8
1.5
0.2
79.0
18.1
2.1
0.6
0.1
i4.l
12.5
21.0
39.9
12.4
18.3
15.3
24.3
34.0
8.3
19.6
18.1
26.2
30.0
6.1
Source; u. S. Department of .Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports.
Percent Women's Median Income was of Men's Median Income
1939
1945
1941
lgW
59.1
47.1
50.5
W.6
87
Igjg
WW
MSi
kh
'1
18.9
18.1
27.5
29.6
6.1
19-3
22.2
28.8
25.0
4.8
26.0
21.6
28.1
19.5
4.9
52.8
33-4
9-4
3.1
1.4
CHART TT50TT
COMPARISON OF 1939 AND 1951 MEDIAN WAGE OR SALARY
INCOMES FOR SELECTED OCCUPATIONS'
DOLLARS
4500
DOLLARS
4500
4000
- - 3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
1939
1939
1951
Professional,Technical,
Kindred Workers
1951
Managers, O f f i c i a l s ,
Proprietors
Except
Form
• F O R EXPERIENCED WORKERS
1939
1951
1939
Clerical, Kindred
Workers
IN LABOR FORCE
SOURCE: U. S. Bureau of the Census
1951
Sales Workers
88
1939
1951
Operatives, Kindred
Workers
1939
1951
Service Workers
Except Private
Household
Table 37. Median Wage or Salary Income of Experienced Women and Men in the Labor Force,
in Selected Major Occupation Groups: 1939 and 1951
1951
Major occupation
group
Women
Professional, technical
and kindred vorkers - - Managers, officials and
proprietors, except
faro
Clerical and kindred vorkert
Sales vorkers - - - - - - Operatives and kindred
vorkers
Service vorkers, except
private household
Men
1939 1/
Percent vomen's
earned income
of men's
Women
Men
Percent vomen's
earned income
of men's
Women
Men
/125.0
$1,023 $1,809
56.6
/l^3«9
1,107
966
636
2,136
1,1*21
1,277
51.8
68.0
1*9-8
/ll*2.0 M - o
/122.3 /136.9
/177.1
56.8
582
1,007
57.8
/198.8 /20l*.3
1*1.1
1*93
833
59-2
/102.0 /191.2
$2,495 $4,071
61.3
2,679
2,11*7
1,176
l*,ll*3
3,366
3,539
64.7
63.8
33.2
1,739
3,061*
996
2,1*26
1/ Includes only the vorkers vith $100 or more of vage or salary income.
Source: U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports.
Percent change
1939-1951
89
1/
Table 38. Distribution of Families With Money Income,
and Labor Force Status of Wife:
1951 and 1952
(Percent distribution)
1952
Wife in
the
labor
force
Family income l/
1951
Wife not
in the
labor
force
Wife in
the
labor
force
Wife not
in the
labor
force
- -
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
Under $1,000 - $1,000, under $2,000
$2,000, under $3,000
$3,000, under $5,000
$4,000, under $5,000
$5,000, under $6,000
$6,000, under $7,000 $7,000, under $10,000
$10,000 and over
- - - - - - - - - -
3.8
6.8
11.0
16.3
18.3
16.1
10.7
13.0
4.1
8.0
11.4
16.8
21.8
15-7
10.2
5.9
6.3
3.8
5-4
9.9
14.2
20.4
17.1
14.3
9.1
7-4
2.2
10.5
12.9
I8.7
22.1
13.7
8.2
4.5
5-5
3.9
$4,631
$3,634
$4,003
$3,315
Husband-wife families —
Median income - —
1/
—
—
- - —
-
Income data are for previous years.
Source: U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports.
90
Table 39. Male and Female Heads of Families in 1952, and Family Median Income
United States
Type of family
Urban
Median
Number
Percent
income l/
(in thousands)
Number
Percent Median
(in thousands)
income 1/
Total families - -
40.442
100.0
$3,709
26,918
100.0
$4,071
Male head Married, wife present
Wife in labor
force - - - - - Wife not in the
labor force - - Other marital status
36,412
35,196
90.0
87.O
$3,829
3,837
23,808
23,090
88.4
85.8
$4,216
4,217
8,044
19.9
4,631
6,088
22.6
4,883.
27,152
1,216
67.I
3-0
3,634
3,452
17,002
718
63.2
2.7
4,028
4,191
4,030
10.0
2,220
3,110
11.6
2,493
Female head -
1/
Income data are for previous year.
Source:
U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports.
91
CHART TT50TT
PROPORTION OF WIVES IN THE LABOR FORCE IN 1952 . .
IN RELATION TO HUSBAND'S INCOME*
PERCENT OF WIVES IN LABOR FORCE
HUSBAND'S INCOME
5
UNDER
$1,000
$1,000 UNDER
$2,000
3 2 , 0 0 0 UNDER
$3,000
$ 3 , 0 0 0 UNDER
$4,000
10
15
20
$10,000 AND OVER
"INCOME FOR 1951
SOURCE: u. S. Bureau of the Census
92
25
Table 40.
Proportion of Wives in the Labor Force in 1951 and 1952, in Relation to
Husband's Income 1/
Percent of wives in labor force
Income of
husband l/
Under $1,000
$1,000, under $2,000 $2,000, under $3,000 $3,000, under $4,000 $4,000, under $5,000 $5,000, under $6,000 $6,000, under $10,000
$10,000 and over
1/
24
28
29
27
24
20
15
13
1951
United States
Urban
29
36
33
28
25
28
29
28
27
22
16
14
3^
$908
32
21
28
21
1,094
1,548
1,718
16
17
1,954
12
11
11
3*
11
Income data relate to previous years.
Source:
1952
United States
Urban
Median
income
of wife
in
1950
U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population
Reports.
93
Table 4l. Total Money Income of Women and Men, "by Residence: 1948-1952
Men with income
Women with income
Residence
and
year
Urban
1952 - 1951 - 1950 - 1949
-
-
Percent
Median income
for previous
of
Number
year
(in thousands) population
18,708
17,790
17,227
15,569
1948 - -
15,082
Rural-nonfarm
1952 - 1951 - 1950 - 1949 - 1948 - -
4,349
4,501
4,089
4,400
3,832
Rural-farm
1952 1951 1950 1949 1948 -
Source:
-
2,122
2,360
2,194
2,756
2,565
47.6
4 7 . 1
45.9
44.7
43.8
40.9
38.9
37.9
38.2
33.3
27.7
31.0
28.0
29.7
28.4
$1,267
1,178
1,167
1,236
1,193
781
706
681
803
794
440
417
392
467
483
Percent
Median income
Number
for previous
of
(in thousands) population
year
31,504
30,787
31,263
28,762
28,163
91-1
91.4
91.3
91.1
•90.1
8,910
9,648
9,586
89.4
10,119
89.5
10,016
7,083
7,150
7,409
8,592
8,531
90.2
89.4
90.6
86.4
87.0
87.3
85.5
86.3
U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports,
94
$ 3 , 2 3 ^
2,894
2,684
2,679
2,431
2,725
2,454
2.190
2,324
2.191
1,486
1,328
1,054
1,385
1,360
Table kZ*
Median Income of Women and Men, by Age Groups: 1952
With annual money income
Percent of
all in
Number
(in thousands) population
Age
Percent distribution
Median Populaincomel/ tion
Persons with
income
25,179
43.7
$1,045
100.0
100.0
- - - -
2,124
3,101
5,075
4,661
4,008
2,686
3,524
33-6
55.1
41.6
42.6
44.4
38.0
55.1
411
1,397
1,623
1,538
1,327
968
536
11.0
10.0
21.2
19.0
15.7
12.3
11.1
8.4
12.3
20.2
18.5
15.9
10.7
14.0
Men, 14 years and over -
47,497
90.I
$2,952
100.0
100.0
2,554
3,774
11,032
10,159
8,502
6,473
5,003
42.2
90.7
98.8
98.8 '
98.2
95.4
88.9
434
2,259
3,288
3,617
3,280
2,840
1,008
11.5
7*9
21.2
•19.5
16.4
12.9
10.7
5.4
7.9
23.2
21.4
17.9
13.6
10.5
Women, 14 years and over
14
20
25
35
45
55
65
to 19
to 24
to 34
to 44
to 54
to 64
years
14 to 19
20 to 24
25 to 34
35 to 44
4-5 to 54
55 to 64
65 years
years
years
years
years
years
years
and over
years
years
years
years —
years
years
and over
—
- -
—
—
—
—
l/ Median income for previous year.
Source:
U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports.
95
XI*
THE LABOR RESERVE
WOMEN NOT IN THE LABOR FORGE
Expansion of the Nation's Labor Force
a possible source of additional workers,
and the vast majority of these are classed
as "keeping house11 (table 43).
In April 1953* there vere about 39J
million vomen 14 years and over who were
not in the labor force. At the same date,
there were 9 million men who were not working. The women, therefore, constituted the
largest single source for increasing the
Nation's work force in the event of expanded labor needs (table 43).
Many of these women who are "keeping
house," however, are 65 years of age and
over; and others are mothers who must care
for their children. It is, therefore, not
reasonable to assume that all of the 34
million women in this group could be
brought into the labor force, if necessary.
Rather, this number represents about the
entire pool of women not now in the labor
force from which additional workers might
be made available to an expanded economy.
However, about 4 percent of the women
not in the labor force were unable to work
because of disability, advanced age, or
other reasons, and another 10 percent were
in school. More than 80 percent of those
in school were between the ages of 14 and
17 and, therefore, would normally be encouraged to complete their education before
entering the labor force. Eliminating the
young women who were in school and those
unable to work, there remain some 35 million
il&n-vorking women who would be available as
A more practical estimate of the supply
of women actually available would not include mothers responsible for the care of
children or elderly women. This leaves a
primary labor reserve of about 11 million
96
vomen between the ages of 18 and 64, having
excluded the women 65 years and over and an
estimated 17 million mothers. Thus, it is
estimated that approximately 28 percent of
all the women lb years and over who were
not working in 1953 would have been available for labor force expansion, if necessary
(table 43).
Previous Work Experience
In considering the utilization of women
in the labor reserve, it is important to take
account of their previous work experience,
particularly if such work experience vas recent. A March 1951 Bureau of the Census survey of the labor reserve revealed that almost
1 out of every 3 of the women who were not
then in the labor force had had some previous
vork experience during or after World War II
(table If5).
For a majority of these women - almost
7 million - their previous work experience
v&s fairly current, that is, since 1945*
Some 4 million out of the total 11 million
women had work experience during World War II,
and also many of those with current work experience had worked during the war period
(table 45).
Slightly more than 6 thousand of the
women with previous work experience were in
the age group 20 to 34 years, vhile the remainder were about evenly divided between the age
groups 35 to
and 45 to 64. Furthermore, the
20 to 34 year age group included almost 4 times
as many women with current work experience and
twice as many women with experience prior to
1945 as either of the other two groups. Obviously, therefore, it was women between the
ages of 20 and 34 years vho made tip the bulk
of the experienced labor reserve and, particularly, the currently experienced reserve.
However, it should be remembered that it is
this age group, also, which is most likely to
be responsible for the care of young children;
and if their services are needed in the Nation's
labor force, account will have to be taken of
the threefold responsibility - for home, children, and job - vhich these women would be
assuming.
CHART TT50TT
STATUS OF WOMEN NOT IN THE LABOR
APRIL 1953
FORCE
14 TO I?
YEARS
( I N SCHOOL AGE
18 T O
(WORKING
6 5 YEARS
MILLION
\
IN
UNABLE
TO
WORK
SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of the Census
64
YEARS
AGE
AND
GROUP)
OVER
(AT H O M E , R E T I R E D , AGE
SCHOOL
MILLION
GROUP)
98
GROUP)
Table 43. Status of Women Not in the Labor Force, by Age: April 1953
(In thousands)
Total
Age
Percent
of women
Number population 1/
Keeping house |
Percent
of woman
Number population
In school
Percent
ofvomaoa
Number population
Unable to work
Other
Percent
of woman
Number population
Percent
of woman
Number population
Women, 14 years and over:
NUMBER
PERCENT
39,456
100.0
67.6
34,008
86.2
58-3
3,910
9-9
6.7
860
2.2
1-5
678
1.7
1.2
14 and 15 years - - - 16 and 17 years
18 and 19 years
20 to 24 years
25 to 34 years
35 to
years
45 to 54 years
55 to 64 years - - - 65 years and over
2,024
1,580
1,074
3,068
8,052
6,788
5,520
5,028
6,322
92.0
74.7
51.9
55.7
65.8
60.3
60.8
71-9
91-5
78
282
570
2,796
7,900
6,694
5,408
4,854
5,426
3.5
13.3
27.6
50.8
64.5
59-5
59.6
69.4
78.6
1,904
1,252
486
236
26
2
4
86.5
59-2
23.5
4.3
0.2
2
0.1
14
12
48
36
56
86
606
0.7
0.2
0.4
0.3
0.6
1.2
8.8
40
46
4
24
78
56
52
88
290
1.8
2.2
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.5
0.6
1-3
4.2
H
2/
Percent distribution
Total
14 and 15 years - - - 16 and 17 years
18 and 19 years
20 to 24 years
25 to 34 years
35 to 44 years
45 to 54 years
55 to 64 years - - - °5 years and over - - -
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
5.1
4.0
2.7
7.8
20.4
17.2
i4.o
12.7
16.0
0.2
0.8
1.7
8.2
23.2
19.7
15-9
14.3
16.0
48.7
32.0
12.4
6.0
0-7
0.1
0.1
0.2
5-9
6.8
0.6
3.5
11-5
8.3
7.7
13.0
42.8
1.6
1.4
5.6
4.2
6.5
10.0
70.5
2/ Percent not shown where less than 0.05*
Source: U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports.
99
Table 44.
Age and Marital Status of Women Hot in the Labor Force:
Single vomen
Total
Age
1952
1944
1940, 1944, and 1952
1940
1952
1944
Women ever married 2/
1940
1952
1944
1940
NUMBER (in thousands)
Women, 14 years and over
39,222
35,670
36,709
5,536
5,690
7,226
33,686
29,980
29,483
14 to 19 years
20 to 24 years - - 25 to 34 years
35 to 44 years —
45 years and over 45 to 64 years - 65 years and over
4,612
3,212
8,014
6,646
16,738
10,742
5,996
4,830
2,850
7,040
6,270
14,680
5,881
3,075
6,998
6,488
14,266
9,963
4,303
3,9^6
404
220
184
782
354
428
4,230
330
260
200
670
li
5,258
651
330
191
796
^37
359
666
2,808
7,79^
6,462
15,956
10,388
5,568
600
2,520
6,780
6,070
14,010
3/
3/
623
2,424
6,668
6,298
13,^70
9,526
3,9^
- -
-
3/
3/
Percent distribution
Women, 14 years and over
14 to 19 years - - —
20 to 24 years —
—
25 to 34 years —
35 to 44 years - - —
45 to 54 years - - - - 45 to 64 years - —
65 years and over - -
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
11.8
8.2
20.4
16.9
42.7
27 .fc
15-3
13-5
8.0
19-7
17.6
41.2
16.0
8.4
19.1
17.7
38.9
27.1
11.7
71.3
7.3
4.0
3-3
14.1
6.4
7.7
7^.3
5.8
4.6
3.5
11.8
3/
1/
72.8
9.0
4.6
2.6
11.0
6.0
5.0
2.0
8.3
23.1
19.2
47.4
30.8
16.5
2.0
8.4
22.6
20.2
46.7
l!
3/
2.1
8.2
22.6
21.4
45.7
32.3
13-^
2/
1/
1/
Statistics are for March 1940, February 1944, and April 1952.
2/
In 1952, 81 percent and in 1940, 82 percent of these vomen vere married vomen vith husbands present.
The remainder vere vidoved, divorced, or separated.
Not available.
3/
Source:
U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports.
100
Table 1*5- Women With Work Experience During and After World War II,
Who Were Not in the Labor Force in March 1951, by Age
(In thousands)
With some work experience
Age
Total
Women, 20 years and over - 20 to 34
35 to
4-5 to 64
65 years
1/
years
years
years
and over
—
After World
War II 1/
During
World
War II
10,956
28.9
6,712
4,244
6,190
2,136
2,084
546
56.7
32.9
20.0
9.8
4,058
1,140
1,190
324
2,132
996
894
222
Three-fourths of these women also worked during World War II to 19^5*
Source:
—
Percent of
all women
not in the
labor force
U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population
Beports.
101
XII. EDUCATION
Years of School Completed
of women (12^ percent) had completed some
college training. As these data indicate,
college-trained persons are still a small
minority of th£ adult population: Only 2^
million women and 3 million men 25 years and
over had completed 4 or more years of college
by 1950 (table 46).
Only about 2 percent both of women and
of men 25 years and over in the population in
1950, compared with 4 percent in 1940, bad had
no schooling. In addition,about a fifth of
the women and a fourth of the men 25 years and
over in 1950, but a fourth of the women and
three-tenths of the men in 1940 had less than
an 8th grade education (table 46).
Employment of School Enrollees
On the whole, women have had about half
a year more of schooling than men in this
country. For women, the median school years
completed was 9.6 in 1950; for men, it was
9.0 years. The bulk of this difference is
accounted for by the fact that two-fifths of
the women, but only one-third of the men 25
years and over had some high-school education
in 1950. But, on the other hand, a slightly
higher proportion of men (14 percent) than
In 1951, there were about 4£ million
women and 4-3/4 million men between the ages
of 14 and 24 years who were enrolled in school.
Among the l4 to 17 year olds, the proportion
of girls and boys in school was the same. In
the college-age groups, however, the proportions
of men in school were considerably higher than
the proportions of women. Only 9 percent of
all women 18 to 24 years old, but 19 percent
102
of all men of these ages, vere in school in
1951 (table Vf).
The implications of this pattern of
school attendance for future employment prospects for men and women are numerous. Men,
to a much greater extent than women, are
clearly fitting themselves for jobs which
require longer training and offer higher
salaries* in this connection, two facts
concerning women's employment should be
kept in mind: In comparison to men, women
have less choice of employment fields, and
this situation tends to discourage women
from spending long periods in acquiring
the training necessary for higher-level
jobs* Furthermore, in fields which require advanced training and are traditionally open to women - teaching, nursing,
social work, etc. - average earnings are
almost always substantially lower than
those in professions where men predominate*
Data on employment of students further
indicate that higher proportions of young
men
than of young women are employed while
they are still in school. Only 30 percent
of the young women 20 to 2k years, but almost
kO percent of the young men in these ages, who
were in school in 1951* were simultaneously
employed* This work experience acquired by
men during their school years undoubtedly
assists in qualifying them for additional
training and employment opportunities when
they have finally completed their schooling,
(table k7).
College Degrees Earned by Women
In 1951-52, women earned about one-third
of all college degrees conferred that year,
or about double the proportion in I890, the
first year for which this information is available. The proportion which women have formed of
all college graduates has fluctuated considerably
in the past 60 years. From less than a fifth of
all graduates in 1890 they had become a third of
the total by 1920. During the depression of the
30's, about 2 out of 5 graduates were women.
During World War II, of course, when vast numbers
of young men were in the armed services, women
were more than half of all college graduates.
Following the war, their number increased, but
their proportion dropped to about a fourth, as
many veterans availed themselves of the
opportunity to obtain a college education (table >8).
choice of teaching as a career, any more
than they have changed the less-than-collegeeducated woman's choice of clerical work
(table 49).
Field of Study in College Training
In the school year 1951-52, women
received college degrees in more than 60
different fields of study. However, the
bulk of these degrees were concentrated
in the field of education, which accounted
for almost 40 percent of all college degrees
earned by women. Quite obviously, a substantial number of college women - more
than 45 thousand - were preparing themselves for teaching, an occupation in which
women have predominated for many years.
Apparently, job opportunities for women
still are not broad enough to change
materially the college-educated woman* s
Next to education, the most important
fieldfbr college women was English; but
this accounted for only 7 percent of all
women graduates. These, together with
home economics (7 percent), business and
commerce (5 percent), and nursing and
music (each 4 percent), account for almost 65 percent of all college-trained
women who graduated in 1951-52. Each of
the remaining fields of study accounted
for 3 percent or less of the 125,500
woman graduates. Thus, there is little
diversification in the kinds of specialization which college-trained women undertake (table 49).
Men outnumbered women in all but 10 of the
fields of study in which college degrees were
conferred in 1951-52. At the top of the list
of women's specialized fields were nursing and
home economics in which 99 percent of the degrees were earned by women* Women also outnumbered men in the fields of library science,
modern languages, education, social work, fine
arts, English, sociology, and music - in other
words, in liberal arts training primarily.
Women earned less than 10 percent of the
degrees conferred that year in the following
20 fields of study: Agriculture, anatomy,
animal husbandry, architecture, dentistry,
engineering, entomology, forestry, geology,
industrial arts, law, metallurgy, meteorology,
military or naval science, optometry, osteopathy,
pharmacy, physical sciences, physics, and
veterinary medicine. Interestingly enough,
none of these fields fall in the general
categories of liberal arts or social studies;
almost all of them are specialized fields in
the natural and physical sciences or in
engineering.
From these facts it may be concluded that
men, in acquiring college training, tend
toward those highly specialized fields of
study which relate most directly to job opportunities in industry. The majority of women,
on the other hand, continue to choose those
fields of study which provide more general
education and culture, and which, therefore,
equip them for family and community life as
much as for paid work.
CHART
TT50TT
YEARS OF SCHOOL COMPLETED BY PERSONS 25 YEARS OF AGE
AND OVER: 1940 and 1950
19 4 0
WOMEN
1950
1940
M E N
19 50
PERCENT
NOT
rlOO
REPORTED-
COLLEGE
(I year or more)
om
80
80
nm
HIGH SCHOOL
(4years or less)
H I G H SCHOOL
(4years or less)
{34^]
Rail •
60
H
-40
ELEMENTARY
(8grades or less)
ELEMENTARY
(8grades or less)
3 46.4 V
20
YZ,
NONE
SOURCE: U. S. Bureau of the Census
106
Table 46. School Attainment 0 f Women and Men 25 Years and Over: 1940 and 1950
(Numbers in thousands)
1940
1950
Years of
school completed
Total, 25 years and
over _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
None
_
Less than 8 years
8 years _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
1 to 3 years of high school
4 years of high school - 1 to 2 years of college 4 or more years of college
Not reported
Women
Men
Percent
distribution
Women
Men
44,886
42,685
100.0 100.0
Number
1,110
1,074
10,262 10,970
8,828
8,903
7,005
7,851
10,162
7,529
3,359
2,903
2,257
3,027
1,018
1,312
2.4
22.9
19.8
17-5
22.6
7.5
5.0
2.3
2.6
25.7
20.7
16.4
17.6
6.8
7-1
3.1
Number
Women
Men
Percent
distribution
Women
Men
37,313 37,^63 100.0 100.0
1,329 1,471
9,87^ 11,087
10,125 10,631
5,333
5,849
6,044 4,507
2,251 1,824
2,021
1,386
588
454
3-6
26.5
27.1
15-7
16.2
6.0
3.7
1.2
3.9
29.6
28.4
14.2
12.0
4.9
5.4
1.6
Source: U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, 1950 Census of Population.
107
Percent
change
1940 to 1950
Women
Men
/20.3
/13.9
-19.2
/3-9
-12.1
/34.2
/68.1
A9.2
/62.9
/124.3
-24.5
-1.1
-17.0
/31.4
/67.O
/59.2
/49-8
/123.0
CHART
TT50TT
PROPORTION OF SCHOOL ENROLLEES WHO WERE EMPLOYED: 1951
(PERSONS 14 TO 24 YEARS)
39%
WOMEN
MEN
TOTAL
WOMEN
MEN
WOMEN
1 8 - 1 9 YEARS
( ! 4 - 2 4 YEARS)
SOURCE: U. S. Bureau of the Census
MEN
1 4 - 1 7 YEARS
108
WOMEN
20-24
MEN
YEARS
Table 47. School Enrollees 14 to 24 Years of Age, and Their Employment: 1940, 1946-1951
Age
Number
(in thousands)
1951
Women |
Men
Women
Men
i o m 10950 19^9 1948 1947 /1946 1940 1951 1950 1949
1948 1947 1946 1940
Percent of population enrolled in school
Total
14 to 17 years - 18 and 19 years 20 to 24 years - -
4,286
4,750
36
35
33
33
32
32
36
47
44
3,602
440
244
3,614
53^
602
85
21
4
82
24
5
81
20
4
82
20
3
80
19
4|
80
18
3
80
27
5
85
32
14
84
36
14
h3
42
43
39
83
32
15
82
34
17
79
31
17
79
29
18
79
31
8
Percent school enrollees employed
Total - - - 14 to 17 years - 18 and 19 years 20 to 24 years - -
838
1,370
20
19
16
14
13
12
5
29
31
23
24
22
21
9
638
124
76
968
166
236
18
28
31
17
27
32
14
24
31
14
14
22
11
20
19
11
14
21
2
12
23
27
31
39
29
3^
36
21
26
28
24
27
25
22
24
24
21
23
18
6
17
17
1/ Statistics are for October of each year except 1940 (April).
Sources
U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports.
109
Table 48. College Degrees Earned by Women: 1890-1952
Total
School
year
ending
1952
1951
1950
1949
1 9 48
1946.- - - 1944
1942
1940
1938
1936
1934
1932
1930
1920
1910
1900
1890
Number
of
women
125,543
124,584
121,540
118,537
110,168
87,621
78,126
92,387
87,606
Percent
of all
graduates
31.1
27-3
24.4
28.0
34.6
55.7
55.2
^3-3
75,923
64,257
40.5
4o.l
39.1
60,966
38.8
62,356
55,266
18,018
9,170
5,561
2,882
39-0
39.5
33-7
22.2
18.9
17.3
Bachelor's
Number
Percent
of
of all
vomen
graduates
104,895
105,009
103,915
102,466
96,157
77,510
69,998
81,457
76,954
67,265
57,058
53,815
54,792
48,869
16,642
8,437
5,237
2,682
31.6
27.3
24.0
27.9
35-3
56.9
55.6
^3-9
41.3
40.8
39.9
39.5
39.7
39.9
34.2
22.7
19.1
17.3
Doctor's
Master's
Number Percent
of
of all
vomen
graduates
19,93^
18,901
31.4
29.0
16,982
29.2
15,549
13,510
9,725
7,703
10,469
30.6
31.9
50.6
57.4
42.5
38.2
10,223
8,228
6,799
6,777
7,157
6,044
1,283
680
303
193
Number
of
vomen
38.0
37-1
37-0
37.0
40.4
31.0
18.0
19.1
19.1
Source: U. S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Office of Education.
110
714
674
643
522
501
386
425
461
429
430
400
37^
407
353
93
53
21
7
Percent
of all
graduates
9-3
9.2
9.7
9-9
12.0
19-6
18.4
13-2
13.0
14.7
14.4
13.2
15.3
15.^
13-5
12.4
5.7
5.6
Table
College Degrees Earned by Women, by Field of Study: 1951-52
Field of study
Total women
Agriculture 1/
Anatomy
- - - - - - - - - Animal husbandry
Anthropology
- - Architecture - - - - - - - Astronomy
- - - - - - - - Bacteriology
Biochemistry - - - - - Biology
Biological sciences l/
Botany
Business and Commerce - - Chemistry - - - - - - - Dentistry
Economics
- - - - - - - - Education
Engineering
- - - - - - - -
English
- -
relations
Journalism
language,
classical
language, modern
Lav
Library science
Percent
of all
graduates
125,5*3
31-1-
165
13
18
_
- -
- - - -
Entomology - - - - - - - - - - Fine arts 1/
Forestry
Geography
Geology
_ _
History
Home economics - - Industrial arts
International
Number
of
women
150
122
12
296
53
1,9*9
260
153
5,93*
1,31*
125
1,17*
*6,935
81
9,208
8
3,3*3
1
153
93
3,327
8,286
81
136
867
260
2,899
kl6
1,273
Field of study
Mathematics - - - - - - - - - - Medicine - —
- - - Metallurgy
- - —
Meteorology - - - - —
-----Military or naval science - - - Music - - - - - - —
- - - - - Natural science
—
- - - Nursing
Occupational therapy
Optometry
—
Osteopathy —
- - —
- -- -Pharmacy
- —
Philosophy
Physical education
- - - - - - Physics - - —
—
Physical sciences if
Physiology —
—
Political science
Psychology
Public administration
Public health
Religion and theology
Social sciences if
- Social work —
—
Sociology
Speech and dramatic arts - - - Textiles
Veterinary medicine Zoology
Arts (without major)
Sciences (without major)
All other fields of study
1-8
6 . *
1.5
*0.5
5-0
20*3
30.2
12.5
25.*
25*9
21.8
11.7
l*-2
3.6
12.3
60.*
.2
56.5
3.6
56.9
•1
17-0
3.*
27.8
98.8
2.5
18.2
28-0
31-3
61.2
3-2
7*.0
1/ Not elsewhere classified*
Source:
U. s . Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Office of Education.
111
Number
of
women
1,482
1,234
1
3
2
4,556
25.9
12.9
.2
1.7
1.0
51-7
4,565
98.9
~24
12
4o8
2.6
2.6
336
2,716
150
40
106
997
3,252
67
318
1,533
2,210
l,8l4
3,862
2,367
10
566
2,512
778
517
9.0
12.0
28.4
4.1
5.8
33-7
17.8
38.0
10.8
32.1
17.8
35.1
60.0
52.5
48.8
1.0
20.5
27.9
16.5
23.4
TECHNICAL NOTE
Data compiled "by the U. S. Bureau of the Census, which have heen used in this report,
relate to persons lk years and over in the population and the labor force, unless otherwise indicated in the table •
Where long-term trends are shown (tables 1, 19, and 20), figures for each year are
from thefecennial census of the United States. These data were obtained by a complete
enumeration of the population, both civilian and military, once every 10 years. In all
other tables showing census data, figures for each year are based on the monthly sample
of the Bureau of the Census. These estimates are obtained by personal interview with
individual members of a sample of households, and are designed to provide current information on the work status of the population, classified into broad social and economic
groups. The estimates exclude inmates of institutions and members of the Armed Forces.
The number of persons in the labor force as enumerated in the 1950 decennial census
is generally considered to be an under-enumerated figure, particularly with regard to
teen-agers and women 25 years and over. In April 1950, the estimate of civilian persons,
both men and women, in the labor force based on the monthly sample differed from the number of civilians enumerated in the 1950 census by some 3 million; i.e., the decennial
census figure was about 5 percent below that obtained from the sample. Greatest differences were found in the numbers of women and of young persons reported as in the labor
force. For example, the sample survey estimated 18 million women in the labor force,
whereas the decennial census enumerated only l6| million women. Preliminary results
of the analysis of these differences indicate that enumerators employed in obtaining the
estimate for the sample survey reported more completely on the employment of all groups
in the population. The estimated figure, therefore, is considered more accurate than
that obtained from the total enumeration. Where long-term trends are involved, however, 1950 decennial census figures have been used in this report because they are
considered more comparable with figures from earlier decennial censuses than are the
more accurate figures obtained from the monthly sample of the labor force.
112
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