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 u. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE