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WOMEN
WORKERS
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DEPENDENTS
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WOMEN’S BUREAU
^T~~ BULLETIN 239
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UNITED STATES
1 Vv/V department OF LABOR
Maurice J. Tobin, Secretary
WOMEN’S BUREAU, Frieda S. Miller, Director
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Maurice J. Tobin, Secretary
WOMEN’S BUREAU
Frieda S. Miller, Director
WOMEN WORKERS
AND
THEIR DEPENDENTS
By
Mary-Elizabeth Pidgeon
BisSI
JjrtsOt
Bulletin of the Women’s Bureau, No. 239
United States
Government Printing Office
Washington: 1952
For sale by the Superintendent of Document!, U. S. Government Printing Office
Washington 25, D. C.
-
Price 30 cents
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
United States Department of Labor,
Women’s Bureau,
Washington, October 30, 1951.
have the honor to transmit a report indicating the consider
able share women’s earnings furnish in the support of the American
home. The perennial demand for knowledge as to the economic
responsibilities of women is widespread not only among union groups,
women’s organizations, investigators of economic conditions, and the
American public in general; it also is sought on a world-wide scale,
through inquiries of the International Labor Office and many visitors
to the Women’s Bureau from other countries.
This study was made on urgent request of the Women’s Bureau
Labor Advisory Committee, composed of working women designated
by their own unions. Usable questionnaires were filled in by about
9,000 women workers, members of 7 union groups that cooperated.
The findings are shown in part I. They correspond with and re
enforce those from more than 200 former studies by many agencies,
over 70 of which were made by the Women’s Bureau. These are
examined in part II.
Results of this investigation are timely in a period that requires
effective use of all this country’s resources, since women carry an
especially heavy support load when economic dislocations occur,
whether by reason of war, depression, or other emergency. Women
of all age groups, including some of those under 25 and some 65 or
older, support or substantially aid in the support of others besides
themselves. From over a tenth to more than a fourth of them are
the only earners contributing to the upkeep of their families—even
larger proportions of working mothers, according to several current
reports on persons using day-care centers for their children.
Part I is the only report ever made on this subject that includes
the locals of several different unions in many areas geographically
widespread, and confines itself to replies from union women alone.
I should like to call special attention to the efforts for the success
of this project put forth by numerous officers and leaders in more than
100 union locals, often under the pressure of other important
programs.
Sir : I
in
IV
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
This report was made under the general direction of Mrs. Mary N.
Hilton, Chief of the Bureau’s Research Division; it was planned and
written by Mary-Elizabeth Pidgeon, the statistical compilations for
part I were directed by Isadore Spring, and a large share of the basic
research was done by Anne Lefkowitz.
Respectfully submitted.
Frieda S. Miller, Director.
Hon. Maurice J. Tobin,
Secretary of Labor.
CONTENTS
Page
*
*
%
.
*
Background and summary of findings
Evergreen interest in women’s finances_________________________
Kernels of fact from many earlier studies_______________________
Findings from current study of union women____________________
Part I. Union women and their dependents
11
Scope and methods of the study
11
The women reporting
13
Women with dependents
17
Part of earnings used for daily needs
29
Women as sole earners in their families
33
Women as earners sharing in family support
36
Economic responsibilities of women workers, by marital status_____
Reasons given for working
45
Summary on women workers and family support as reported by each
cooperating union
Brotherhood of Railway and Steamship Clerks__________________
Communications Workers of America___________________________
Hotel and Restaurant Employees__
International Ladies’ Garment Workers
International Association of Machinists
Textile Workers
Part II. Findings from many studies of women’s economic responsibilities.
Sources and character of studies
Early reporting on women’s economic responsibilities______________
Women’s Bureau studies in the 1920’s
Character of studies, 1930 to 1935
Findings in recent studies (1935 and later)
69
Women workers who support dependents____________________
Women’s earnings and family finances
85
Appendixes:
A. References, listed with annotations
93
I. Recent studies (1935 and later) used as the basis for part II.
II. Studies prior to 1935 by agencies other than the Women’s
Bureau
III. Women’s Bureau bulletins
B. Earliest reporting of certain kinds of information on economic
responsibilities of women
112
C. Schedule used in part I
115
List of tables, summaries, and charts in part I
List of tables and summaries in part II
56
10
v
1
1
2
7
40
48
48
49
50
52
53
54
57
57
58
62
64
69
93
101
107
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
Background and Summary of Findings
EVERGREEN INTEREST IN WOMEN'S FINANCES
How many women earners are supporting dependents ? What part
of a woman’s earnings goes to provide essentials for the family or to
raise its standard of living ? How much of the family’s wage income
is furnished by women ? In how many families is a woman worker
the only earner ?
The wide and lively discussion long given to these and related ques
tions testifies to their absorbing interest. They also are of vital im
portance in determining public policies, as for example in defining
adequate wage levels for women workers, or in attracting women into
occupations or localities where their work is needed.
The public has asked repeatedly: Do women really need their earn
ings or are they working only for pin money ? A multitude of inves
tigators have replied on the basis of objective data: Women do indeed
need and use their earnings not only for their own support, but also to
support dependents, and otherwise as a substantial contribution to the
family’s upkeep! This is illustrated concretely by many striking
facts gathered from far and wide, and by the experiences of many
families.
One study pointed out in detail those who, though working, re
ceived part of their support from their families. This group was
found to be less than 4 percent of the total (nearly 11,000 professional
women included in the study). Modern economy has made the old
theory that most women work only for “pin money” entirely obsolete.
Even the small proportion receiving family help is likely to be made
up largely of young women not yet fully established in their working
life, who later may have fuller support responsibilities. There are
families, too, that under some economic stress can keep their heads
above water only because a young daughter earns part of her own
expenses.
It is of interest that, in the course of a recent inquiry into women’s
economic situation in various countries, the Swiss expert consulted by
the International Labor Office explained a lack of studies of this sub
ject in that country by saying:
* * everyone is aware that most
mothers of families who go out to work do so from economic neces1
2
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
sity. * * * Most mothers belonging to the less well-to-do classes
of the population only continue to work because of material necessity.
This does not necessarily mean that the minimum subsistence level of
the family could not be reached without the additional earnings of the
mother; but there are many cases where the mother must have gainful
employment to prevent the family income from falling below this min
imum subsistence level.”
In the United States, the continuing interest in the financial re
sponsibilities of women workers has resulted, over the past 60 years
and more, in a great variety of studies in this field. The present re
port, besides summarizing earlier findings, gives the results of a new
investigation, showing the economic responsibilities of women workers
who are members of several different unions.
Studies that afford some information are numerous, though the
character of their reporting varies greatly. They give abundant data
along some lines, though their results are fragmentary in other re
spects. These studies have been made in several periods and cover
unlike areas. Some include only workers in special occupation groups
or those employed in particular industries. Many of them are di
rected primarily to other subjects and give only incidental data on
women workers’ dependents.
But when these scattered bits are drawn together, they do give im
pressive evidence of the great responsibility the woman worker takes
toward meeting the financial needs of her family. Moreover, they
indicate certain prevailing patterns that are notably uniform regard
less of time, place, or limits of the investigation. For example, the
single woman’s dependents are most likely to be parents and relatives
of an older generation, while the married woman more frequently is
supporting children. The majority of women workers live in family
households. Many of these put their contribution into a common
household fund; others assume some particular item such as payment
for groceries or rent, which makes it difficult to assess the full extent
of their share in family expenses. Appreciable proportions of those
living apart from their families also are supporting dependents or
substantially contributing to their support.
KERNELS OF FACT FROM MANY EARLIER STUDIES
The extent and character of women workers’ contribution to the
support of dependents varies widely in relation to many factors, such
as the worker’s broad occupation group, age or marital status, general
economic situation, and so forth. The statements that follow are based
on detailed findings in about 240 of the more prominent studies of this
subject, and to a major extent on some 30 of these, made for the most
part in the past 15 years and analyzed in part II of the present report.
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
3
WOMEN WORKERS CONTRIBUTING TO DEPENDENTS
The reports examined show that most frequently half or well over
half of the women at work in all types of occupations consider them
selves in some degree responsible for dependents (in addition, of course,
supporting themselves). Studies of women workers on relief projects
and some studies of women war workers show more than nine-tenths
having responsibility for dependents. This is the proportion shown
in the largest recent study, reporting on about 10,000 women workers
in World War II industries, who lived with their families. Several
large studies of teachers show half to two-thirds contributing to or
fully supporting dependents. Of the studies analyzed here, almost
none except those of nurses show fewer than a third having depend
ents. Among nurses, though many are young single women without
dependents, still not far from a third report responsibilities for sup
port of others. A few studies of varied groups of professional women
show over 40 percent having dependents. The proportion of women
who contribute to dependents ordinarily is largest among those
widowed or divorced (which, however, includes a much smaller num
ber of women workers than other marital groups), next among the
married, and smallest among single women. Nevertheless, in most of
the studies reporting on marital status at least a third, and in some
cases over half, of the single women were contributing to dependents.
NUMBER OF DEPENDENTS SUPPORTED BY WOMEN WORKERS
Generally over half the women with dependents have only one, but
most studies show that at least a third have two or more dependents.
Women who have dependents report an average of at least 1.3 depend
ents for each woman worker (in addition to support of herself); in
some studies the average shown is more than 2.0. Married women
are more likely than single to report more than one dependent, though
(as later shown) they also appear somewhat the more likely to share
with others rather than to have responsibility for full support.
RELATIONSHIP OF DEPENDENTS TO WOMAN WORKER
Single women are likely to be supporting adults, primarily mothers,
but also fathers, sisters, brothers, occasionally aunts or other relatives,
though many single women do have child dependents, such as nieces
or nephews, or even younger sisters or brothers. Married women, on
the other hand, are likely to be supporting children, though many
married women do have adult dependents, such as parents and some
times the husband.
DEPENDENTS OF WOMEN LIVING APART FROM FAMILY
A substantial proportion of women vrorkers living apart from their
families have responsibilities for support of relatives, according to
4
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
available information on this subject. In the more usual case this
takes the form of regular contributions to these persons from the
woman’s salary. In other instances, the woman living apart sends
lump sums to take care of special emergencies, such as doctors’ bills and
hospital bills, funeral expenses, school tuition, or the purchase of neces
sary clothing.
Patterns of support frequently found in the lives of women workers
living apart include support of elderly parents without income, or
contributions to the general funds of the worker’s family at home;
support of sons or daughters, either adult and unable to support them
selves, or as often was the case during the war, minor children cared
for by relatives while the mother works elsewhere; of sisters or
brothers; of nieces and nephews, the children of a widowed sister or
sister-in-law.
AGES OF WOMEN WITH DEPENDENTS
Few studies give information on the ages of women with depend
ents, and their findings vary as to ages at which the largest proportion
of women have dependents. They show that women have such re
sponsibilities at all ages, even those under 25, and 65 years old or
over.
FULL SUPPORT OF DEPENDENTS
From one-fourth to three-fourths of the women who contribute to
the support of others are responsible for the full support of one or
more dependents, according to the few reports that give definite show
ing as to full dependency. From the very limited data on this phase
of the subject, married women appear to be more likely than single
to share support with other earners (though a notable proportion are
fully responsible for dependents).
PART OF WOMEN'S EARNINGS THAT GO TO FAMILY SUPPORT
From a third to two-thirds of the women workers give all their
earnings to family support, according to the findings in a long series
of studies made over many years, supported by further recent studies.
Fewer than 1 woman in 10 gives none of her earnings to her family.
An early large-scale official investigation of the conditions of women’s
work in this country, made by direction of Congress in 1907-9, re
ported that nearly 4,700 women at work in stores and factories con
tributed 84 percent of their earnings to their families.
Married women workers to a considerably larger extent than single
use the major share of their earnings for family needs. Nevertheless,
the working daughter’s contribution is of marked importance in many
families.
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
5
WOMEN'S LONG-TERM RESPONSIBILITIES FOR SUPPORT
That women give a substantial part of their earnings to family sup
port for long periods in their working lives is indicated in one of the
earlier studies, which found that a tenth of the single and a third of
the married women had used all their earnings for family expenses
for at least 10 years. With the increase in employment of women, it
is probable that increasing numbers contribute to family support
through many years of working life.
WOMAN AS SOLE EARNER IN HER FAMILY
From a tenth to over a fourth of the women workers reported in
most of the recent studies were the only earners contributing to the
expenses of their families. Among mothers who leave their children
at day-care centers, the proportion who are sole earners is much
higher. Most comprehensive data are furnished from a census
sample reporting on 14,367,000 women workers living in families in
1946. Of these, 11 percent were the only earners in their families.
The proportion of women who are only earners ran as high as threefourths (or more) in studies of women on work relief or at work
but receiving relief during the depression of the 1930’s. The group
of widowed and divorced women (the smallest marital group of
women workers) to a larger extent than others are the sole earners
in their families.
PART OF FAMILY’S EARNINGS WOMEN PROVIDE
The contribution a woman makes to the support of her family is
fairly clear when she is the only earner on whom the family depends.
It is much more difficult to assess her share when she is one of two or
more earners. This requires ascertaining not only her earnings but
the entire income of the family, in order to determine the share that
the woman worker provides. Furthermore, the contributions made
by women, though regularly given, often are made in kind rather than
in exact amounts of cash; for example, a woman will furnish particu
lar family needs, such as purchase of all the groceries, pay the rent
or medical bills, or take responsibility for the clothing of certain
individuals.
One of the few reports that show the share of family earnings fur
nished by women was made in Cleveland, Ohio, by the Women’s
Bureau of the United States Department of Labor in 1939. This
showed that in well over half the nearly 2,000 families surveyed,
women workers were furnishing half or more of the support; in a
third Of the families, entire support.
Other reports show the woman as the principal earner (the one who
earns more than any other member of the family, though not neceg-
6
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
sarily as much as half the family earnings). Varying with the type
of family included and the time of study, all the reporting on this
phase of the subject shows that in considerably more than a tenth of
the families a woman is the principal earner.
The many studies showing women’s economic responsibilities give
striking flashes of insight here and there into the lives of women work
ers and the support load carried by them. A number of examples
listed below indicate the variety of agencies that have investigated
this general subject in the past 15 years (to use a round figure), and
illustrate several types of information that result from the findings
of these agencies.
Case Highlights From Various Recent Reports
Of nearly 800 women workers with dependents who applied for unemployment
compensation, as reported by the Oregon Commission in 1948, not far from a
third had adult dependents, for whom under the laws of many States they would
not be able to receive dependency benefits.
Of over 89,000 active nurses who supported dependents, as reported in the 1949
Inventory of the American Nurses’ Association, nearly two-thirds had child
dependents.
Among more than 3,300 urban teachers in 1944 in all parts of the United States,
as reported by the National Education Association, over half had dependents.
Of those with dependents over three-fourths had adult dependents.
In a report by the United States Women’s Bureau of nearly 10,000 women war
workers in 10 areas in 1944-45 who lived with their families, over nine-tenths
contributed regularly to family expenses and well over one-tenth were the only
earners in their families.
In more than 11,500 families whose children were cared for in day-care centers
in 1949, reported by the California Legislature Assembly, over half the mothers
were the only earners in their families.
Of 38*4 million families in this country in 1948, as reported by the United States
Bureau of the Census, nearly a tenth had women heads, and 40 percent of these
had only 1 earner.
Among over 3,300 women war workers in Dallas, Tex., reported to the Dallas
Chamber of Commerce and Committee for Economic Development in 1944, over
half were married. Of these, over two-fifths had dependents, and not far from
a tenth reported three or more dependents.
Among over 4,000 women in professions, reported during World War II (1943)
by the National Education Association and Pi Lambda Theta, two-thirds were
single women, and of these more than a third had dependents.
Among nearly 11,000 business and professional women, reported by the Business
and Professional Women’s Clubs in 1937, nearly half had dependents. Of these,
more than a third were responsible for dependents not living with them, of whom
nearly half were older than the woman worker supporting them.
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
7
Among 1,000 women living with their families and working in New York elec
trical plants, reported by the New York State Department of Labor and the
United Electrical Workers in 1944-45, over 90 percent had dependents. More
than one in five contributed to support of persons outside the family, the majority
of them sending a regular part of their pay for this purpose.
FINDINGS FROM CURRENT STUDY OF UNION WOMEN
The present study of women’s economic responsibilities was made
by the Women’s Bureau in 1950, in response to urgent interest of the
members of the Bureau’s Labor Advisory Committee. In this study
of union women a few striking facts stand out as characteristic of
those reporting in all the cooperating groups. Two-thirds or more
were using all or most of their earnings to support themselves or
themselves and others. This was the primary reason for working
given by the great majority, although many also had other urgent
reasons. From half to nearly two-thirds either fully or partly sup
ported at least one person in addition to self-support, and a substantial
number supported two or more. About nine-tenths had no income
from sources other than earnings. Although working from economic
necessity, nine-tenths of those reporting said they liked the work
they were doing.
The pages that follow summarize the findings as to the responsi
bilities these women have for the support of others, and part I gives
further details.
RELATIONSHIP OF DEPENDENTS
In all but one of the union groups from a fifth to nearly two-fifths
of the women who were fully or partly supporting others reported
that their dependents were their children. In four groups about a
fourth said their mothers were dependent on them. A smaller but
notable proportion were either fully or partly supporting husbands
or fathers, and many supported other relatives.
The relationship of dependents differed considerably for single and
married women, largely because of their differing situation in the
family group. Married women most often supported their children,
and this also was true of the widowed and of the separated or divorced.
Single women frequently were supporting their mothers.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO FAMILY EXPENSES OR DEPENDENTS
Almost all the women, married or single, who were living in family
households (and this was four-fifths of the total) contributed regu
larly to the family expenses. Often their contribution was substantial
but was given in ways that make it very difficult to assess its full extent
and value. From 40 to 50 percent made a regular contribution to
the common family fund. In most of the union groups, about a fifth
8
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
of the women reporting regularly took care of particular family ex
penses, such as the grocery bill or the rent; some of them paid board
in addition. From about a tenth to over a fourth paid board only,
so could not be considered as giving more than their own cost to the
family.
Of the smaller group of women who did not live with their families
(single women, and those widowed, separated, or divorced) usually
from about a fifth to nearly a third were fully or partially supporting
dependents not living with them, in addition to supporting themselves.
WOMEN AS ONLY EARNERS CONTRIBUTING TO FAMILY
Of the women living in family households and reporting on this
subject, from 14 to 21 percent were the only earners contributing to
the expenses of their families. The majority of these families where
a woman was the only contributing earner consisted of two persons,
but a fourth or more had three members; and a tenth or more, in most
of the unions, had at least four members. Roughly two-thirds of the
women who lived at home shared family expenses with one other
earner.
REASONS GIVEN FOR WORKING
The women’s reasons for working correspond closely with their
reports on dependents. Support of themselves, and often of others
as well, was a primary reason given by the great majority—in 5 unions
by 9 out of 10 women reporting. Many also worked for additional
objectives. Prominent among these other reasons were work toward
buying a home or educating children. Payment of doctor, hospital,
or medical bills for themselves or some other family member also was
a reason given by substantial proportions.
LIST OF TABLES, SUMMARIES, AND CHARTS IN PART I
TABLES
Page
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
Age of women reporting, by union group-------------------------------------Marital status of women reporting, by union group-----------------------Women reporting on support of themselves and others, by union group.
Women reporting relationship of dependents, by union group------------Number of persons supported per woman, by union group--------------Women living in family or apart who supported dependents, by union
group
Relationship of dependents supported by women living in family or
apart, by union group------------------------------------------------------------Proportion of earnings women used for daily needs, by union group----Marital status of women who used all their earnings for daily needs, by
union group
Living arrangements of women who used all their earnings for daily
needs, by union group*---------------------------------------------------------Age of women who used all their earnings for daily needs, by union
group:,
Women who were sole family earners, by size of family and union group.
Women living in family and contributing regularly, by marital status
and union group____________________________________ ________
Method of contributing to family reported by single and married
women, by union group
Chief reasons for working, by union group and living arrangements___
Chief reasons for working, by union group and marital status-----------
14
15
17
21
23
25
26
29
30
30
31
33
36
39
45
46
SUMMARIES
Living arrangements of women
15
Women with child dependents
18
Women living apart who fully or partly support dependents____________
Marital status of women living apart and fully supporting dependents---Sole family earners, by marital status
34
Clothing workers’ families with woman sole earner____________________
Number of contributors in family____ _
Married and single women in two-earner families of various sizes_______
Relationship of persons supported by single women___________________
Relationship of persons supported by married women_________________
Relationship of persons supported by widowed and by separated or
divorced women
44
27
27
34
36
37
40
42
CHARTS
I. Women workers who fully or partly support dependents, by number
of dependents
16
II. Women workers who fully or partly support dependents, by relation
ship
22
III. Women workers who use all or part of their earnings for support___
IV. Women workers who are the only contributing earners in their families.
10
28
32
Part I
Union Women and Their Dependents
Members of the Labor Advisory Committee to the Women’s Bureau
3n the United States Department of Labor urged the Women’s Bureau
to help obtain information on the responsibilities union women carry
for the support of their families. This committee is made up of union
women from organizations with large woman membership. Its mem
bers offered cooperation in obtaining information as to women’s re
sponsibilities for family support. Accordingly, in the spring of 1950,
officers of several such unions circulated questionnaires among their
members and sent in the returns to the Women’s Bureau. These ques
tionnaires asked the extent to which the union women had dependents,
the part of their earnings used for current family support, and other
related questions.
Replies were received from more than 9,000 women members of these
union groups. They give further striking evidence of findings similar
to those in the many studies that have gone before. The findings
of this study are discussed in detail here.
SCOPE AND METHODS OF THE STUDY
UNIONS INCLUDED AND LOCALS CHOSEN
With something like 18 million women in the labor force at the
time of the study, the number that could be covered obviously had
to be limited in some manner. For this reason the plans made included
a small number of union groups. These were unions in industries
that employ especially large numbers of women, and that were in
terested and able to assist with the study. Some of the unions par
ticipating were AFL, some were CIO, some were not affiliated with
either.
Within each union group it was planned to send the questionnaires
to a limited number of locals and have them distributed to all the
women members in these locals. These locals were chosen for par
ticipation after considerable consultation between the Women’s Bu
reau and the unions’ national officers. The objective was to secure
a good representation of each union, in relation to its general geo
graphic distribution, the various branches of its industry, and other
factors related in particular to its woman membership. Every effort
was made with the cooperating groups to assure strict limitation
of locals (or sometimes in the case of very large locals to include
974036—52--------- 2
11
12
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
only selected individual shops), and to have a complete distribution
of questionnaires to the full woman membership of these locals (or
shops). The study included well over 100 locals in 7 unions groups.
By these methods, it is believed that a reasonably representative
basis of reporting was obtained. This is borne out by the fact that
the findings show a general correspondence to those in other studies.
For a variety of reasons no attempt was made to use a purely scien
tific statistical sample. For example, the types of organization and
the ways of doing business vary widely among the different union
groups. Situations and problems to be met also differ greatly in
different localities, and procedures that are effective in one place are
impracticable in another. Furthermore, most unions do not keep
membership records separately by sex; therefore union officers do
not have exact information on the number of members who are women,
although they can make reasonable working estimates, usually on a
local basis.
TYPES OF INFORMATION REPORTED
The information given on the questionnaires is discussed along the
following lines:
Personal data about the women reporting.
The women who reported having dependents, and the number and type of their
dependents.
The part of the women’s earnings used to support themselves and others.
The extent to which the women were sole or contributing earners in their
families.
The reasons for working reported by these women.
METHODS OF STUDY
The methods of distributing questionnaires and of securing re
sponses differed somewhat according to the general type of organiza
tion in the union and the particular situations in the locals included.
In general, local officers and assistants appointed by them distributed
questionnaires and secured returns. Many of these officers, and espe
cially the leading women in the locals, were much interested in the
project and desired to cooperate to the best of their ability.
The officials of many of the locals put in a great deal of work to
secure adequate returns. In some cases questionnaires were mailed
to all members of the local, sometimes with dues notices, and in others
they were given to all members when they came to the union office
to pay dues or to seek work. In a few cases questionnaires were given
to members at meetings; some of these gave fairly complete coverage
since their members were fined for nonattendance. More often, if
questionnaires were given out at meetings they went to key persons—
shop stewards, chairladies, etc., who saw that they were distributed
in particular shops or sections of the membership.
STUDY OF UNION WOMEN
13
Women’s Bureau field agents visited the officers in the great major
ity of the locals, and assisted in working out practicable plans for
the distribution of questionnaires to the membership (or the part
of it selected for inclusion). The agents also revisited most of these
locals later to give further aid.
NUMBER OF WOMEN REPORTING
The number of questionnaires that were returned and tabulated
totaled over 9,000, distributed as follows among the various cooperat
ing union groups:
Total9,124
Brotherhood of Railway and Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express
and Station Employes, AFL2,358
Communications Workers of America, CIO 929
Hotel and Restaurant Employees and Bartenders International Union,
AFL-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1,149
International Association of Machinists1 835
International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union, AFL2,215
Textile Workers Union of America, CIO 783
Women’s Trade Union League of America 855
1 Independent when studied ; reafflllated with AFL in 1951.
THE WOMEN REPORTING
In connection with this study the women were asked how many years
they had had a paid job, how old they were, whether they were single,
married, widowed, separated, or divorced, and how far they had gone
in school.
YEARS IN THE LABOR FORCE
Women are more than temporary entrants in the labor force, to
judge by the replies received to the question on years at work. The
proportion who had held paid jobs for at least 10 years ranged from
30 to 55 percent in the various union groups. About 30 percent of
the textile workers and railway clerks reporting and at least 10 percent
in the other groups had worked 20 years or longer. On the other hand,
more than a third of the garment workers reporting had been working
less than 5 years, and only among the railway clerks was the propor
tion of these shorter-time workers as low as 11 percent.
Although the distribution would not necessarily be the same if all
women workers in each union had replied, the figures do show that
many women are stable and continuing members of the Nation’s labor
force.
AGE GROUPINGS
In age, the women reporting from these unions included smaller
proportions of the very young (under 20), and of those who were 65
14
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
and over, than is the case among all women in the labor force. As com
pared to the age distribution of women in the entire labor force, women
20 and under 25 were in considerably larger proportion among the
railway clerks and the communications workers reporting. They were
in considerably smaller proportions among the hotel and restaurant
workers, machinists, and textile workers reporting.
Slightly less than half (45 percent) of the women in the labor force
are in age groups 25 to 44. Among the women reporting here, larger
proportions than in the entire labor force were of these ages.
The 20 to 44 age-groups included three-fourths or more of the women
CWA and IAM members reporting, and roughly two-thirds of those
in each of the other union groups. These age groupings do not nec
essarily correspond with the age distribution of all women in these
respective unions, but they do show the distribution of those reporting
and are significant, therefore, in connection with their support of
dependents. Table 1 shows the fuller information as to the ages
reporting.
Tabus 1.—-Age or Women Reporting, by Union Group
Percent who were—
Union group
Number
of women
reporting
BRC________________
2,317
CWA
917
H&R
1,107
ILGWU..........................
2,075
I AM
822
TWUA
770
WTUL
791
Woman labor force2___ 17,795,000
All
ages
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
Under 20-24
20 years years
2
7
4
7
1
1
6
9
22
20
7
15
11
8
16
15
25-34
years
35-44
years
45-54
years
55-64
years
31
28
24
28
35
18
26
23
17
28
32
26
35
33
27
22
20
14
20
15
13
25
17
18
7
3
10
7
4
13
7
10
65
years
and
over
c)
1
3
2
1
2
1
3
1 Percent not shown where less than 1.
2 In March 1950, near the time questionnaires in this study were being answered.
FAMILY AND MARITAL STATUS
Single women constituted the largest marital group of women
among the railway clerks (half of all reporting), and these, the tele
phone workers, and the Women’s Trade Union League had notably
larger proportions single than among all women in the labor force.
Among the telephone workers and the members of the Trade Union
League about the same proportions were single and married (roughly
40 percent of all reporting).
Married women were the largest group among the clothing workers,
machinists, and textile workers, constituting in each of these unions
from nearly 50 to 60 percent of all women reporting. The machinists
and textile workers had larger proportions of married women report
ing than among all women in the labor force.
15
STUDY OF UNION WOMEN
Among the reporting hotel and restaurant workers, members of
the machinists union, textile and clothing workers, and members of
the Trade Union League, the proportion who were widowed, sepa
rated, or divorced was somewhat higher than among all women
workers. For the hotel and restaurant workers the proportion of
these was as high (roughly 40 percent) as for married women.
Table 2 shows the marital status of the women reporting.
Table 2.—Makital Status
of
Women Reporting,
by
Union Group
Percent who were—
Union group
BRC____________________ ________________
CWA_________________________ ..
H & R_________________
ILGWU_______________ ________________
IAM.______ _____________________
TWUA.l__________________________
WTUL_________________________
Woman labor force 1____________ _______
Number of
women
reporting
Single
2,345
924
1,118
2,142
833
776
837
17,795,000
51
41
19
32
22
19
38
32
Married
Widowed,
separated,
divorced
34
41
40
47
53
60
38
48
15
18
41
21
25
21
24
20
1 In March I960, near the time questionnaires in this study were being answered.
In most of these unions, four-fifths or more of the women reporting
lived in family groups with relatives. Among textile workers and
clothing workers the proportions of women living in families were
especially large. On the other hand, the hotel and restaurant em
ployees reported somewhat larger proportions of women living apart
from their families than the other cooperating union groups, as the
following summary shows:
Living Arrangements
BRC.------ ---------------------CWA-----------------------------H & R---------------------------ILGWU-------------------------I AM-------------TWUA--------------------------WTUL_____ ____________
op
Number of
women
reporting
2,333
920
1, 127
2, 189
835
780
846
Women
Percent who lived—
___________________ _
In family
Apart
80
20
80
20
70
30
86
14
82
18
88
12
83
17
EDUCATION
In most of these union groups from over half to almost four-fifths
of the women reporting had attended high school. The proportion
who had been to high school was highest among the railway clerks
and telephone operators (three-fourths or more). In each of these
union groups some of the women reporting had been to college.
Usually the proportion of women who had been to college was very
CHART I
WOMEN WORKERS WHO FULLY OR PARTLY SUPPORT DEPENDENTS,
BY. NUMBER OF DEPENDENTS
BASED ON 9,000 WOMEN FROM SELECTED UNIONS
THREE OR MORE
DEPENDENTS
TWO
DEPENDENTS
ONE
DEPENDENT
PERCENT OF ALL WOMEN WORKERS STUDIED
BROTHERHOOD Of RAILWAY
AND STEAMSHIP CLERKS, AFL
COMMUNICATIONS WORKERS
OF AMERICA, CIO
HOTEL AND RESTAURANT
EMPLOYEES UNION, AFL
INTERNATIONAL LADIES'
GARMENT WORKERS' UNION, AFL
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION
OF MACHINISTS
TEXTILE WORKERS UNION
OF AMERICA, CIO
NATIONAL WOMEN'S TRADE
UNION LEAGUE
NO
DEPENDENTS
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
1950
17
STUDY OF UNION WOMEN
small, but it was as high as 1 in every 10 women among Trade Union
League members and nearly 1 in every 5 of the railway clerks. Very
few had been to college for 4 years.
A third or more had stopped before high school in each of these
union groups, except among the railway clerks and telephone workers.
Lack of high-school attendance was especially great among the tex
tile workers of whom almost one in every five women reporting had
not gone beyond the sixth grade; and among the clothing workers
of whom nearly 1 in every 10 women reporting had gone no farther
than the sixth grade.
WOMEN WITH DEPENDENTS
Of all the women reporting in the various union groups, from about
half to nearly two-thirds supported either in full or in part other
persons besides themselves. All but a very few supported either
themselves alone or themselves and others.
NUMBER OF DEPENDENTS
The most usual number of dependents supported was one. How
ever, in most of these union groups, from a fourth to more than a
third of the women, as shown in chart I, were fully or partly sup
porting two or more dependents (besides self support).1 Largest
proportions of the women reporting who had two or more dependents
were among the clothing and the textile workers. Among the textile
workers, 14 percent reported three or more dependents. Table 3
shows further details.
Table 3.—Women Reporting
Union group
BRO.............. —-.................
OWA..........-..........-.............
H&R--......... —-........ ........
ILGWU................................
IAM.................-....................
TWUA..................................
WTUL----------------- ------ -
on
Support of Themselves
Group
and
Others,
by
Union
Percent supporting others as well as self
Number of
women re
porting on
support1
Percent
supporting
self only
2,335
924
1,131
2,192
829
776
850
51
42
43
36
40
36
42
1 other
person
Total
48
58
66
64
59
64
67
30
33
32
32
31
29
32
2 other
persons
3 or more
other
persons
13
18
16
20
16
21
17
5
7
8
12
12
14
8
1 Full or partial support. In each union a small group of women (in most cases less than 1 percent) either
did not contribute to the support of anyone, or contributed to the support of others but not self.
The average number of persons fully or partly supported by these
women was 1.7 for the railway clerks, 1.9 for the telephone and hotel
workers, 2.0 for the Trade Union League members, 2.1 for the ma
1 In a very few cases a woman was supporting a dependent but did not support herself.
18
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
chinists, and 2.2 for the textile and garment workers. These figures
include support of self. Some of the cases that illustrate the respon
sibilities working women have for supporting two or more persons
are as follows:
An ILGWU member over 40 working in a small city in the East is “a deserted
wife with two minor children to support without any outside help of any sort.”
A 30-year-old waitress in a large west coast city fully supports her three children,
explaining “they are now from a broken home.” She had remarried but con
siders support of her children her responsibility and not that of her new
husband.
A 30-year-old ILGWU member from a town in the East has been working for
10 years in order to support herself and her two sons because she is separated
from her husband and “ he does not support the children so it all depends on me.”
A woman over 35 living in a north central State has been a telephone worker
over 10 years and supports her mother and her own young daughter by a previ
ous marriage. She says “I don’t think it’s quite fair for my husband to take
all the responsibility for my family.” If she gave up her job her mother might
get old-age assistance, but it would be too small an amount to pay her expenses.
CHILD DEPENDENTS
Of the women who reported types of their dependents, in all but
one of the union groups from 22 to 36 percent had child dependents.
The exception was the railway clerks reporting, only a little more than
a tenth of whom had child dependents. Support of child dependents
corresponded somewhat with marital status of these workers, as dis
cussed later (p. 40); single women constituted a larger proportion of
the railway clerks reporting than of those in the other union groups.
In most of these unions from nearly a tenth to a fifth had two or
more child dependents. Among the textile workers and the ma
chinists more than 5 percent of the women reporting had three or more
child dependents.
The following summary shows details as to the number of children
supported in full or in part by the women reporting from the various
union groups.
Women With Child Dependents
Percent of women who supported—
BRC_________
CWA........... ....................
H & R..............................
ILGWU............ ........... _..................
IAM______ _______
TWUA________________________
WTUL___________________ ____
1 child
8
14
17
16
19
16
12
2 children
3
6
8
8
9
12
6
S or more
children
1
2
4
4
6
8
3
STUDY OF UNION WOMEN
19
Typical cases of some of the women who are supporting their chil
dren, and sometimes their grandchildren, are as follows:
In one of our largest eastern cities a widow over 50 years of age has worked 20
or more years. She is employed making neckwear, and works “to support myself
and to give a home to my 18%-year-old daughter.”
A worker in a west coast sportswear factory is under 40 but has been employed
at least 20 years. She helps support the children of a daughter whose husband
has a medical discharge from World War II, and also helps children of a sister
whose husband “is not well at all times.”
A woman BRC member who is over 50, lives on the west coast, and is separated
from her husband, reports that she used all her wages to secure “a comfort
able home and education for my four children. Now I have my mother and one
grandchild with me.” She has been employed 20 years or longer, and continues:
“I had four children and had very little help in supporting them so nothing has
been saved; legislation should require fathers to do their share * * * after
awarding an allowance the court makes no attempt to enforce its order. * * *”
A married woman over 45, who lives in a midwestern city, a telephone operator
who worked for at least 20 years, helps support the family of her son who became
ill during the war. She reports: “His earnings are not enough to support his
wife and two small children."
,
A southern textile mill worker under 30 years of age has been employed at least
5 years, and supports herself and two children fully and her mother partially.
She is “the only one working with a regular income. My mother gets a check
every month from the social security board.”
An IAM member in a New England factory, who is under 30 years of age and
has been employed less than 10 years, uses all of her income to support herself
and child. She describes her pay as “insufficient amount to keep myself and
child going to say nothing of constant medical attention needed.”
A 65-year-old hotel service worker in Ohio has been employed some 20 years.
Except for what is necessary for her own expenses she states that she uses all
the rest “to help my son, an ex-GI who was overseas and wounded so that he is
partially disabled. He has three boys, aged 12, 9, and 7. I am helping him to
take care of them and to give them an education. His wife is able and willing to
work but I prefer to work so that she may stay at home to give them the training
they need at home as well as at school.”
A Connecticut textile worker of about 35 lives in a household of two. She sup
ports herself and her absent son who is “afflicted with epilepsy” and is at training
school.
ADULT DEPENDENTS
Many of these women had adults dependent on them for support.
In four of these union groups about a fourth of the women who re
ported the types of their dependents supported their mothers (BRC,
CWA, WTUL, and ILGWU). In each of the seven union groups, an
appreciable proportion (from I to 8 percent) of those reporting types
20
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
of their dependents had fathers to support. The dependency of
aging relatives is likely to be an increasing load for the worker, espe
cially if illness becomes an added cause of expense. Support of a
mother is illustrated in the case of a 30-year-old ILGWU member who
makes children’s clothing, has worked for 10 years, and says “mother
is ill and needs special care. I pay all her bills, especially doctor’s
bills.” Another instance is typical of many women who send money
to parents not living with them. This west coast worker on cotton
dresses is over 35 years of age, lives with and supports her husband,
and also supports her mother who lives in Texas.
In all of these union groups a number of women (from 9 to 21 per
cent) reported that they contributed to the support of their husbands.
Illness of a husband, or his ability to find work on only an irregular
or seasonal basis causes a considerable part of the support in many
families to become the responsibility of the wife. In some of these
reports, this situation may have been a temporary one during the hus
band’s unemployment, such as that of a clothing worker under 35 who
works in a small eastern city and explains her reason for working in
one brief sentence—“Husband unemployed at present and I have two
children.” Others are more certain to continue working, as will a
Pennsylvania textile worker over 40 who fully supports herself and a
husband who has contracted that dread disease of the miners, silicosis.
The following are among the many instances that indicate the expe
riences of women workers in families where the husband is unable to
support the family:
A married BRC member living in a southwestern city helps support an ill hus
band. Now over 40 years of age, she has been at work for over 10 years, and
explains: “I intended working for 2 years at the time we married, but 4 months
after our marriage the doctor diagnosed my husband as having ‘angina pectoris.’
I now feel that I will have to continue to work because we do not know how
long he will be able to work.”
One eastern clothing worker under 30 years of age says she must support her
husband and brother partially as well as herself as her “husband works irregu
larly and brother gets epileptic attacks.”
A 39-year-old married woman, living in Pennsylvania, reports that she went to
work in a clothing factory 3 years ago in order to partially support herself, hus
band and daughter, “my husband is a cripple, and does not earn what an average
man earns. We have to eat every day.”
A married worker over 40 in a midwestern cotton-dress factory contributes to the
support of herself, a crippled husband, child under 18 and a son over 18 finishing
high school.
A west coast IAM member nearly 60 years of age says: “I have been a widow for
15 years and recently remarried. I did not know my husband had been paying
$100 alimony. His ex-wife has been in and out of the hospital nearly all her life
so she needs the money. He had no money so I am trying to help pay for a
21
STUDY OF UNION WOMEN
house and a little furniture. My husband is 60 years old and a guard and must
walk 6 miles every night (swing shift). He can’t keep that up much longer so
I must work.”
A New England woman of 55 works in a textile mill to support herself and partly
supports a husband who is retired on a pension too small to cover his living
expenses.
“He’s laid off from September to April,” says one married resident of a north
central State whose work in a corset factory must support herself and husband
fully when he is not working on his part-time job. She comments: “There should
be more work for men over 50—they are reliable and anxious to work, but are
considered unfit for work.”
“Husband hasn’t worked for over 6 months, unable to get a job—and landlord has
raised the rent,” explains a cotton garment worker in a west coast factory. She
is over 45 and the mother of two children for whom she pays “tuition for school
ing and extra expenses.”
Table 4 shows details as to adult dependents of the women report
ing from various union groups.
Table 4.—Women Reporting Relationship op Dependents,
by
Union Group
Percent who supported1—
Union group
BRC
CWA
H&R
ILGWU_ ..............
IAM.................... .
TWUA
WTUL...................
Number of
women re
porting *
2,335
924
1,137
2,192
829
776
850
Other relatives—
Own
children
Mother
11
22
28
28
35
36
22
22
24
16
23
16
14
24
Father
Husband
Total
6
8
4
8
5
7
8
9
12
14
16
14
21
15
14
12
11
15
9
10
12
1
2 or more
10
8
8
10
7
8
10
4
4
3
5
2
2
2
iIn full or in part. Some women had dependents of more than one type. Some of the “other" relatives
also may be children.
* Includes some who had no dependents.
Other cases illustrating women’s responsibilities for support of
adult relatives are as follows:
A married waitress with seven children, who is nearly 40 years of age, works in a
midwest city to help support the family, since her husband, over 45, has only sea
sonal work. She explains: “The season gets shorter each year. In these days
and times children’s needs are greater so your needs are greater.”
A single woman member of the BRC, living in Missouri, maintains a household
of three, paying all the expenses except groceries, and contributes partly to the
support of her 75-year-old mother. Over 45 years of age, she has been em
ployed 20 years or longer.
“Mother needs money badly” explains a 40-year-old widow in a northeastern
city who has worked nearly 10 years. This hotel worker goes on to say that
she supports herself and her mother and adds: “I do wish we had social security
or she could have old-age assistance. She is 64 years of age.”
CHART II
WOMEN WORKERS WHO FULLY OR PARTLY SUPPORT DEPENDENTS,
to
to
BY RELATIONSHIP
BASED ON WOT WOMEN FROM SELECTED UNIONS
PERCENT OF ALL WOMEN WORKERS STUDIED
DEPENDENT MOTHERS
5
10 15 20 25
DEPENDENT HUSBANDS
5
10 15 20 25
DEPENDENT CHILDREN
5
10 15 20 25 30 35 40
BROTHERHOOD OF RAILWAY
22
AND STEAMSHIP CLERKS, AFL
DEPENDENT
FATHERS
5 10
i’6|
9
COMMUNICATIONS WORKERS
i 24
OF AMERICA, CIO
12
22:
HOTEL AND RESTAURANT
EMPLOYEES UNION, AFL
16
28
14
INTERNATIONAL LADIES'
23
GARMENT WORKERS' UNION, AFL
16 i
28 !
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION
OF MACHINISTS
TEXTILE WORKERS UNION
OF AMERICA, CIO
357
14
16
36
21
14
. 7
NATIONAL WOMEN'S TRADE
UNION LEAGUE
24
15
22
8
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
1950
23
STUDY OF UNION WOMEN
A woman of 34 in an east coast city supports her baby and sends money regularly
to her mother from her earnings as a telephone worker. She has a hard time
to make ends meet and says: “By the time I pay my bills each week sometimes I
don’t have enough for groceries and have to let the doctor bills wait. I am be
ginning to feel like a charity case. If my friends didn’t give me and my child
clothes we’d go ragged.”
DEPENDENTS OF SINGLE AND MARRIED WOMEN
The number and relationship of dependents differed considerably
for single and married women, largely because of their differing situ
ation in the family group. It is well known that dependents of mar
ried women are likely to be their children. However, many of them
also had adult dependents. Husbands were a close second to chil
dren as dependents of married women. In every union group, a tenth
or more of the married women reported their mothers as dependents.
The varying relationship of the dependents to the women workers
is shown in chart II.
For single women the most frequent dependents were their mothers.
From over a fourth to two-fifths of the single women reported they
had mothers as dependents. A considerable number of single women
had fathers to support; in six of the union groups a tenth or more of
the single women were supporting their fathers. Even more fre
quently than they supported fathers, single women also had other
dependent relatives, such as brothers or sisters, nieces or nephews,
aunts, and occasionally even an uncle or grandparent.
The average number of dependents usually was greater for the
married than for any other group of women workers, though it fre
quently was almost as great or even greater for women who were sep
arated or divorced from their husbands. It usually was slightly
smaller for single women than for any other marital group. Table
5 shows further details as to average number of dependents of the
women.
Table 5.—Number of Persons Supported 1 per Woman,
by
Union Group
Average number of persons supported by—
Union group
BEG............................................
CWA
H & K-....................................
ILGWU....................................._
IAM_________________ _____
TWUA
WTUL......... ........................... t.
Women who lived—
All wo
men re
porting In family Apart
group
1.7
1.9
1.9
2.2
2.1
2.2
2.0
1.8
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.2
2.4
2.1
i Supported in full or in part; includes self-support.
1.4
1.4
1.4
1.6
1.5
1.1
1.3
Women who were—
Single
1.6
1.6
1.6
1.9
1.6
1.6
1.6
Married Widowed
1.9
2.2
2.2
2.4
2.3
2.6
2.4
1.8
2.2
1.7
1.7
1.8
1.7
1.7
Separated
or di
vorced
2.1
2.1
1.9
2.2
2.1
2.0
1.9
24
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
The following stories illustrate situations characteristic of married
and of single women workers who supported dependents partly or
wholly:
Single Women's Dependents
An eastern ILGWU member 35 years of age lives at home with her parents. She
reports that she must support her mother "as my father is on pension and does
not get enough to make ends meet so I have to support her.”
A woman telephone operator over 40 living in an Ohio city has worked at least
20 years and supports a nearly blind sister and a brother who has been ill for
10 years.
A BRO member under 40 years of age, who lives in a west coast city and has
worked 20 years or longer, contributes all of her pay to support herself and her
sister, explaining in one brief sentence “Sister left with a family of seven
children.”
One woman over 45 working in a Connecticut textile mill supports herself and
her mother fully and also partly supports a brother who receives a pension too
small to meet fully his living expenses.
A girl 25 years of age, working in a garment factory in an east coast city sup
ports herself and partially helps a sick niece and a brother going to school.
A woman over 50 works in California as a waitress and besides supporting her
self partially supports her blind sister.
A member of the IAM, employed in a large New England city, uses all of her
income for the household because: “My sister is a widow. She has several
children. The oldest is 14 and the youngest, 5. Two are with my sister else
where. We have the other five.”
Married Women’s Dependents
A woman working in a Connecticut textile mill supports herself and an ill
daughter over 21. She has worked over 10 years and reports that her daughter
“has had three brain operations and they have been very expensive, with private
nurses.”
A 50-year-old woman ILGWU member in a west coast city supports her husband
“who has been without a job a full year.”
One woman over 60 works as a soda dispenser in an Ohio city. She supports
herself and partly supports her husband, who is nearly 70 and cannot work
because partially blind and suffering from arthritis. This is one of the families
in which the roles of housekeeper and wage earner are somewhat reversed, and
she says: “He stays at home, does what housework he can, and has my dinner
ready when I get home at night. He goes regularly to the City Hospital for
treatments.”
An IAM member from Texas helps support two stepchildren and her mother.
Under 35 years of age, she has worked at least 10 years, and states: “My hus
band has been ill for 3 years and has just returned to work in the last 8 months.
Mother is in very poor health and I have always tried to help her in any way I
could. One stepson has T. B., so our doctor and medicine bills take up all sur
plus money that we can make,”
f 25
STUDY OF UNION WOMEN
A BRC member under 30 years of age who lives in a midwestern city has helped
her husband, whose work is seasonal, to carry loans to assist members of his
family. She has been employed 9 years and when her husband was drafted
during the war she worked to support herself and her expected baby.
DEPENDENTS OF WOMEN LIVING WITH FAMILIES OR APART
A much larger proportion of women living in family households
than of those living apart were responsible for the full or partial sup
port of dependents. Of those living with their families, about twothirds or more in most of these unions had dependents, and usually
about a third, more or less, had two or more dependents.
In four of these union groups from about a fifth to nearly a third
of the women reporting lived apart from the family group. The
proportion living apart was smaller than this among the ILGWU
and the Women’s Trade Union League members reporting, and small
est of all among the TWUA members.
Usually at least a fourth of the women living apart from their
families had dependents. Among the clothing workers and machin
ists who lived apart, almost a third had dependents. Among the
textile workers, of whom fewer than in other unions lived apart from
their families, the proportion with dependents was small (about a
tenth).
In most groups appreciable proportions of the women living apart
had two or more dependents (in addition to self-support). More
than a tenth of the women living apart had two or more dependents
among the telephone and clothing workers and the machinists; ex
ceptional were the textile workers—a much smaller proportion than
in the other union groups lived apart from their families, and of
these none had as many as two dependents (besides self-support).
Table 6 shows further details as to the dependents of women living
with their families or apart.
Table 6.—Women Living
in
Family or Apart Who Supported 1 Dependents,
Union Group
Women living in family
Union group
BRC..............____....................
CWA
H & E......................................
ILGWU_____ ___________
IAM___________ _________
TWUA___
WTUL
1 In full or in part.
Number of
of women
reporting
1,836
730
774
1,858
679
681
696
Women living apart
Percent with
dependents
Any
2 or more
63
66
71
70
65
71
65
by
20
29
32
35
31
39
29
Number of
of women
reporting
476
186
336
308
150
92
146
Percent with
dependents
Any
2 or more
25
29
24
31
32
9
19
6
12
8
15
13
7
26
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
Of the women with dependents who lived in family groups the larg
est proportions in most unions were supporting children. Many also
supported mothers, husbands, or “other” relatives, and among the
CWA and BEC members reporting, the largest group with dependents
supported their mothers.
In four unions, the women living apart supported mothers and
“other” relatives more frequently than children. However, in the
other three unions child dependents were more frequent than mothers
or other relatives; there often are instances when a mother’s job re
quires her to stay in a place where she cannot keep her children, and
she may be supporting them under the care of relatives elsewhere or
in a boarding home.
Table 7 shows further details as to relationship of dependents of
women living in families or apart.
Table 7.—Relationship of Dependents Supported 1 by Women Living
Family or Apart, by Union Group
Union
group
BEC.........
CWA____
H & R___
ILGWU—
IAM_____
TWIT A
WTUL----
in
Women living in family
Women living apart
Percent who had as dependents2
Num
ber of
women
Other
report Own Mother Father Hus
rela
band
ing children
tives
Num Percent who had as dependents2
ber of
women
report Own Mother Father Other
rela
ing children
tives
1,814
726
759
1,808
676
677
678
13
26
37
31
39
41
26
26
27
19
25
16
16
26
7
8
6
9
5
8
8
11
16
20
19
17
24
18
15
12
12
15
10
11
13
471
186
332
298
149
89
141
6
8
9
9
17
5
4
a
11
8
11
13
1
13
3
5
2
4
3
4
9
11
8
16
6
3
6
1 In full or in part.
* Some women had dependents of more than one type, some had none.
WOMEN FULLY SUPPORTING DEPENDENTS
The group of women living apart, as has been shown, was very
much smaller than the group living in families. However, more defi
nite information on full and partial support of dependents can be
obtained for them than for women living in family groups, because
in the latter so often responsibilities of support are shared by two or
more family members. In most of these union groups from a fifth
to a third of the women living apart had at least one dependent (in
addition to self-support). Of those with dependents, from a fourth
to half were fully supporting at least one person besides themselves.
Among all women living apart, however, only about a tenth had full
dependents—the range in the various unions was from 6 to 17 percent,
except for one group where few women lived apart and only 3 percent
of these had dependents. The following summary shows further
details:
27
STUDY OF UNION WOMEN
Women Living Apart Who Fully
or
Partly Support Dependents
Number of
Percent with dependents—
women hv- ---------------- ---------------------mg apart
Total
Full
Partial
BRC________ _________
475
25
9
16
CWA_______________________
186
29
6
22
H & R__________________
336
24
10
13
ILGWU_________
308
31
11
20
IAM________________________
150
32
17
15
TWUA___________
92
9
3
5
WTUL______________ _______
146
19
7
12
In five unions a fourth or more of the women living away from
their families had either full or partial dependents. In these five
unions, the number of women living away from home and fully sup
porting at least one dependent was large enough to be shown sepa
rately for women who were single, widowed, and separated or
divorced.
The women living apart who usually carried the heaviest support
load were those widowed, separated, or divorced; in several unions
more than a fifth of these women fully supported one dependent or
more. Many of the single women also had full dependents—among
the clothing workers nearly a tenth of the single women living apart
were fully supporting dependents.
The following summary gives further details on this subject:
Marital Status of Women Living Apart and Fully Supporting Dependents
Number of women reporting
BRC
CWA................... ..........
H &R
ILGWU_____ _______
IAM
i Not computed; base too small.
974036—5!
-3
Single
318
126
103
116
61
Separated
or
Widowed divorced
76
77
15
45
93
130
103
78
38
50
Percent who fully
supported dependents
Separated
or
Single Widowed divorced
5
15
21
2
0
16
4
10
15
9
7
22
7
0
28
CHART III
WOMEN WORKERS WHO USE ALL OR PART OF THEIR EARNINGS
to
00
FOR SUPPORT
BASED ON 9,000 WOMEN FROM SELECTED UNIONS
HALF BUT NOT
ALL EARNINGS
SOME BUT NOT
HALF OF EARNINGS
PERCENT OF ALL WOMEN WORKERS STUDIED
IROTHERHOOD OF RAILWAY
AND STEAMSHIP CLERKS, AFL
COMMUNICATIONS WORKERS
OF AMERICA, CIO
HOTEL AND RESTAURANT
EMPLOYEES UNION, AFL
INTERNATIONAL LADIES'
GARMENT WORKERS' UNION, AFL
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION
OF MACHINISTS
TEXTILE WORKERS UNION
OF AMERICA, CIO
NATIONAL WOMEN’S TRADE
UNION LEAGUE
*
NONE
(LESS THAN I PERCENT)
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
1950
ALL EARNINGS
29
STUDY OF UNION WOMEN
PART OF EARNINGS USED FOR DAILY NEEDS
The impact of economic necessity on women who work is shown by
the high proportions using all or most of their earnings for daily
needs. Earnings spent on food, clothing, rent, medical care, and
other daily needs of the women workers and their dependents are
regarded for purposes of this report as used for current support.
Half or more of the women reporting in most of the union groups
(78 percent among the hotel and restaurant workers) used all they
earned for current support. From 70 to 90 percent used at least threefourths of their earnings for daily needs in all the groups except the
railway clerks, where the proportion was 66 percent. Only 10 per
cent of the railway clerks reporting, and even smaller percentages in
the other union groups, used less than half their earnings for daily
needs.
A picture of the proportion of their earnings required for daily
living by the members reporting in each union group is given in chart
III and table 8.
Table 8.—Proportion
op
Earnings Women Used
Group
for
Daily Needs,
by
Union
Percent who used for daily needs—
Union group
BRC....... .......................................................
CWA________ _______________________
n & r......................................................... .
ILGWU..........................................................
I AM
TWUA_____________________________
WTUL—.................................................. .
Number of
women
reporting
2,066
919
1,045
1,962
761
717
776
All
earnings
Threefourths,
but not all
Half, but
not threefourths
30
24
11
15
14
15
19
24
20
8
15
21
15
22
36
49
78
65
56
65
51
Less than
half
10
7
3
5
9
5
8
In most of the union groups from about 45 to nearly 70 percent of
the women reporting could make no saving from their earnings for
any of the special emergencies that are likely to arise in every home.
The railway clerks and telephone workers fared a little better in this
respect, but still many had no surplus earnings—about 25 percent of
the telephone workers reporting and 15 percent of the railway clerks
were unable to save from their wages.
SINGLE AND MARRIED WOMEN'S USE OF ALL WAGE FOR DAILY NEEDS
Married women to a very much larger extent than single women
used all their earnings for current support, and usually an even larger
proportion of the widowed, separated, and divorced than of the mar
ried used all their earnings for their daily living. Table 9 shows
30
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
details as to the proportions of women in the various marital groups
who used all their earnings for the daily needs of themselves and
others.
Table 9.—Marital Status of Women Who Used All Their Earnings
Daily Needs, by Union Group
Percent who used all their earnings for
daily needs
Number of women reporting
Union group
Total
Single
Mar
ried
2,034
906
1,003
1,882
759
708
752
1,026
366
188
594
166
131
276
707
378
411
913
402
426
290
BRC-___ ______
CWA
H&R
ILGWU
IAM
TWUA
WTUL
Sepa
Wid rated or
owed
di
vorced
136
39
146
174
66
96
99
for
Total
Single
Mar
ried
36
49
78
65
56
65
51
31
39
69
49
42
49
39
34
55
77
71
57
70
56
165
123
258
201
125
55
87
Sepa
Wid rated or
owed
di
vorced
59
59
82
72
66
69
60
56
(0
83
77
65
58
64
i Not computed; base too small.
USE OF ALL WAGE FOR DAILY NEEDS BY WOMEN LIVING AT HOME AND APART
In most of these union groups, the women living apart from their
families to a somewhat larger extent than those living in the family
group used all their earnings for current support. This was espe
cially true of the single woman no longer under the family rooftree,
even though as has been noted (p. 23), the dependency load was
somewhat smaller for single women than for those in other marital
groups. Table 10 shows the proportions living in families and apart
who used all their earnings for daily needs of themselves and their
dependents.
Table 10.—Living Arrangements of Women Who Used All Their Earnings
for Daily Needs, by Union Group
Union group
Number of women
reporting who
lived—
In family
BRO............... .........................
CWA
H&R
ILGWU...................................
IAM
TWUA_____ ____________
WTUL................ ....................
i
1,639
721
717
1,640
624
632
627
Apart
395
185
286
242
135
76
125
Percent who used all earnings for daily needs
among—
All women living—
In family
Apart
34
49
76
65
56
65
50
Single women living—
In family
45
50
82
67
58
61
58
28
33
63
47
38
45
35
Apart
o
41
50
76
61
48
53
Not computed; base too small.
USE OF ALL WAGE FOR DAILY NEEDS BY WOMEN OF VARIOUS AGES
The proportion of women who used all their earnings for current
support usually increased from age 20 to at least 40 and often 50 or
older. Some decrease in the proportion needing all earnings for
31
STUDY OF UNION WOMEN
bare necessities occurred after the age of 40 among the members
of the machinists union and telephone workers reporting (only small
proportions of whom were over 50), and after 50 among the railway
clerks and textile workers. This may have been due to a somewhat
lessening load of dependency, or to some increase in earnings, or to
a combination of these factors. However, the need of entire earnings
for current expenses still continued beyond 60 years of age for about
70 percent or more of the clothing and the hotel and restaurant
workers reporting in this age group and for almost half the textile
workers and railway clerks.
Two opposite situations were shown for girls under 20. In some
groups very large proportions of them used all their earnings for
daily needs; this may have been due to low earnings on starting work.
In others only very small proportions used their entire wage for cur
rent living; this may have been because many lived at home and still
had some of their living expenses carried by their families. Table 11
shows proportions of women of various ages who used all their
earnings for current support.
Table 11.—Age
Union group
BRC
CWA _____ _
H & R_
ILQWU
IAM
TWUA
WTUL
of
Women Who Used All Their Earnings
by Union Group
Number of
women re
porting
All ages
2,036
907
1,015
1,837
749
705
723
36
50
78
64
56
64
49
fob
Daily Needs,
Percent using all in specified age groups
Under 20
20 to 29
30 to 39
40 to 49
50 to 59
26
61
28
48
77
55
50
54
40
42
2 54
80
68
57
69
57
3 43
47
80
75
56
74
55
40
39
4 79
73
69
59
56
p)
«
(o
47
20
60 and
over
(3)
(3)
(?)
45
73
69
49
1 A notable decline came in the group 45 to 49 years.
2 A slight decline came in the group 35 to 39 years.
3 Not computed; base too small.
4 The decline came at ages 50 to 54, and ages 55 to 59 showed an increase over 45 to 49.
The accounts given by some women of their need for current use
of all their earnings are as follows:
“I have a son to support and no husband so I have all to pay,” explains a
29-year-old worker in a midwestern cotton-dress factory who uses all her money
to support herself and child.
A Connecticut textile factory worker under 40 has worked over 10 years and
reports her mother-in-law and two daughters as her dependents, stating that
she uses her entire pay envelope each week to “clothe my children for school
and buy food that they really need, like fruits, juices and necessary vegetables.”
An Ohio restaurant worker under 50 years of age uses all her earnings to sup
port herself and two grandchildren, aged 12 and 13. A son who cannot get
steady work stays with her most of the time and gives nothing toward expenses
of the family.
32
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
CHART IV
WOMEN WORKERS WHO ARE THE
ONLY CONTRIBUTING EARNERS
IN THEIR FAMILIES
BASED ON 7,000 WOMEN LIVING IN FAMILY
1950
PERCENT OF ALL WOMEN WORKERS
STUDIED, IN FAMILY HOUSEHOLDS
BROTHERHOOD OF RAILWAY
AND STEAMSHIP CLERKS, AFL
COMMUNICATIONS WORKERS
OF AMERICA, CIO
HOTEL AND RESTAURANT
EMPLOYEES UNION, AFL
INTERNATIONAL LADIES'
GARMENT WORKERS' UNION, AFL
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION
OF MACHINISTS
TEXTILE WORKERS UNION
OF AMERICA, CIO
NATIONAL WOMEN'S TRADE
UNION LEAGUE
33
STUDY OF UNION WOMEN
A widow about 35 years of age has worked over 5 years and is employed in
a southern textile mill. She uses all of her pay to support herself and two
children, one of whom “has asthma. Doctor’s bills are a constant expense.”
A married woman under 25 who works in an eastern clothing factory contributes
all her income to the household in order to support herself and mother and
partly support her husband. She explains: “My husband has been out of work
a lot—thus when he has no income mine is the sole support—otherwise when
he’s working we share expenses. Of course he’s been out of work so long it’s
hard to catch up. Just get going smoothly and something turns up. Expenses
go on just the same and bills pile up. Another job of short duration and bong!!
it happens again.” She adds optimistically: “We’re hoping for a better future!”
WOMEN AS SOLE EARNERS IN THEIR FAMILIES
It may come as a surprise to many people that a considerable num
ber of families in this country depend for their support entirely on
a woman earner. Census figures show that somewhat over a tenth
of all women workers are the only earners in their families. Findings
in the present study of union women as shown in chart IY, support
this figure.
^
Of the women who lived in family households and who reported
on this subject, from 13 to 21 percent were the only earners contrib
uting to the expenses of their families. The proportion of these
women who were providing the entire support for their families was
highest (about a fifth) among the hotel and restaurant workers and
the Trade Union League members.
SIZE OF FAMILIES IN WHICH WOMEN WERE SOLE EARNERS
The majority of the families in which a woman was the only con
tributing earner consisted of two persons. However, in every union
group a fourth or more of these families had three members. In most
of these unions a tenth or more were responsible for families of four
or more persons, and in every union group some of these families had
as many as five persons. Table 12 shows the number of women who
were the only earners and the size of their families.
Table
12.—Women
Who Webe Sole Family Earners
Union Group
Union group
BRC
CWA_______________________
H & R____________ ___ _
ILGWU_____________________
IAM__________________________
TWUA______ _______
_
WTUL....... ........................... ....................
by
Size
of
Family
and
Number
of women
living in
family
groups
Woman sole family
earner
Percent of women sole earners
whose familes had—
Number
Percent
2 persons 3 persons 4 persons
or more
1,644
644
707
1,729
612
656
661
235
105
148
242
90
88
128
14
16
21
14
15
13
19
65
59
59
57
52
60
67
25
29
32
29
25
33
23
10
12
9
14
23
7
10
34
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
SOLE FAMILY EARNERS BY MARITAL STATUS
Sole family earners were in considerably larger proportions among
the widowed, separated, or divorced than among women of other mari
tal groups. However, more than a tenth of the single women were the
only earners contributing to the family upkeep—in three unions a fifth
of the single women were sole family earners. Even among married
women, an appreciable proportion were the only earners in their
families, as the following summary shows:
Sole Family Earners,
BRC_________ ____
CWA________ _____
H & R_______ _____
ILGWU______ ____
IAM________ _____
TWUA_______ _____
WTUL_______ _____
by
Marital Status
Percent who were sole family earners among—■
Separated
Married Widowed or divorced
Total
Single
45
47
14
16
3
0
45
16
21
5
49
7
45
21
23
46
30
12
9
14
C)
40
6
20
15
34
54
7
14
13
48
12
13
46
19
1 Not computed; base too small.
The numbers are too small to give reliable data on the size of family
supported by women according to their marital status, except in the
case of the clothing workers. As the following summary shows, the
percentage of clothing workers reporting who wTere entirely respon
sible for families of four or five persons was highest among married
women:
Clothing Workers’ Families With Woman Sole Earner
Percent of families having—
Total _ ______
Single
_
Married- __ __ _____
Widowed, separated or
-__ _____
divorced-
Number of
families
242
64
83
S
members
57
67
55
3
members
29
27
22
4 or 5
members
14
6
23
95
52
38
10
The stories of some of the women who were the only contributors in
their families were as follows:
One of the BRO members in a southwestern city is a single woman past 40 years
of age who is the sole support of herself and her mother, and has been a worker
for 20 years or longer. Her mother “is over 70 years of age and has a very seri
ous heart ailment which required her to go to the hospital twice last year for a
week or 10 days each time and be under the constant care of a heart specialist.”
STUDY OF UNION WOMEN
35
A worker in a west coast cotton-garment factory is the sole support of a family
of four—a daughter and two grandchildren besides herself. She is under 50
years of age and has worked 20 or more years.
A midwestern waitress is the sole support of a household of three—herself, her
child and a 67-year-old mother who is not eligible for social security. She is
over 40 and has been a worker at least 20 years. There is no income from any
source but her earnings, and it takes all she can make for the family upkeep.
A widowed Wisconsin mother of 44 who works in a telephone exchange is the
sole support of her four children, and has worked to support them since her
husband’s death some 4 years ago. She says “being a mother and working is
mighty hard.”
A widowed factory worker of 44 years, who is an IAM member employed in
California, is the sole support of her son and self. She says: “My dependent
is my little son. I have to pay his doctor bills and take care of him.”
A single woman under 35 years of age who supports her mother by her work
in a garment factory in an eastern city says: “Since I am the only one capable
of working I am the only means of support for both of us. Supporting two
people and maintaining a home takes all the income I am capable of earning.”
A Rhode Island textile worker 65 years of age has been a widow for nearly 25
years and is the sole support of herself and a crippled daughter 33 years old.
A single woman past 45 years of age who reports as a BRC member is the only
support of herself and an 80-year-old mother. She has worked 20 years or
longer and says: “I have never known what it is like to have my entire salary
to keep for myself,” adding that she has “also raised three younger brothers
and sisters until they were self-supporting.”
An Ohio hotel service worker over 65 is the sole support of herself and her
75-year-old husband, to whom she has been married over 40 years. She says:
“When I was laid off last June, I could not find work because I reached 65. 1
asked for social security. They could give me $22.69 a month. I have to pay
$32 rent a month. Well, I could get nowhere on that amount. X was idle
for 3 months and was called back at my present job. Thank God.”
Since her sister is ill, a 55-year-old worker in a west coast underwear factory
is the sole support of their home. Both she and her sister are widows and the
sister has a serious heart ailment. She does not have children and is de
pendent. She lives with me and I contribute fully to her support.”
A BRC member living in an east coast city fully supports herself, child, and
mother in addition to sending her child to school. A young woman under 30,
she has been working more than 10 years.
A hotel worker under 35 in a leading eastern city is the sole support of herself,
two children and also her husband; she also wants to help her two children by
a former marriage. Though they do not live with her, she buys some of their
clothes and other incidentals.
An IAM member living in the southwest is the only support of herself and her
18-year-old daughter “who is the mother of two small children, a girl 1 year
old and a boy 2 years old. Her husband deserted her and the babies.
36
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
WOMEN AS EARNERS SHARING IN FAMILY SUPPORT
Besides the women who were the only earners contributing to the
support of their families, most others who lived with their families
regularly gave a share to the group expenses, some of them a substan
tial part of their earnings. This was true whether they were mar
ried or single. Almost all the women in this study who lived at home
contributed regularly to the family funds, as table 13 shows.
Table 13.—Women Living
in Family and Contributing Regularly, by
Status and Union Group
Number
of
women
reporting
Union group
BRO_______ ____ _________—........ .
CWA__________________________ —
H & R____________________________
ILGWU---------- ----------------------------IAM________________ _____________
TWUA
WTUL----- ---------------- -------------------
1,598
648
622
1,657
602
622
613
Marital
Percent who contribute regularly to the family
expenses among—
All
women
Single
Sepa
Married Widowed rated or
divorced
98
97
96
99
98
97
95
96
98
98
99
99
99
96
94
99
99
99
99
100
96
100
w
99
100
(o
100
98
«
98
99
97
100
100
98
i Not computed; base too small.
The majority of these families had one other earner in addition to
the woman reporting, some had two other earners, and from a tenth to
a fifth had three earners or more. The following summary shows the
number of earners contributing to families in which the women shared
in the expenses.
Number or Contributors
BRC______________
CWA_____________
H & R___________
ILGWU___________
IAM______________
TWUA____________
WTUL____________
i
_______
_______
_______
_______
_______
_______
_______
in
Family
Number of
Percent who shared 1
women reportsupport as 1 of—
ing who
contributed
S or more
contribto family
S contributors
utors
expenses
66
19
1, 608
17
67
639
700
69
10
1,715
68
18
13
72
608
67
19
653
14
66
644
For women sole earners, see table 12.
Many more of the married than of the single women workers were
sharing in the family support with one other earner.
However, when the size of two-earner families in which the woman
earner reporting was a single woman is compared with the size of those
in which she was a married woman, it appears that a higher percentage
37
STUDY OF UNION WOMEN
of single women than of married were, with the help of one other
person, supporting families consisting of four or more persons. This
holds true in all four of the union groups reporting sufficient data for
comparison.
Married
and
Single Women
in
2-Earner Families
of
Various Sizes
Percent with families ofMARRIED WOMEN
BRC
CWA
H & R_________________
ILGWU________________
IAM
TWUA.________________
WTUL_________________
..
..
..
..
..
..
women
reporting % persons
556
62
274
48
347
46
758
37
330
32
341
29
236
44
S persons
26
20
26
28
30
26
22
4 persons
or more
12
32
28
35
38
45
34
43
37
31
30
35
35
57
51
SINGLE WOMEN1
BRC
CWA
ILGWU________________
WTUL_________________
..
..
..
__
437
Ill
286
132
22
28
12
19
1 Report shown for union groups with as many as 100 families reporting where single woman was one of
two contributing earners.
Instances of family sharing in the household upkeep are very nu
merous and might be expected to be the usual situation where several
members are earners. Some of the kinds of families in which women
earners contribute a substantial share of the expenses are indicated by
such cases as the following.
One garment worker supports three people (herself, mother, father) In a house
hold of six and reports: “My husband and I are both working as I take care of
my mother and father (full support). And we have two children: a boy 10
years old and a girl 4 years old.”
A New England TWUA member who is over 50 years of age lives in a household
of three. Her two sons over 18 also work, but she says: “Between the three of
us we just about make enough to cover expenses.”
“Everybody in the family (four in household) contributes toward father’s sup
port and I help support my niece and my daughter who is 3% years old,” com
ments one worker in a west coast underwear factory.
A married BRC member explains that her “husband is in a sanitarium and
it has cost a small 'fortune to go out to visit him or have him come home on
weekends.” A young woman under 30 and working less than 10 years, she is
one of two contributors paying expenses for a household of six. She continues:
"Sister earns just enough to keep herself and my brother in clothing and in
school. She also pays my brother’s medical fees and I board them both. Sister
is 19 and started working only last summer so she doesn’t earn much. Brother
is 16.”
38
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
A TWUA member who works in a southern factory is over 50 years of age and
has been employed 20 years or longer. She lives in a household of four gen
erations and reports supporting herself fully and contributing to her mother’s,
child’s and grandchild’s support. “I pay all family expenses except groceries
and fuel,” says this employee, “my husband does not work full time and I only
get 4 days part of the time.”
A married ILGWU member who works on sportswear in a western city reports
that her “husband has been ill and cannot do heavy work. He works a few
hours a day and my daughter works and also helps us with bills.” This worker
pays 75 percent of the household expenses.
A New England TWUA member 50 years of age supports herself and her husband
because he has undertaken a small business for himself and must use any profit
to enlarge the business. She says: “I have to put all my pay into the home for
rent, gas, electricity, groceries, insurance, and this will go on for the next 5
years.”
METHODS OF CONTRIBUTING TO FAMILY EXPENSES
The women reporting who furnished part of the support of their
families did this in different ways. From 40 to over 50 percent
regularly put what they gave into a common family fund to meet ex
penses. Usually a tenth or more paid board only, and so could not be
considered as contributing to more than their own expenses. How
ever, among the hotel and restaurant workers, the proportion of those
who only paid board was smaller (7 percent). Especially large pro
portions paid board only among the Trade Union League members
(not far from a fifth) and the BRC members reporting (over a
fourth).
In most of these union groups, about a fifth of the women reporting
regularly took care of particular family expenses, some of them pay
ing board in addition. The special cost most usually assumed by
women workers, according to these reports, is the purchase of gro
ceries for the family. Next in importance comes the payment of the
bills for utilities such as electricity, fuel, or gas. Many of these
women workers pay the rent, others pay the telephone bill. Ex
penses for doctors, hospital bills, drug-store supplies, and other medi
cal care needs of the family are among the bills often paid by the
woman worker. Some women pay for the mortgage or repairs on
the home. Some purchase necessary clothing, others carry the in
surance. A number of other family expenses are reported taken care
of by the women workers, though these appear somewhat less fre
quently; they include, among others, costs for maid, laundry, cleaning
and tailoring, car, education, magazines or other reading matter,
and amusements or recreation.
When women put their contributions to family expenses into a com
mon household fund it is particularly difficult to size up the full ex
tent of their share in family support; to do so would involve analysis
39
STUDY OF UNION WOMEN
of the common shared fund in the light of all family income and ex
penditures. Married women to a much larger extent than single
women use this method of helping with the family finances. About
two-thirds of the married women contribute in this way, but among
the single women reporting only the clothing workers had more than
a third who used this method. Difficulty in assessing the woman’s
share in family support also occurs when she regularly takes care of
particular expenses such as groceries, the amounts of which vary
widely with economic changes and changing needs in the family.
Larger proportions of the married than of the single women reporting
make their contributions by regularly taking over special family ex
penses. Few married women but from a third to a half of the single
women are responsible only for paying their own board to the family.
Table 14 shows the kinds of contributions to family support made by
the women reporting.
Table 14.—Method
of Contributing to Family Reported
Married Women, by Union Group
by
Single
and
Percent of women—
Union group and marital status
Contribut
ing to com
mon house
hold fund
Paying
board only
42
50
49
52
49
53
45
27
15
7
13
15
11
19
16
19
21
20
21
22
15
15
16
23
15
15
14
21
26
30
27
47
23
32
35
46
32
31
28
48
42
38
11
17
18
13
10
12
14
17
21
24
12
19
14
13
70
69
67
63
64
64
67
5
3
2
3
2
2
3
21
23
24
25
28
27
17
4
5
Paying
particular
expense»
Sole con
tributor
All women reporting
BRC___________
CWA_____________ __
H&R___ __
ILQWU........................
IAM________________
TWUA_________
WTUL.................
Single women
BRC____ _______
CWA ___ ___ _
H & R_________
ILGWU________
IAM___________
TWUA___________
WTUL_____
Married women
BRC.......... ..........................
CWA______
H&R__________ _
ILQWU__________
IAM____ ____
TWUA_________
WTUL.....................
1 A few of these also pay board.
9
6
7
13
40
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
ECONOMIC RESPONSIBILITIES OF WOMEN WORKERS, BY MARITAL
STATUS
SINGLE WOMEN WORKERS
For young women to enter employment after they leave school has
become a well-established custom. According to a recent census re
port on the subject, half of the single women in the population are
in the labor force—a much larger proportion than in any other
marital group. The idea is generally accepted that the single woman
will develop competence in her chosen line of work and support
herself with her earnings. Frequently she also supports others, or
contributes substantially to family expenses.
The questionnaires as to their economic responsibilities answered
by members of seven union groups included replies from more than
3,000 single women workers. Of these, 98 to 100 percent reported
they were working primarily to support themselves, or themselves
and others. Half to two-thirds of these single women said they
worked chiefly to support themselves, proportions larger than among
other marital groups in most unions. A third to half of them were
working to support others as well as themselves, proportions usually
smaller than among other marital groups. (See table 16.)
More than a fourth of the single women reporting were fully or
partly supporting their mothers, and in three unions this was true of
a third or more. About a tenth had fathers dependent on them (in
one union 17 percent) ; and more than a tenth contributed to the
support of other relatives, such as sisters, nieces or nephews, and so
forth. The summary following shows further details.
Relationship
of
Persons Supported 1
BRC____ ______________
CWA_________________
H & R________________
ILGWU_______________
IAM______
TWUA________________
WTUL________________
Number of
women
reporting
1, 169
369
211
677
186
146
307
bt
Single Women
Percent who supported
Other
Mother
Father relatives
27
8
14
28
12
15
27
10
17
41
17
23
29
10
15
32
14
16
36
12
13
1 In full or In part.
About two-thirds of the single women used at least three-fourths of
their earnings for current living expenses. In most of the union
groups about 40 to 50 percent used all their earnings for current needs.
(See table 9.)
Ninety-five percent or more of the single women workers who lived
with their families made regular contributions from their earnings to
the family’s expenses. From about a third to half of them paid board
STUDY OF UNION WOMEN
41
only. Usually from about a fourth to a third put money into a com
mon household fund. Over a tenth regularly paid particular family
expenses, as for example those for groceries, rent, or utilities such as
electricity, fuel, or gas. This sometimes was in addition to paying
board. (See table 14.)
More than a tenth of these single women were the only earners con
tributing to expenses of their families. Among the telephone oper
ators and the hotel and restaurant workers, more than a fifth of the
single women reporting were the sole contributing earners. Most of
the families in which a single woman was the only earner consisted of
two persons, but in several unions a fifth or more of these families
had three members and some had four or more. In about half the
families of single women the woman worker shared expenses with one
other person, and these tended to be larger families than where the
single woman was the only earner. They generally consisted of three
persons, but in three union groups over a third of these families had
five or more members.
More than 20 percent of these single women lived apart from their
families, except in two unions where there were only about 15 percent.
In most unions 20 percent or more of the single women living apart
reported that they fully or partly supported relatives.
MARRIED WOMEN WORKERS
Marriage does not necessarily relieve the woman worker of the
economic responsibility she formerly carried. Building a home and
raising a family is more than likely to increase her support load, as
well as that of her husband. The most recent census figures on this
subject show that about a fourth of all this country’s married women
are in the labor force. While this is a smaller proportion than among
members of any other marital group, still it indicates the considerable
financial part the married woman takes in her family’s upkeep.
Replies made by women members of seven union groups to the
questionnaires on their economic responsibilities include those of more
than 3,800 married women workers; 60 to 80 percent reported they
were working primarily to support themselves or themselves and
others. (See table 16.)
From 40 to almost 60 percent of the married women reported that
they were working primarily to support others as well as themselves.
In every union group a considerably larger proportion of married than
of single women were working to support dependents.
Usually somewhat less than a fifth of the married women, but more
than a fourth among the telephone operators, were at work chiefly
to support themselves. From a fourth to half of the married women
(two-thirds of the married railway clerks) were working to aid in the
major family objective of buying a home. Outstanding among other
42
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
special reasons why married women remained in the labor force was
the plan to give their children a good education; this was reported as
a chief reason for working by 14 to 26 percent.
In most unions a third or more of the married women workers re
ported that they fully or partly supported their children. Almost
half the married women reporting in the machinists’ and textile work
ers’ unions had child dependents. In every union, more than a fourth
of the married women reported that they were contributing to the sup
port of their husbands for one reason or another. A tenth or more
of the married women (in one union more than a fifth) were supporting
their mothers. Very roughly, a tenth had dependents in other rela
tionships. For details see the following summary.
Relationship
BRC__________
CWA..................
H & R________
ILGWU_______
IAM__________
TWUA________
WTUL________
op
Persons Supported 1
by
Married Women
Percent who supported—
Number of--------------------------------------—-------------women
Other
reporting Children Husband Mother Father relatives
772
18
26
17
4
12
381
31
30
21
6
10
436
35
35
12
5
9
1,000
40
35
15
5
12
436
45
27
10
3
8
459
48
36
11
6
9
307
35
40
16
5
13
1 In full or in part.
More married women workers than single gave all their earnings
to the support of their families. In most unions two-thirds or more
of the married women needed three-fourths of their earnings for cur
rent living expenses, and from a half to more than three-fourths used
all their earnings for current expenses. (See table 9.)
Nearly all (94 percent or more) of the married women workers
made regular contributions from their earnings to the support of
their families. Some were the only earners contributing to the sup
port of their family. The proportion of married women reporting
who were the only family earners ran up to almost a tenth among
the clothing workers and to 13 percent among WTUL members. (See
p.34.)
...
Roughly two-thirds of the married women reporting on this subject
put their contributions to the family into a common household fund.
Most of the others paid regularly for special family expenses, in par
ticular for groceries, or sometimes for children’s clothing, medical
care, rent, or utilities such as gas, electricity, or fuel. A few, 5 percent
or less, paid only their own board. (See table 14.)
There were many two-person families where both members worked
and shared the support. However, from 20 to 30 percent of the
married women sharing support with one other were in families of
STUDY OF UNION WOMEN
43
three, and a proportion ranging from 12 percent of the railway
clerks to 45 percent of the textile workers were in families of four
persons or more. (See p. 37.)
WIDOWED, SEPARATED, OR DIVORCED WOMEN WORKERS
The woman who is widowed, separated, or divorced may be thrown
on her own resources to support herself, and sometimes also her child
ren. She may have the benefit of insurance or alimony, but unless
she has other independent income this may not relieve her of economic
responsibilities. Recent census data on this subject show that over
a third of the widowed and divorced group and almost half of
those separated from their husbands are in the labor force. These
are proportions smaller than among single women and considerably
larger than among married women.
The questionnaires as to their economic responsibilities answered
by members of seven union groups include replies from nearly 850
widows and over 1,100 separated or divorced women. These show
that in both of these groups 97 percent or more were working to sup
port themselves or themselves and others, which is much the same as
with the single women.
Of the widows, from a third to nearly half reported that they
worked to support dependents—a proportion usually smaller than
among married women, and larger than among single women. From
half to two-thirds of the widows reporting worked to support them
selves only. (See table 16.)
Of the separated or divorced women half to two-thirds reported
that they worked to support dependents, proportions often con
siderably larger than in any other marital group. A third to half
of those separated or divorced worked chiefly to support themselves
only; this was a considerably larger proportion than among married,
and a very much smaller proportion than among widows or single
women. Providing education for their children was the chief reason
for working given by separated or divorced women to a considerably
greater extent than by widows.
The separated or divorced women reporting were supporting their
children to a much greater extent than women of any other marital
group—40 to 55 percent of them had child dependents. These sep
arated or divorced women also supported their mothers to a much
greater extent than widows or married women—from over a tenth
to a fourth had their mothers as dependents.
Roughly a fourth of the widows reporting had their children as
dependents. Usually over a tenth of the widows were fully or partly
supporting their mothers—proportions in several unions very similar
to those for married women but always very much less than for single
women. The following summary shows further details.
974036—52---------- 4
44
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
Relationship
op
Persons Supported 1
or
by
Widowed
and by
Number of
Percent who supported—
Children
Mother
Father
Other
relatives
156
39
166
201
72
103
112
24
(2)
23
23
26
27
28
15
(2)
11
10
13
5
17
5
(2)
2
4
3
2
2
21
(2)
16
14
13
14
11
188
123
275
228
131
58
93
40
53
40
51
55
47
41
24
23
15
19
18
16
18
6
4
2
5
3
14
9
11
17
5
5
9
reporting
WIDOWED WOMEN
BRC
CWA
H &R
ILGWU
IAM_______
TWUA
WTUL
Separated
Divorced Women
SEPARATED OR
DIVORCED women
BRC.____ ______
CWA
H & R
ILGWU
IAM________
.
TWUA
WTUL
5
1 In full or in part.
2 Not computed ; base too small.
Among both the widowed and the separated or divorced women
reporting, from 80 to over 90 percent used at least three-fourths of
their earnings for current living expenses. This was considerably
larger than the proportion of either married or single women who
required so much of their earnings for current expenses. Usually
about 60 to 70 percent of the women reporting in each of these groups
spent their entire earnings for current living costs. (See table 9.)
Ninety-seven percent or more of the widowed, separated, or divorced
women who lived in family groups contributed regularly to the fam
ily expenses. At least a third of them, and in some unions half or
more were the only earners contributing to the family support. The
proportion who were sole earners was larger than among married
and usually larger than among single women; from about 40 to nearly
50 percent of the widowed, separated, or divorced women were shar
ing the family expenses with one other earner. Among the garment
workers particularly, families with a widowed, separated, or divorced
woman as one of two earners tended to be large, about half of them
consisting of four or more persons, and more than a fifth having
at least five persons.
45
STtrtoY OF UNION WOMEN
REASONS GIVEN FOR WORKING
Support of themselves or themselves and others was, of course,
the primary reason for working given by the great majority of the
women reporting. However, many also worked for additional ob
jectives that were important to them. In several of the union groups
at least a fifth of the women were working to buy a home. The
proportions looking forward to home buying were somewhat smaller
among members of the WTUL, ILGWU, and H & It workers; they
were largest among the BRC and IAM members, where well over
a fourth of those reporting were buying or planning to buy homes.
About a tenth of the women in these union groups were working
to educate children. The proportion was smallest (less than a tenth)
among the WTUL and BRC members reporting, largest (not far
from a fifth) among the IAM members. A very small proportion
said they worked to keep in practice, or because of satisfaction in
having a job. The proportion listing satisfaction in the job as a
reason was highest—about 3 percent—among members of the BRC,
CWA, and WTUL.
Table
15.—Chief Reasons fob Wobking, bt Union Gbotjp and Living
Abbangements
Percent1 of women reporting who gave specified reasons
umei reason ana living arrangement
BEC
All women reporting:
Support self only_____ _____ ____
Support self and others_____ _____
Buy home
Educate children___
-.........
Have money for special purposes...
Women living with family:
Support self only____ ______
Support self and others
Buy home. ___________________
Educate children_____ ____ ___
Have money for special purposes...
Women living apart:
Support self only----------------------Support self and others.—.............. .
Buy home. .............. ........................
Educate children.......... ............. .......
Have money for special purposes...
ilowu
IAM
TWUA WTUL
CWA
H&E
46
40
28
8
17
42
49
24
13
13
42
46
15
11
6
33
54
15
11
11
33
47
28
17
13
33
61
20
15
13
42
47
12
7
12
38
45
34
9
19
33
55
28
16
14
26
57
20
14
8
27
59
17
13
12
25
51
32
20
15
26
57
22
16
13
34
53
14
8
13
78
22
7
2
5
73
26
5
3
8
78
21
3
4
2
72
28
5
3
3
70
30
8
4
5
91
7
3
2
8
83
17
1
1
6
1 Some women gave more than one reason, and some gave other reasons not shown.
Some women, over a tenth in most union groups, reported working
for a great variety of special purposes, usually in addition to support
of themselves and their dependents. In most of the union groups,
the special purpose for working most frequently reported by these
women workers was the payment of doctor, hospital, or other medicalcare bills. An especially large proportion gave these as reasons for
working among the TWUA, the IAM, the H & R, and the ILGWU
members. Many were providing furnishings for their homes, or carry
ing the mortgage, payments on the home, or home-repair bills. Many
46
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
were putting what they could into savings “for old age” or for family
emergencies. Some were paying the costs for keeping up a car, often
so necessary for the workers’ transportation, and other family
business.
REASONS GIVEN BY WOMEN LIVING IN FAMILY OR APART
Self-support was the dominating reason for work among women
living apart from their families and was given as the chief reason for
working much more frequently by these women than by women living
with their families. On the other hand, women living with their
families more often reported their chief reason for working as support
of themselves and others. Despite this, in most of these union groups
more than a fifth of the women living apart gave support of others as
well as self as a chief reason for working. Buying a home, educating
children, and working for some special purpose were given to a con
siderably greater extent by women living with their families than by
those living apart, as table 15 shows.
REASONS GIVEN BY MARRIED AND SINGLE WOMEN
Support of themselves and often of others as well was their chief
reason for working given by practically all the single women. Family
support was also the chief reason given by 60 to 80 percent of the mar
ried women. Single women were more likely to give self-support as
their chief reason for working. On the other hand, more married
W'omen gave the support of others besides themselves as their chief
reason for working.
Table 16.—Chief Reasons fob Working, by Union Group and Marital Status
Percent1 of women reporting who gave specified reasons
Chief reasons and marital status
BRC
Single:
Support self only____ ___ ___
Support self and others_____ _.
Buy home ...
Have money for special purposes. -.
Married:
Support self only__________ ____
Support self and others___
___
Buy home..........................................
Educate children
Have money for special purposesWidowed:
Support self only_______________
Support self and others___ ____ _
Buy home
Educate children____
Have money for special purposes.
Separated or divorced:
Support self only
Support self and others__
Buy home ..
Educate children
Have money for special purposes...
65
34
6
9
CWA
(2)
18
42
66
15
32
54
46
12
12
3
38
61
18
24
6
59
40
5
H&R ILGWU
IAM
TWUA WTUL
12
64
35
3
2
1
8
7
8
11
27
54
47
22
17
21
51
30
16
13
17
58
28
19
17
16
46
47
26
20
16
59
31
21
17
19
54
26
14
19
56
43
5
7
1
62
38
5
7
3
59
42
9
11
3
66
33
2
7
7
55
42
1
5
5
49
49
4
11
3
34
65
3
14
2
34
65
7
15
4
42
58
9
15
2
45
52
5
7
2
m
m
«
(3)
w
35
64
8
23
5
(2)
49
50
3
62
39
4
1 Some women gave more than one reason, and some gave other reasons not shown.
a Percent not shown where less than 1.
3 Not computed; base too small.
61
39
3
59
39
3
STUDY OF UNION WOMEN
47
Other reasons for working most frequently given by married women
were to buy a home and to educate children. From almost half to
four-fifths of the married women in various union groups gave one or
both of these as their reasons for working. By the single women, on
the other hand, the most frequent reason given besides support of self
and others was to have money for special purposes. A small propor
tion of the single women also were using their earnings toward pur
chase of a home. Among the women in the machinists union, a tenth
of the single women living apart from families were working to buy
homes. Of two reasons not given so often as those already discussed,
satisfaction in having a job was given more frequently by single than
by married women in all but two unions; and the desire to keep their
skills in practice usually was given more often by married than by
single women.
•
REASONS GIVEN BY WOMEN OF DIFFERENT AGES
Within the various age groups, the largest proportions of women
reporting support of self and others as a chief reason for working
were 30 to 34 years of age in three union groups, 35 to 39 in the other
four. Home-buying as a chief reason for working was most frequently
reported by women in groups over 35 among the telephone workers,
clothing workers, and members of the machinists union; by women
in age groups under 35 among textile and hotel workers. Both older
and younger women among railway clerks and Trade Union League
members gave home-buying as an objective. Education of children
as a chief reason for working was given most frequently by women
35 to 39 years of age in five union groups, but among textile workers
and Trade Union League members, by a slightly older group.
48
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
SUMMARY ON WOMEN WORKERS AND FAMILY SUPPORT AS
REPORTED BY EACH COOPERATING UNION
BROTHERHOOD OF RAILWAY AND STEAMSHIP CLERKS, FREIGHT HANDLERS, EXPRESS AND STATION
EMPLOYES, AFL
Over 2,350 women members of the Brotherhood of Railway and
Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express and Station Employes
replied to questionnaires. They reported the following facts.
Most of them work because they must support themselves and often
dependents.
Of every 100 women who reported, 48 women support or partly sup
port dependents in addition to supporting themselves. Some have
more than one dependent.
The women reporting supported various relatives—
'their children
11
their mothers
22
9 percent support their husbands
their fathers
6
other relatives.
14
Daily living takes all or nearly all the earnings of most of these
women. Of every 100 women wTho reported—
66 use three-fourths or more of their wages for daily living and
36 use all their wages for daily living.
More married than single women who reported use all their earnings
for daily living.
Daily living takes all the wages of—
single women
31
married
women
34 in every 100
women
who
are widowed, separated, or divorced.
57
Daily living takes three-fourths or more of the wages of—
single women
,
63
married
women
60 in every 100
women who are widowed, separated, or divorced.
89
A larger proportion of women in age groups 35 and over than in
younger age groups use all their wages for daily living—
under 25 years
24'
25 to 34 years
35
47 in 100 women 35 to 44 years
45 to 54 years
38
55 years and over.
44
49
STUDY OF UNION WOMEN
Some of these women are the only earners in their households. Of
every 100 women who reported they live in family households, 14 are
the only earners contributing to the family support.
In every 100 families where a woman is the only earner—
'2 persons
65
25 families have 3 persons
10
4 persons or more.
For almost all these women work is a necessity. Of every 100 women
who reported, 86 said their chief reason for working is to support
themselves and often dependents as well.
These replies were given by women members in the following cities:
Albany
Atlanta
Baltimore
Chicago
Dallas
Denver
Detroit
Houston
Louisville
Minneapolis
Mobile
Omaha
Philadelphia
Portland (Oreg.)
Richmond (Ya.)
San Francisco
St. Louis
St. Paul
Topeka
COMMUNICATIONS WORKERS OF AMERICA, CIO
About 925 women members of the Communications Workers of
America, CIO, replied to questionnaires and reported the following
facts. All were in the traffic department.
Most of them work because they must support themselves and often
dependents. Of every 100 women who reported, 58 women support
or partly support dependents in addition to supporting themselves.
Some have more than one dependent.
The women reporting supported various relatives—
221
their children
24
their mothers
12 percent support their husbands
8
their fathers
12
other relatives.
Daily living takes all or nearly all the earnings of most of these
women. Of every 100 women who reported—
73 use three-fourths or more of their wages for daily living
and
49 use all their wages for daily living.
More married than single women who reported use all their earnings
for daily living.
50
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
Daily living takes all the wages of—
single women
39
55 in every 100 married women
women who are widowed, separated, or divorced.
58
Daily living takes three-fourths or more of the wages of—
single women
67
74 in every 100 married women
women who are widowed, separated, or divorced.
85
About half or more of the women reporting in the various age
groups use all their wages for daily living—
481
20 to 29 years
54 in 100 at ages. 30 to 39 years
47J
40 to 49 years.
Some of these women are the only earners in their households. Of
every 100 women who reported they live in family households, 16 are
the only earners contributing to the family support.
In every 100 families where a woman is the only earner—
2 persons
59
29 families have 3 persons
12
4 persons or more.
For almost all these women, work is a necessity. Of every 100
women who reported, 91 said their chief reason for working is to
support themselves and often dependents as well.
These replies were given by women members in the following cities:
Atlanta
Cincinnati
Denver
Milwaukee
Minneapolis
San Antonio
San Francisco
Washington, D. C.
HOTEL AND RESTAURANT EMPLOYEES AND BARTENDERS INTERNATIONAL UNION, AFL
About 1,150 women members of the Hotel and Restaurant Employees
and Bartenders International Union, AFL, replied to questionnaires
and reported the following facts.
Most of them work because they must support themselves and often
dependents. Of every 100 women who reported, 56 women support
or partly support dependents in addition to supporting themselves.
Some have more than one dependent.
STUDY OF UNION WOMEN
51
The women reporting supported various relatives—
28'
their children
16
their mothers
14 percent support their husbands
4
their fathers
11
other relatives.
Daily living takes all or nearly all the earnings of most of these
women. Of every 100 women who reported—
89 use three-fourths or more of their wages for daily living
and
78 use all their wages for daily living.
More married than single women who reported use all their earn
ings for daily living.
Daily living takes all the wages of—
691
single women
77 in every 100 married women
82J
women who are widowed, separated, or divorced.
Daily living takes three-fourths or more of the wages of—
81
single women
89 in every 100 married women
93
women who are widowed, separated, or divorced.
More than three-fourths of the women reporting in the various age
groups use all their wages for daily living—
77
120 to 29 years
80 in 100 women 130 to 39 years
80
40 to 49 years
79
50 to 59 years.
Some of these women are the only earners in their households. Of
every 100 women who reported they live in family households, 21 are
the only earners contributing to family support.
In every 100 families where a woman is the only earner—
59
2 persons
32 families have. 3 persons
9
4 persons or more.
For almost all these women work is a necessity. Of every 100 women
who reported, 88 said their chief reason for working is to support
themselves and often dependents as well.
These replies were given by women members in the following locals:
Boston—Locals 112, 186.
Cincinnati—Local 363.
Los Angeles—Local 639.
Peoria—Local 744.
Providence—Locals 307, 544.
St. Louis—Local 249.
San Francisco—Locals 110, 283.
Wilkes-Barre—Local 154.
Worcester—Local 95.
52
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
INTERNATIONAL LADIES' GARMENT WORKERS’ UNION, AFL
About 2,225 women members of the International Ladies’ Garment
Workers’ Union, AFL, replied to questionnaires and reported the fol
lowing facts.
Most of them work because they must support themselves and often
dependents. Of every 100 women who reported, 61 women support
or partly support dependents in addition to supporting themselves.
Some have more than one dependent.
The women reporting supported various relatives—
their children
28'
their mothers
23
16 percent support their husbands
their fathers
8
other relatives.
15
Daily living takes all or nearly all the earnings of most of these
women. Of every 100 women who reported—
80 use three-fourths or more of their wages for daily living
and
65 use all their wages for daily living.
More married than single women who reported use all their earnings
for daily living.
Daily living takes all the wages of—
single women
49
71 in every 100 married women
women who are widowed, separated, or divorced.
74
Daily living takes three-fourths or more of the wages of—
single women
70
83 in every 100 married women
women who are widowed, separated, or divorced.
89
More than half the women reporting in all age groups and threefourths of those 40 and over use all their wages for daily living.
20 to 29 years
55
30 to 39 years
68
in 100 women
40 to 49 years
75
73
50 to 59 years.
Some of these women are the only earners in their households.
Of every 100 women who reported they live in family households,
14 are the only earners contributing to the family support.
STUDY OF UNION WOMEN
53
In every 100 families where a woman is the only earner—
57'
2 persons
29 families have 3 persons
14
4 persons or more.
For almost all these women work is a necessity. Of every 100
women who reported, 87 said their chief reason for working is to
support themselves and often dependents as well.
These replies were given by women members in the following locals:
Chicago area—Locals 76, 286.
Fall River—Local 178.
Los Angeles—Locals 266, 496, 497.
New York—Locals 22, 62, 89,142.
St. Louis—Locals 104, 182, 203, 336,
anil Consolidated Local.
San Francisco—Locals 8,101, 352.
Wilkes-Barre—Locals 249, 295.
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS
About 850 women members of the International Association of
Machinists answered questionnaires and reported the following facts.
Most of them work because they must support themselves and often
dependents. Of every 100 women who reported, 59 women support
or partly support dependents in addition to supporting themselves.
Some have more than one dependent.
The women reporting supported various relatives—
351
'their children
16
their mothers
14 percent support their husbands
their fathers
5
9
other relatives.
Daily living takes all or nearly all the earnings of most of these
women. Of every 100 women who reported—
70 use three-fourths or more of their wages for daily living
and
56 use all their wages for daily living.
More married than single women who reported use all their earnings
for daily living.
Daily living takes all the wages of—
421
[single women
57 in every 100 married women
66
women who are widowed, separated, or divorced.
Daily living takes three-fourths or more of the wages of—
single women
61
67 in every 100 married women
86
women who are widowed, separated, or divorced.
54
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
Half or more of the women reporting in the various age groups use
all their wages for daily living—
50'
20 to 29 years
57
in 100 women 30 to 39 years
56
40 to 49 years
69
50 to 59 years.
Some of these women are the only earners in their housholds. Of
every 100 women who reported they live in family households, 15 are
the only earners contributing to family support.
In every 100 families where a woman is the only earner—
2 persons
52'
25 families have 3 persons
23
4 persons or more.
For almost all of these women work is a necessity. Of every 100
women who reported, 80 said their chief reason for working is to sup
port themselves and often dependents as well.
These replies were given by women members in the following locals:
Cleveland—Locals 233, 439.
Elmira—Local 826.
Erie—Local 1520.
Fort Worth—Local 776.
Hartford—Locals 350, 354, 1746.
St. Louis—Locals 688, 1345, 1654.
San Francisco—Local 1327.
TEXTILE WORKERS UNION OF AMERICA, CIO
Nearly 800 women members of the Textile Workers Union of America,
CIO, replied to questionnaires and reported the following facts.
Most of them work because they must support themselves and often
dependents. Of every 100 women who reported, 64 women support
or partly support dependents in addition to supporting themselves.
Some have more than one dependent.
The women reporting supported various relatives—
36
their children
their mothers
14
21percent support their husbands
7
their fathers
10
other relatives.
Daily living takes all or nearly all the earnings of most of these
women. Of every 100 women who reported—
80 use three-fourths or more of their wages for daily living
and
65 use all their wages for daily living.
STUDY OF UNION WOMEN
55
More married than single women who reported use all their earn
ings for daily living.
Daily living takes all the wages of—
single women
49
in
every
100
married women
70
women who are widowed, separated, or divorced.
62
Daily living takes three-fourths or more of the wages of—
single women
82 [in every 100 married women
women who are widowed, separated, or divorced.
85
More than half the women in all age groups, and about three-fourths
of those 40 to 49 years of age, use all their wages for daily living—
66
54N
'20 to 29 years
69 .in 100 women at ages. 30 to 39 years
74
40 to 49 years
59
50 to 59 years.
Some of these women are the only earners in their households. Of
every 100 women who reported they live in family households, 13 are
the only earners contributing to the family support.
In every 100 families where a woman is the only earner—
60
2 persons
33 families have 3 persons
7
4 persons or more.
For almost all these women work is a necessity. Of every 100
women who reported, 84 said their chief reason for working is to sup
port themselves and often dependents as well.
These replies were given by women members in the following locals:
Boston—Local 642.
Danville—Locals 452, 510, 511, 640.
Hartford—Locals 109, 411, 465, 471, 843, 885, 916.
Leakesville-Spray—Locals 294, 385.
New Bedford—Locals 593, 596.
Norwich—Locals 431, 460, 529.
Providence—Local 44.
Wilkes-Barre—Local 1080.
Worcester—Locals 40, 300.
LIST OF TABLES AND SUMMARIES IN PART II
TABLES
Page
17. Child and adult dependents of single and married women---------------18. Part of their earnings women give to family support----------------------19. Women sole family earners, by marital status
91
78
85
SUMMARIES
Significant findings in 23 studies, 1931-35-----------------------------------------Women who contribute to support of dependents-------------------------------Support of dependents, by women’s marital status---------------------------Number of dependents supported in full or in part by women workers—
Number of dependents supported by women workers who were single,
married, or widowed
75
Child and adult dependents
76
81
Women fully supporting dependents
Women at various ages having dependents---------------------------------------Professional women reported in 1943----------------------------------------------Contributions to family by women workers according to marital status.Women workers as the only earners in their families__________________
56
66
70
72
74
83
84
86
90
Part II
Findings From Many Studies of Women’s Economic
Responsibilities
SOURCES AND CHARACTER OF STUDIES
Reference has been made in part I to the many studies that give some
information on the economic responsibilities of women workers and
the varied character of these studies. They include women employed
in differing areas, occupations, and industries, and they vary widely
in type and definiteness of data shown. In preparing the present re
port, studies made over a period of 60 years have been examined, in
cluding many made by the Women’s Bureau; altogether these number
almost 240. In the text following, numbers in parentheses refer to
studies listed in appendix A, where complete titles are given.
In the first decade of this century, keen public interest was shown in
the conditions under which women were employed, including their
economic status and their responsibilities for the support of others.
A number of State labor departments reported on the situation, and a
far-reaching national study authorized by Congress was conducted.
Findings in some of these earlier reports will be discussed below,
after which information from more recent studies on women’s eco
nomic responsibilities will be.considered.
The major source of information on the economic responsibilities of
women workers is the Women’s Bureau, which began early in its exist
ence (1919-20) to investigate this subject, and includes new findings or
references to earlier data on it in almost 80 reports. Among these are
three large field studies made in quite different periods and directed
primarily or largely to securing this particular type of information.
In the earliest of these (70) personal interviews or records were se
cured for nearly 900 women employed in New Hampshire shoe fac
tories in 1919-20. The latest (48) is a study of more than 13,000
women interviewed during 1944 and 1945 in 10 widely separated areas
that had large labor forces of women war-production workers.
In addition to its own field investigations, the Women’s Bureau
has made special studies in years of the decennial census of the show
ing as to working women’s share in family support from schedules of
the Bureau of the Census for selected cities. These reported on nearly
38,500 women at work in four cities in 1920 (69), and on more than
57
58
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
58,000 women employed in three cities in 1930 (66). Besides the two
types of special studies of this subject just described, the Women’s
Bureau has at three different periods interpreted the findings of a
variety of studies of women’s financial responsibilities made by many
agencies. Those summarized run as far back as 1888, and all told
they include some 85 special studies, the latest in 1936.
During the 1920’s and since, a number of women’s organizations
reported on economic responsibilities of women. For example, the
Young Woman’s Christian Association long has had a primary inter
est in this subject and from time to time some of its many local
branches have made investigations including data in regard to it. A
number of studies of teachers’ dependency load have been made by the
National Education Association, as well as by local educational au
thorities or teachers’ organizations, by Pi Lambda Theta (educational
honor society), and by private persons. These, and studies by the
American Woman’s Association of New York and by the National
Business and Professional Women’s Clubs and individuals connected
with it give well-defined information about professional women.
Some of the reports on women wTar workers in various communities,
on women receiving relief during the depression, on mothers or fami
lies with children in day-care centers, and on unemployed women
seeking work have given data on this subject.
Careful analysis and reporting on women’s economic responsibili
ties has been done in a number of important reports by individual
research workers, sometimes for use as a thesis, or under the auspices
of a university or a research foundation. Notable among these were
some of the earlier investigations on the employment of mothers or
married women, such as those by Katharine Anthony in New York,
by Helen Wright in Chicago, and by Gwendolyn Hughes in Phila
delphia. Somewhat later were studies by David Wilbur Peters,
Cecile Tipton La Follette, and still later studies by Day Monroe, Mar
garet Hogg, Gladys Palmer, and Minnie Steckel.
EARLY REPORTING ON WOMEN'S ECONOMIC RESPONSIBILITIES
As early as 1829, an “intelligent and respectable lady in New Jersey”
addressed a letter to Mathew Carey, a noted Philadelphia philan
thropist and publisher who interested himself extensively in the lot
of the employed woman. This lady pointed out to Mr. Carey that
women as well as men often have families to support. “Seeing that
women labor equally with men,” she continued, and “that their neces
sities are as great (for I will not allow that the clothing of a poor
woman, properly clad, is of less cost than a man’s) * * * they
are fully entitled to an equality of wages.”
The earliest major report resulting from modern methods of social
investigation that afforded considerable information on the economic
FINDINGS FROM MANY STUDIES
59
responsibilities of women workers was that of the United States Bu
reau of Labor in 1888 {132). This was very extensive and was car
ried on through interviews of women agents of the Bureau with
17,427 women workers in 22 cities. Of 14,918 reporting on this sub
ject, about 60 percent contributed to the general support of their
families. Of the year’s income reported by 5,716 of these women,
nearly a fourth went to the support of dependents.
These initial findings were followed in 1891-95 by reports along
similar lines from four State Labor Departments—Missouri (107),
New Jersey (113), Indiana (90), and Kansas (94). Nearly 8,000
women had been interviewed. From 26 percent in New Jersey to 68
percent in Missouri (in three States about half or more) reported that
they “had dependents” or “helped support others.”
More than 10 years later a report on over 2,500 women in Illinois
(89) showed conditions in 1906 similar to those of the first four States,
and added a new note: The average number of dependents supported
by women workers was 1.8.
THE INVESTIGATION OF WOMAN AND CHILD WAGE EARNERS
Following the Illinois report, and built on a growing eagerness to
improve the conditions under which women and children were work
ing, the demand grew for facts on their entire economic status as a
basis for intelligent action. Interest was widespread through the
more industrialized section of the country from Kansas, Missouri, and
Illinois to Massachusetts. The recently formed Women’s Trade
Union League, organized in 1903 to help the largely unorganized
women workers to help themselves, sent a persuasive committee headed
by Mary MacDowell, an outstanding Chicago social worker, to Presi
dent Theodore Koosevelt to ask that more facts be collected. The
President reportedly was impressed by the Committee’s representa
tions, and in January 1907 he approved an act of Congress directing
the Secretary of Commerce and Labor to undertake a large-scale in
vestigation into the condition of woman and child wage earners. It
included nearly 17,000 women in those manufacturing industries that
employed women in greatest numbers, in stores, and in hotels and
restaurants. Its results were published in 1910-11 in 19 volumes
closely packed with revealing social data on women’s hours, wages,
and conditions of work (131).
This comprehensive report also showed types of evidence not for
merly available on women’s economic responsibilities. These included
the extent to which women gave all their earnings to the support of
the family, the part of the entire family earnings furnished by women,
the extent to which women were the only earners in their families,
the extent to which women workers had no men in their families. The
report showed data for women living in family households and apart,
974036—52--------- 5
60
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
and for mothers and all other women workers. The following are
among the highlights of this great study of woman and child wage
earners that made a striking addition to the understanding of the
social and economic needs in that period. These findings have been
only reinforced and not superseded in import, and to a large extent
in detail, by the innumerable later studies that have reported on the
economic responsibilities of women.
Findings in Report on Woman and Child Wage Earners
Of 4,580 women in 7 cities who worked in stores and factories and lived at home,
98 percent contributed to support of their families. Three-fourths of them gave
all their earnings to the family.
Of 1,274 women workers who lived apart, 22 percent contributed money to the
support of relatives. They gave 29 percent of their earnings for this purpose.
Mothers who worked in different industries contributed 25 to 33 percent of
the income of 1,917 families.
In 4,817 families there were 7,172 women and girls (exclusive of mothers) who
were gainfully employed. Those at work in different industries gave from 86 to
96 percent of their earnings to support of the family, thus furnishing 27 to 40
percent of the entire income of their families.
REPORTS FOLLOWING WOMAN AND CHILD WAGE EARNERS
Planned by some of the most able and experienced of social investi
gators, the Report on Woman and Child Wage Earners set a pattern
for future studies, both in method and in type of information shown.
A long line of studies that followed, extending to the present, have
found similar facts about women’s economic responsibilities. From
1911 to 1914 reports were made in four States by special commissions
appointed to investigate conditions of work and wages of women—
Massachusetts (99), Connecticut (84), Michigan (104), and New York
(117). Further reports made after 1913 and prior to 1920 by
official agencies, usually labor or welfare departments, showed similar
results in some of these and in four additional States (seven in all) —
Kansas (93,94), Michigan (103), Wisconsin (140), California (80),
Connecticut (82), Louisiana (128), and Massachusetts (102). Other
States had reports in preparation. Several private agencies and in
dividual investigators also reported on this subject during these years.
Most studies of economic responsibilities made prior to the 1920’s
(except the national report discussed) reported only on the propor
tion of working women who contributed to the family support, and the
proportion wTho gave all their earnings for this purpose. Some re
ported number having dependents, almost always with no definition
of dependents. All prior to 1919 dealt with wage earners, some with
specialized groups such, for example, as applicants for employment,
full-time or part-time workers, employed homemakers, heads of
families, workers with broken homes.
FINDINGS FROM MANY STUDIES
61
Few entirely new types of information were developed after those
reported in Woman and Child Wage Earners, though several reports
distinguished more definitely the dependency of various marital
groups or gave more details on the relationship of women’s depend
ents or on other phases of the subject. Exceptional in providing new
kinds of information were the following: A 1913 Kansas Bureau of
Labor Statistics report (93) that distinguished full from partial de
pendents; a 1914 Russell Sage Foundation report on working mothers
(126) that showed size of family of those who were sole earners; a
United States Department of Labor report (134) in 1916 that dealt
with women who worked in Boston stores and who were heads of
families; and a Louisiana Council of Defense report (128) in 1919
that showed the woman worker as chief earner (the one earning more
than any other family member). Appendix B shows the earliest
studies that contain the various types of information usually re
ported on the economic status of women workers.
NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN THE NINETEEN-TWENTIES
In the studies on women’s economic responsibilities in the 1920’s
two points still were uppermost: The extent to which women had
dependents (often not well defined), and the extent to which they
contributed some or all of their earnings to family support. However,
in the 1920’s these reports showed more frequently than before two
somewhat more definite items—the extent to which women were the
sole earners in the family, and their average number of dependents.
A few carefully distinguished full from partial dependents.
Information now was more frequently shown on the types of de
pendents women have. In these years several studies were made of
working mothers, following the early report on them by the Woman
and Child Wage Earner study and one on 370 working mothers in
Manhattan, 1ST. Y., made by Katharine Anthony for the Russell Sage
Foundation (126). Chief new studies of dependents of working
mothers were one including 843 Chicago mothers prepared by Helen
Wright for the Children’s Bureau (135), and one on 728 Philadelphia
mothers (88), done by Gwendolyn S. Hughes (Berry) as a Bryn
Mawr thesis. Both found the great majority working because of in
adequate contributions by husbands. One small study of Brattleboro, Vt., women workers (147), attempted to discover the age at
which they carried the greatest dependency load.
In the 1920’s the Bureau of the Census reports were being recog
nized and used to a greater extent as fertile sources of significant data
by university students and research agencies. Federal agencies could
gain access somewhat more easily than private investigators to unpub
lished census materials. They were used effectively by two recently
established agencies that had great interest in social data—the Chil-
62
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
clren’s Bureau, created in 1912, and the Women’s Bureau, established
in 1920. The influences that had secured the Woman and Child Wage
Earner investigations were to a large extent active in bringing these
agencies into being. They stressed the need to build on the facts of
that investigation and to keep information current as to changes in the
situation. A Census Bureau report early in the decade, presenting
data on employed homemakers in Rochester, N. Y. {130), included
74,467 families and found that nearly 6 percent of these were entirely
supported by women. Toward the close of the decade a large report
on women in gainful work in 1920, issued by the Census Bureau {129),
showed 7.5 percent of them to be sole earners in their families.
Further reports as to women’s economic responsibilities were made
by a few State agencies—those in Minnesota {106), Maryland {98),
Washington {142), Massachusetts {100, 101), and Oregon {118,
119). A large study of housing conditions in New York, made by the
Bureau of Social Hygiene {114), included data on women’s depend
ents. Women’s organizations also began making reports, usually
in local studies, which contained data on women’s economic responsi
bilities, for example, the YWCA {148) in Cincinnati; the Boston Edu
cational and Industrial Union, a study in Brattleboro, Yt. {147); and
the Information Bureau on Women’s Work {91), a study in Toledo,
Ohio.
Reports on the economic responsibilities of women, formerly largely
directed to wage earners, had begun by 1920 to include professional
women. In this decade several notable such studies were made, one
of teachers in Minnesota {105), two of college graduates {76,92). At
the end of this decade, the National Federation of Business and Pro
fessional Women made a widespread study of their members {112),
including a report on dependents.
WOMEN’S BUREAU STUDIES IN THE 1920’s
The extent of women’s economic responsibility was one of the sub
jects that received considerable attention from the Women’s Bureau
during its earlier years, and that has continued to the present as an
important part of the Bureau’s program. It seemed an inseparable
part of the efforts to secure a living wage for working women. Their
necessity for self-support, their frequent load of dependency, had to
be reiterated again and again with new data in the face of a tradi
tional idea that all women lived at home, were supported by the male
members of the family, and worked for “pin-money” only.
Two major studies the Bureau made between 1920 and 1925 were
directed primarily toward women’s economic responsibilities. One
of these was an examination of 1920 Census schedules for four cities
(69). This included data for 31,482 women wage earners, and showed
FINDINGS FROM MANY STUDIES
63
that about a fifth of them were sole earners in their families and over
a fourth were in families with no men earners.
The other study (70) reported from three main sources. One of
these included almost 900 women shoe workers in Manchester, N. H.,
who were interviewed or whose records were examined by Women’s
Bureau field agents. The results showed that a fifth of the wives
or mothers and a third of the daughters included furnished their
“proportionate share” or more of the total family earnings—that is,
half or more if the family had two earners, at least a third if there
were three earners in the family, and so forth. An examination of
schedules from a cost-of-living investigation in the District of Co
lumbia that had just been made by the Bureau of Labor Statistics
showed that of some 860 daughters reported about a third furnished
30 percent or more of their families’ earnings. The third section of
this Women’s Bureau study summarized findings of 33 studies of
varied types made in many places (in addition to new summaries of
data from the great Woman and Child Wage Earner study). In
most of these 33 studies, at least a fifth of the women included had de
pendents ; in 18 studies about half or more, and in 10 over 60 percent, of
the women had dependents.
Besides these two major studies of the subject, the Women’s Bureau
included in 19 other reports of many types made in the 1920’s some
findings as to women’s responsibilities for dependents or their con
tributions to family support, and 17 other Bureau studies briefly
mentioned the subject. These showed consistent evidence that many
women regularly contribute to family support, that most women work
to support themselves or themselves and others, that a considerable
proportion of women workers are responsible for dependents, and that
a notable proportion carry the sole support of the family. In some
of these studies the number of women actually interviewed was small;
on the other hand, the following are large studies in which the
Women’s Bureau presented findings of outstanding significance
during the 1920’s.
Significant Women's Bureau Findings in the 1920’s
Of 4,321 women workers in Kansas, interviewed by Women’s Bureau agents in
1919-20, and giving information on this subject, three-fourths contributed regu
larly to the support of their families, and well over a third gave all their
earnings for this purpose. (WB Bull. 17.)
Of 385 women injured in New Jersey industries in 1919-20, and later interviewed
by Women’s Bureau agents, almost half had some responsibility for the support
of others besides themselves. (WB Bull. 60.)
Of a small group interviewed on this subject in a large study of Negro women
workers in 1920, three-fourths contributed regularly to their families, half giving
their entire earnings. (WB Bull. 20.)
64
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
Schedules of 1,578 West Virginia families investigated by the Coal Commission
in 1922-23 showed that nine-tenths of the wives and daughters of the coal
miners were working. Earnings of wives provided 20-25 percent, of daughters
15-20 percent, of the income of their families. (WB Bull. 45.)
Of 2,591 women in Washington State interviewed by Women’s Bureau agents
in 1923, who worked in canneries and lived with their families, 6 percent were
the sole earners in their families, and 12 percent were in families with no male
earners. (WB Bull. 47.)
Of 1,850 women laundry workers in 23 cities, interviewed by Women’s Bureau
agents in 1927-28, over 95 percent reported they were working to support
themselves and others. (WB Bull. 78.)
Of 807 women workers in meat-packing plants in midwestern States, interviewed
by Women’s Bureau agents in 1928-29, 11 percent were fully responsible for
the support of themselves and others. (WB Bull. 88.)
Of 405 married women workers in Denver interviewed and reporting on this
subject in 1928, over nine-tenths supported themselves and others. (WB
Bull. 77.)
CHARACTER OF STUDSES, 1930 TO 1935
The early 1930’s were influenced primarily by the great economic
depression and its aftermath. The subject of women’s economic re
sponsibilities was much to the fore. It was seriously considered by
women’s groups and those seeking to aid women workers. Econ
omists, formerly little interested in the woman labor force, as they
studied the current employment situation discovered, sometimes to
their surprise, the basic importance of women’s earnings in the support
of their families.
Former studies had indicated the acute need of women’s earnings
in families of low income. Those of the depression emphasized this
in a somewhat different context—when the men of the family were
unemployed the family funds dwindled. The women of the family
went to work to supplement the family income or provide its entire
support. They often found jobs because employers could get them
for lower pay. Necessity obscured the fact that general wage stand
ards suffered by the lower wage scale for women.
At the same time that the earnings of women became more neces
sary in many families, inability to understand the larger economic
picture resulted in a wave of public sentiment demanding more job
openings for men, even at the cost of dismissing women workers,
especially married women. This half measure tended to increase
rather than relieve economic distress.
Under the general economic influences just outlined, three types of
studies were characteristic of this period. Several extensive reports
were made on the economic responsibilities of married women, two of
these at Columbia University Teachers’ College (96,123), one at the
FINDINGS FROM MANY STUDIES
65
University of Pennsylvania (HI). Appearing at this time, also,
though based on 1920 Census schedules, was a large study of Chicago
families with dependent children (108), which afforded some data
on women’s economic load. Closely allied were reports on the em
ployed homemaker, though not all these are married, the largest such
report being by the Women’s Bureau based on 1930 Census data (66).
The second type of study in this period related to the financial
needs and the dependents of those families affected by the depres
sion. A new method of investigating these by examining applica
tions for work at employment offices or applications for work relief
was led by brilliant studies under the auspices of the New York State
Department of Labor (115, 116), the University of Pennsylvania
(139, llfi), and the Bussell Sage Foundation (1%\), the latter being
sponsor for a study in New Haven, Conn. The Industrial Commis
sion of Wisconsin (Ho) and the Connecticut Citizens’ Committee
on Unemployment and Belief (83) contributed to the reporting on
the subject.
The third type of study, which was more numerous in this period
than formerly, was that of the dependency load of teachers. Such
studies were made in efforts to obtain higher salary scales. A few
reports also were made of other professional women at this time,
though data for some of these had been secured earlier. The Women’s
Bureau contributed large studies to each of these types, and in addi
tion reported on dependents of women injured in industry as shown
by the data of compensation agencies in several States.
A distinguishing feature of the reports of the early 1930’s seems
to be some effort toward fuller delineation of the status and type of
dependents. More studies than before separate full from partial de
pendents. The La Follette study of married women (96) shows ex
tent to which dependents supported lived in or outside the family.
Some reports show more details as to adult as well as child
dependents.
As before, data are shown on the general subject of whether women
contribute some of their earnings to family support; the average
number of dependents; and the dependents of working mothers.
Each of three important points occasionally reported earlier again
appeared in a new study: The size of family of women sole earners is
shown in the Women’s Bureau second survey of South Bend, Ind.
(137) ; the part of the family income given by women, in the first
South Bend survey (137) ; and dependents of single women who live
apart and with relatives, in an extensive study of teachers made by
the National Education Association (111).
The following list summarizes the findings of some of the more out
standing reports of the three types mentioned.
05
C5
Significant Findings
23
Studies
Findings on women workers
Subject of study
Appendix
No.
1. MARRIED WOMEN
1931
University of Pennsylvania; employed married women
in Philadelphia; 34,000 full-time workers.
Over 28 percent were sole earners in their families; for an
added 19 percent the only other family earners were on
part time or unemployed.
(.UD
1931
U. S. Children’s Bureau; children of working mothers
in Philadelphia; 3,500 mothers who worked in 6month period.
About 18 percent were sole support, 9 percent chief sup
port of their families.
(136)
1932
Monroe; Chicago families; includes report on over 2,600
families of women with broken marital ties from the
1920 Census.
In over 40 percent of the families the mother worked to
support dependent children; in 15 percent she was the
only earner.
(108)
1934
Peters; status of married woman teacher; reports on 921
married teachers in Virginia and 921 single for com
parison.
Married teachers had an average of 1.9 dependents, sin
gle of 1.5. Of these dependents, 0.4 of the married
and 0.3 of the single were wholly dependent.
(123)
1934
La Follette; problems of 652 gainfully employed married
women homemakers.
Of these women a third had children. A third of their
families had dependents living outside the home. Well
over a fourth had dependents living with them, 90
percent of these being full dependents. Of the depend
ents 28 percent were the married woman’s mother, 33
percent were her father, sister, or brother.
(96)
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
Date
published
in
1931-35
2. WOMEN UNEMPLOYED OR IN FAMILIES WITH UNEMPLOYED
New York State Department of Labor; 2 studies of Of these family heads, over 6 percent in Buffalo and almost
8 percent in Syracuse were women.
unemployment, Buffalo and Syracuse; personal inter
views with family hearts—9,557 in Buffalo, and 4,582
in Syracuse.
1931 Citizens’ Emergency Committee on Unemployment, Of these 56 percent had child dependents, 8 percent, adult.
Bridgeport, Conn.; records of 557 unemployed women
registrants with the committee.
19301 Women’s Bureau; 2 studies of wage-earners’ families and (а) A woman was sole earner in nearly half these families.
In families with woman sole earner: 40 percent had 4 or
1932/
the depression in South Bend, Ind.; in the first (1930),
more members; sole earner was the wife in over a third.
765 families had but 1 earner; in the second (1932),
814 women reported part of the family earnings (б) 55 percent of these women furnished half or more of
the family income.
furnished.
{115, 116)
About a fourth were responsible for nonearners--------------
{1%4)
Pennsylvania Civil Works Administration; case records These women had 17,387 dependents, an average of 1.3
on 13,329 women.
per woman.
{1®1)
1931
1934
Russell Sage Foundation; incidence of work shortage;
interviews with 1,034 women earners in New Haven,
Conn.
{137)
1934-1 University of Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Depart1935]
ment of Labor and Industry; 3 studies of applicants
for work at State employment offices.
Of 4,767 who reported on this subject nearly 60 percent
had from 1 to 7 dependents; average was 2.1 per woman;
16 percent had 3 or more dependents.
(5) Applicants for employment in Philadelphia, Of 6,932 reporting on the subject, two-thirds had dependents averaging 2.1 each and 18 percent had 3 or
10,356 women, 1933.
more.
Of 6,574 reporting on the subject, about three-fourths
(c) About 9,000 new applicants in 1934 in Phil
had dependents, averaging 2.5 per woman; almost 30
adelphia Employment Office.
percent had 3 or more dependents.
(o) Almost 6,000 applicants in 1933 in Reading,
Altoona, and Philadelphia.
{HO)
FINDINGS FROM MANY STUDIES
1932
{83)
{122)
{139)
-1
Significant Findings
Date
published
in
Subject of study
05
23 Studies—(Con.)
Findings on women workers
00
Appendix
No.
3. WOMEN IN TEACHING AND OTHER PROFESSIONS, AND IN BUSINESS
112)
Of these almost 40 percent had dependents, averaging
1.7 per woman.
{
Of these almost two-thirds had dependents, amost a fifth
had full dependents.
(137)
Los Angeles—63 percent had dependents, 28 percent had
full dependents. Average per teacher was 0.7 for
single, 1.2 for married, 1.5 for teachers who were wid
owed or divorced.
(97)
Oakland—-Over three-fourths had dependents.
Over half had adult dependents, about 5 percent had
child dependents. Almost nine-tenths were single.
Of the single, 59 percent of those living with relatives
and 42 percent of those living apart had dependents.
(79)
(81)
(77, 78)
19311
1934/
American Woman’s Association, New York; two studies
of New York business and professional women in a
depression period:
(а) 1931, reporting 1,937 women;
(б) 1934, reporting 1,350 women.
In 1931 nearly a third had full dependents, 40 percent full
or partial. In 1934 nearly a fifth had full dependents
and almost half had full or partial dependents. About
a fourth of the income of those with dependents went to
support those dependents.
1935
National Education Association; the teacher’s economic
position; included some 1,900 single women.
These had an average of 1.4 dependents (besides self
support) .
About 17 percent had 2 or more dependents not living
with them.
111)
(
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
19301 National Federation of Business and Professional
1934/
Women’s Clubs:
(a) Earnings of women in business and the pro
fessions; included 13,865 members of these
clubs in all parts of the country who re
ported on dependents.
(5) The age factor as it relates to women in busi
ness and the professions; Women’s Bureau
analyzed data; included 14,346 members of
these clubs reporting on dependents.
19311 Los Angeles
Board of Education; teachers’ salaries;
1932/
1931. California Department of Education; study
of Oakland schools; 1932. Two reports on Califor
nia elementary and secondary school teachers and
adequacy of salary.
Dependency was reported:
In Los Angeles, by 1,099.
In Oakland, by 761.
1932 Cleveland Teachers Federation and Cleveland Board
of Education; Cleveland teachers’ salaries; report
ing on 2,650 women teachers.
FINDINGS FROM MANY STUDIES
69
FINDINGS IN RECENT STUDIES (1935 AND LATER)
The section of this report that follows presents findings on women’s
economic responsibilities chiefly from numerous studies of 1935 and
later. It is based on detailed examination of more than 75 such
studies. With one exception, those reporting a total of fewer than 450
women were not used for the general analysis. Thus, about 30 studies,
including 5 large Women’s Bureau field investigations, form the chief
basis for this discussion. The list of references in the appendix indi
cates the character and findings in many additional studies not sepa
rately discussed here.
Not all the studies give all types of the information discussed, and
some afford very much more definite data than others. For each
phase of the subject considered, the analysis made uses the reports that
appear to give the best information on that part of the subject. In
some cases this also includes reference to some important report prior
to 1935.
WOMEN WORKERS WHO SUPPORT DEPENDENTS
The type of information on the economic responsibilities of women
workers that is most frequently shown relates to the extent to which
they have dependents to support. Women who state to investigators
that they have dependents give an important and definite indication
that they feel an obligation to provide financially for others, even
though the nature of this dependency sometimes is not determined.
Quite frequently, support of family members or dependent relatives is
shared among several earners. In such cases the woman (or women)
in the family undoubtedly has a responsibility, perhaps a very con
siderable one, though it would require complicated methods to deter
mine accurately the shares of individual earners. The list on page 70
shows the findings as to women’s dependents in nearly 25 studies made
over the past 15 years. This list includes dependents reported in these
studies whether they are entirely or partially supported by the worker.
Women who fully support others will be discussed later from the rela
tively few studies that show such information clearly.
An early Women’s Bureau report (70) made an intensive study of
more than 30 investigations into this subject (1919-20) and concluded
that “it does not seem an exaggeration to state that about two-fifths of
all wage earning women feel a definite responsibility for the entire or
partial support of one or more dependents.” This did “not include
the large group of women who contributed regularly to the upkeep of
the home but did not feel the individual responsibility sufficiently to
report that they had dependents.”
Studies of later years seem to indicate a notable increase in this
figure, though there are still no over-all data to show conclusively the
proportion of women in the entire country who support dependents.
70
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
Of the many reports available on this subject, a few show that only
about a fourth of the women included had dependents. However, in
more than half these studies about 50 percent of the women, and in
some far more, had dependents. Several of the studies examined
showed nine-tenths of the women responsible to some extent for de
pendents. Nine-tenths was the proportion found by the Women’s
Bureau among women living with their families in its report of nearly
Women Who Contribute
to
Support
Study, period covered, and appendix
reference
of
Dependents
Number of
women re
porting on
dependents
Percent con
tributing to
support of
dependents
300, 533
1, 000
30
49
2, 712
28
520
441
35
33
12, 500
678
27
47
1, 547
51
1, 114
91
10, 700
4, 028
3, 377
651
3, 331
92
51
52
43
40
1, 230
3, 107
48
42
3, 033
4, 989
33
65
976
48
641
54
965
439
336
103
48
63
57
92
6, 542
93
553
8, 796
93
41
POSTWAR PERIOD
Professional nurses (active); 1949 (99 percent
women) (I)
Women in advertising; 1949 (7)
Women claiming unemployment compensation;
Oregon; 1948 (18)_____
Elementary and kindergarten teachers; Long
Beach, Calif. 1947 (5)
Women workers, Utica, N. Y.; 1946 (80)
Registered professional nurses (active); 1946-47
(98 percent women) (24)__ ______________
Women workers, Bridgeport, Conn.; 1946 (26).
WAR PERIOD
Women workers, Duluth, Minn.; 1945 (58)
(based on all women in study)
Women workers, electrical union, N. Y.; 1944
45 (39)
Women war workers living in family; 10 areas;
1944-45 (48)
Urban and rural teachers, 42 States; 1944 (86) .
Urban
Rural
Women war workers, Dallas; 1944 (84)
Women war workers, Kansas airplane plant;
1943-44 (49)
Professional women workers, U. S.; 1943 (38)-.
Gainfully employed women in Chicago; 1941
42 (51)
Public school teachers, Conn.; 1941-42 (S3)..
prewar period
Negro women domestic workers, Baltimore;
1941 (71)
Elementary and secondary teachers; 1937-38
(60)----------------------------------------------------Business and professional women, U. S.; 1937
m----------------------------------------------Rural teachers, 20 States; 1936-37 (56)
White women-------------- ------------------------Negro women
Employed women on relief, N. Y. City; 1935
(59)----------------------------------------------------Rural women employed by W. P. A., Mo.; 1936
(72)
University women, U. S.; 1935 (54)
10,
7,
6,
1,
FINDINGS FROM MANY STUDIES
71
10,000 such women in war production work in 1944-45. The findings
in this study are of special significance since it is the largest of the
recent studies reporting on dependents of women industrial workers,
and it includes those employed in a great variety of wartime occupa
tions in 10 widely scattered areas. From the evidence available, it
probably is conservative to say that at least half this country’s women
workers consider themselves responsible for the entire or partial sup
port of others, in addition to self-support.
A general review of these studies indicates that the proportion of
women having dependents varies greatly in relation to a number of
factors, such as broad occupation group, age of the worker, general
economic situation, and so forth. Most studies reporting industrial
workers, or workers in varied occupation groups but likely to be largely
industrial, showed from nearly half to over nine-tenths of the women
having dependents. In two studies reporting women on relief or on
work-relief projects during the depression, over nine-tenths had de
pendents. Of several studies of teachers the majority showed over
half, sometimes very far beyond half, of the women had dependents.
However, in one reporting kindergarten teachers, as in those of nurses,
which may include a considerable proportion of relatively young
women, much smaller proportions had dependents. One study report
ing on teachers in 20 States showed data separately for Negro women
in States having a considerable number of them and reported that over
90 percent of the Negro women teachers included had dependents, as
compared to less than 60 percent of the white women teachers.
Some information on women’s dependents is afforded by data on
women who receive unemployment compensation. However, the
definitions of dependents covered vary among the States, so that
their figures do not show the full extent to which the women may be
responsible for dependents. Allowance may be given in one State
for a dependent who would not be included in another, so that com
parisons between States are not valid. Only a few States, 11 in all,
make additional allowances for some of the dependents of these
women.
Seven of these States limit benefits for dependents to children
only; such benefits went to the following proportions of the women
receiving unemployment compensation in the last quarter of 1950:
Percent
Connecticut-------------------------------Maryland----------------------------------Massachusetts 3
Michigan 5
Percent
5 North Dakota29
6 Ohio 8
Wyoming12
Some adult dependents are provided for in Alaska, Arizona, District
of Columbia, and Nevada. In the last quarter of 1950, of the women
72
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
receiving unemployment compensation in these States, respectively,
9, 37, 23, and 9 percent were entitled to allowances for dependents
(£7, 28,29).
DEPENDENTS OF SINGLE OR MARRIED WOMEN
A number of studies show the extent to which women of differing
marital status have dependents. In most of these the largest pro
portion contributing to dependents was among widows; usually the
proportion next in size was among the married, with the single women
having dependents to somewhat smaller extent.
Support
op
Dependents,
by
Women’s Marital Status
Study, period covered, and appendix reference
Registered professional nurses (active); 1946
47 m)-----------------------------------------------Women workers, Bridgeport, Conn.; 1946 (26)
Women workers, electrical union, N. Y.; 1944
45 (39)-____ __________________ _____
Women war workers living in family, 10
areas; 1944^45 (48)------------------------------Women war workers; Dallas 1944 (34)-------War workers, Kansas airplane plant; 1943-44
Professional women workers, U. S.; 1943 (38)Negro women domestic workers, Baltimore
1941 (71)
Gainfully employed women in Chicago, 1941
42 (51)
Professional and business women, U. S. 1939
(57):
In private employment
In public employment----------------------Elementary and secondary teachers; 1937-38
(60)------------------------ ------- -------------------Rural teachers, 20 States; 1936-37 (56) :
White women
Negro women
University women, U. S.; 1934 (54)--------------
Percent contributing to dependents
among women who were—•
Widowed,
separated,
Married divorced
ngle
19
38
30
62
49
46
59
61
73
92
19
91
43
96
60
14
35
61
26
73
57
37
51
53
32
35
32
43
40
46
67
56
58
52
63
NR
51
91
39
79
93
48
NR
NR
60
There are some variations in this pattern. For example, the large
and detailed study on professional women made during the war by
the NEA and Pi Lambda Theta (38), which is one of the more care
fully developed of the studies, showed that a considerably larger
proportion of the single than of the smaller group of married women
reported dependents. Or to take another instance of variation from
an apparent norm, in the Women’s Bureau study (26) of nearly 700
women in Bridgeport, Conn., in 1946, not far from half of whom were
industrial workers, considerably larger proportions of the married
than of the smaller group of widowed and divorced reported
dependents.
FINDINGS FROM MANY STUDIES
73
In most of the studies affording this information for the several
marital groups, a third or more of the single women were contributing
to dependents, and in several over half the single women had such
responsibilities. In about half these studies, 60 percent or more of
the married women wTere contributing to dependents. In about half
the studies showing this information for the smaller group of women
who were widowed, divorced, or separated, 60 percent or more re
ported dependents. The summary on page 72 shows this in further
detail.
The extent to which dependents are fully or only partially sup
ported will be discussed later. However, it may be pointed out here
that, while a few studies report this information by marital status of
the worker, it probably is true in other cases, as was noted among rural
teachers in 20 States, that the married women included are likely to
be sharing with others in the support of dependents rather than sup
porting them fully.
New amendments in 1950 to the Social Security Act gave significant
recognition to the responsibility of married women for dependents,
in the provisions for old age and survivors’ insurance. If a mother
has been an earner for as long as 3 years in occupations covered by the
act, her children under 18 now are entitled to dependents’ benefits
on her earnings, regardless of the father’s contributions. In ad
dition, if her husband has been actually dependent on her, and she
retires or dies, he is entitled to benefits on the basis of the wife’s wage
record.
NUMBER OF DEPENDENTS SUPPORTED BY WOMEN
Most of the studies that report on the number of dependents women
workers have indicate that half or more of the women with depend
ents have only one. However, many women support or contribute to
several persons, in numerous instances as many as four or five, and in
some cases as many as nine or more. In most reports two or more
dependents were reported by at least a third or more of the women
with dependents and in several reports half of the women were
contributing to the support of two or more persons. For example,
nearly half the Dallas women war workers reported in 1944 (&£),
and more than a third of those claiming unemployment insurance in
Oregon in 1948 {18), had two or more dependents. In each of these,
some women had more than five dependents. In the study of em
ployed women on relief in New York {59), 8 percent of the women
with dependents had more than five. This report found 81 women
factory workers who had 10 or more dependents. The following
summary shows findings of several studies as to proportion of women
workers who have one or more than one dependent, and the average
number of dependents per woman.
74
Number
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
of
Dependents Supported
Study, period covered, and appendix
reference
Women claiming unemployment com
pensation, Arizona; 1949-50 (3) —
Women claiming unemployment com
pensation, 11 States; 1950 (11)---------Women claiming unemployment com
pensation, Oregon; 1948 (IS) _ Elementary and kindergarten teach
ers, Long Beach, Calif.; 1947 (5)--Women workers, Duluth; 1945 (53)..
Urban and rural teachers, 42 States;
1944 (36):
Urban____ ._ - ----------------------------Rural _ -------------------------------------------------------Women war workers, Dallas;1944 (34).
Professional women workers, U. S.;
1943 (38). .
Elementary and secondary teachers;
1937 38 (60)
Business and professional women, U. S.;
1937 (sole family earners only) (58).
Rural teachers, 20 States; 1936—37
(56):
White women
------------. —
Negro women. .. __
Rural women employed by WPA;
1936 (78)-----------------------------------------------University women, U. S.; 1934 (54)..
Employed women on relief, New
York; 1935 (59):
Domestic workers.
-. .. Other workers__
.. — _ -
in
Fell
or in
Part
by
Women Workers
Average Percent having—
Number of number of ----------------------2 or
women with dependents
1
dependents 1 per woman
more
2, 681
1.6
2, 828
767
1. 6
183
789
1. 3
1. 5
1, 506
206
1, 324
56
44
60
40
62
38
77
23
_____
—
1. 3
1. 3
1. 8
72
70
53
28
30
47
1, 308
1. 0
66
34
288
1. 6
55
45
1, 906
1. 6
60
40
3, 637
1, 014
2 1. 4
2 2. 4
71
47
29
53
516
3, 153
2. 9
2. 0
28
43
72
57
2, 001
4, 096
2 2. 5
2 4. 6
—
—
1 Excludes women with number of dependents not reported.
.
„
2 This figure diflers somewhat from that originally reported in this study, which was based on all women
reported; here, it has been adjusted to correspond to others in this list, which are based on women having
dependents rather than on all reported.
For women who support others in addition to themselves, the num
ber of dependents supported in full or in part averages at least 1.5,
according to most studies of considerable size reporting on this point
during the past 15 years. In several of these studies the women re
ported an average of two or more dependents; in a few, the average
was less than one. Highest averages were reported for workers un
employed or on work relief, for Negro rural teachers, and for a group
of over 3,000 university women. Lowest averages reported were in
studies that included primarily teachers.
Married women appear somewhat more likely than single women
to report more than one dependent, though few reports afford such
information. This includes not only full dependents, but also partial
dependents whose support is shared with another family member or
members. Some of these studies show a fifth or more of the married
women having three dependents or more.
On the other hand, several studies show’ that considerable propor
tions of the single women have at least two dependents, and among
75
FINDINGS FROM MANY STUDIES
the university women almost a fourth of the single women reported
had three or more dependents. The study of New York women on
relief found that among workers in every industry there were in
stances of single women responsible for large families. It also showed
that among more than 4,000 workers who were in occupations other
than domestic service and who had dependents, the number of de
pendents supported averaged 5.3 for the single women, 3.6 for mar
ried women, and 2.0 for those who were widowed or divorced. A
summary follows based on several reports that furnish data on single
and married women workers who have one or more than one
dependent.
Number or Dependents Stjppobted by Women Workers Who Were Single,
Married, or Widowed
Number of
Study, period covered, and appendix
women with
reference
dependents 1
Women war workers, Dallas; 1944 (34)-1, 324
Single. ____
. ... .
172
Married ____ _
__ _
774
Widowed or divorced.
_ _____
378
Professional women, U. S.; 1943 (38)
(gainfully employed not reported separately by marital status)___________
1, 503
Single___ .. .. —
-------1, 027
Married
_________
__
315
Widowed or divorced..
__ __
161
Elementary and secondary teachers;
1937-38 (60)
288
Single.
...
227
Married__ ________ _____ _
61
Rural teachers, 20 States; 1936-37 (56):
White women-------- ._
_ __
3, 637
Single. _ _ .
_
2, 541
Married___ _
_ __ _
1,096
Negro women____ ____ ____ ____
1, 014
Single___ .. _____
__
576
Married.__ .... ...
438
University women; 1934 (54) . .. _.
3, 153
Single____ _______ ______
2, 416
Married. ______
..
._
495
Widowed and divorced ._ __
_
242
Percent having—
1
53
58
50
57
66
69
61
57
3 or
more
18
11
21
16
3
29
31
29
27
2
2
2
2
34
31
39
43
__
__
55
55
54
31
33
25
14
12
21
71
73
68
47
48
45
43
45
34
39
17
17
17
21
21
21
32
32
30
37
12
10
15
32
31
34
25
23
36
24
1 Excludes women with number of dependents not reported.
2 Includes women supporting more than two dependents.
TYPES OF DEPENDENTS AND RELATIONSHIP TO WOMAN WORKER
The types and relationships of the dependents of women workers
vary considerably from study to study. They are influenced by the
economic level and marital status of the workers included. In par
ticular, the reports indicate rather sharp differences in the types of
dependents supported by single and married women.
The single workers are more likely to be supporting adults, such
as mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, and occasionally aunts, or other
relatives, although many single women do have child dependents,
such as nieces or nephews, or younger brothers and sisters. Married
974036—52-------- 6
76
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
women, on the other hand, are likely to be supporting children,
although a married woman may have adult dependents, such as par
ents and sometimes her husband. An early Women’s Bureau study
(70) reported a small number of wives who worked in shoe factories
in Manchester, N. H., and who had dependents; nearly 60 percent
had both child and adult dependents.
The summary following shows the findings on this subject from a
number of studies. Most of these show the responsibility for children
alone or for adults alone and usually some of the women included
have both child and adult dependents.
Some of these studies show that half to three-fourths of the women
with dependents are supporting adults only, and in several of these
two-thirds or more of the workers reported are single women. Other
studies show from 60 to 80 percent supporting children only; in sev
eral of these half or more of the workers included are married,
though in one case 60 percent of the women are single.
Child
Study, period covered, and
appendix reference
Women claiming unemploy
ment compensation, Arizona;
1949-50 (3) __________
Professional nurses (active),
inventory; 1949 (1) ______
Women claiming unemploy
ment compensation, Oregon;
1948 (IS)
Urban and rural teachers, 42
States, National Education
Association; 1944 (36):
Urban________________
Rural, . ______ _
Women war workers, Kansas
airplane plant; 1943-44 (49)Professional women workers,
U. S.; 1943 (38)
Gainfully employed women in
Chicago; 1941-42 (61)
Negro domestic workers, Baltimore; 1941 (71), __
Elementary and secondary
teachers; 1937-38 (60)
Employed women on relief,
N. Y. City; 1935 (59)
University women, U. S.; 1934
(64)--------------------------------
and
Adult Dependents
Percent having as
Number of
dependents—
women rePercent
porting
Both chit- of women
types of Children Adults dren and who were
dependents
only
only
adults
single
2, 681
76
18
6
NR
89, 343
62
33
5
1 46
767
60
30
10
NR
1, 506
206
17
44
79
52
4
4
i 66
» 52
584
87
13
1, 308
14
74
12
66
1, 008
36
54
10
34
471
46
45
9
24
288
7
47
46
78
32
6, 113
2 67
NR
NR
i 60
3, 618
2 20
NR
NR
77
1 Percent of all reported in the study; data not given separately for those having dependents.
2 These all support children, but some may support adults in addition; data not clear.
In the studies of teachers and of professional workers in general,
large proportions were supporting adults. A study of war workers
in Kansas City showed a large majority supporting children. The
FINDINGS FROM MANY STUDIES
77
same was true of nurses. Among women claimants for unemployment
insurance with dependents studied in one State, a majority were sup
porting children. However, 30 percent had only adult dependents,
and under the laws of many States these would not be eligible for
dependency benefits.
Some studies report on the ages of the dependents themselves rather
than on the numbers of women workers with child or adult depend
ents. Several of these show about two-thirds of the dependents to
be children; in these, so far as shown, a minority of the workers in
cluded in the report were single women. In the Duluth Y. W. C. A.
study (S3), nearly two-thirds of the dependents were under 18,
21 percent being under 5; 14 percent were 50 or older. Similarly, in
the report of Missouri women working on WPA projects, two-thirds
of the dependents were under 18, 14 percent being under 6; more than
a tenth were 60 or older (72).
Several studies gave interesting detail as to the relationship to the
woman worker of the persons she supports:
Relationship of Dependents
Women claiming unemployment compensation, Arizona, 1949-50 (3). Of these
who claimed dependents, more than a tenth claimed parents and more than
a tenth, husbands; three-fourths claimed children only as their dependents.
Women workers, Utica, N. Y., 1946 {30). Parents and children were women’s
principal dependents. A few supported others, as brothers, sisters, nieces,
nephews.
Elementary and secondary teachers, 1937-38 (60). Single women most fre
quently supported parents or siblings; married women supported children,
husbands, parents.
Business and professional women, 1937 ( 58). Where a woman was the only
family earner, in over half the cases she was making a home for her elders,
in a fifth for those of her own generation.
Professional women, 25 Alabama cities, 1029-36 (63). Of dependents wholly
supported by women, 23 percent were mothers, 10 percent sisters, 39 percent
children, including a few nieces and nephews (1936 report). Others fully
supported included fathers, husbands, brothers, sisters, families, aunts. Those
supported either fully or partly by women were divided almost equally (in each
group over a fourth) among mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, and
children (including nieces, nephews, grandchildren). Other relatives supported
included grandparents, various in-laws, aunts, uncles, cousins, and others.
Employed women on relief, New York City, 1935 (59). Many of the dependents
were aged parents, other aged relatives, or employable adults out of work.
Rural women employed by WPA, Missouri, 1936 (72). Women’s dependents
in order of importance were children (about two-thirds of total) husbands,
parents (about a tenth of total), brothers, and sisters. About two-thirds of
the dependents were under 18 years of age, 14 percent being under 5; 40 percent
78
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
were under 12, the remainder of the two-thirds, 12 to 18. A tenth were 60 or
over. About 12 percent of the women reported were single.
Women workers in three cities, from 1930 Census (66). Of single women
workers living with their families, about three-fourths or more lived with one
or both parents. In a fourth or more of these families the parents were not
workers.
Women workers in various industries, 1919-20 (70). Of the single women
with dependents, 40 percent were supporting one or both parents. Of the mar
ried women with dependents, three-fourths supported children.
5INGLE AND MARRIED WOMEN'S SUPPORT OF CHILDREN AND ADULTS
The dependents of single women generally are adults, such as
parents, sisters, brothers, aunts. Nevertheless, many single women
are supporting children, such as nieces or nephews and younger sis
ters or brothers. Among the Negro domestic workers reported in
Baltimore in 1941 a fifth of the single women supported children (71).
The 1939 study of professional and business women showed that over
a tenth of the single women reporting had child dependents (57).
Married women, on the other hand, are more likely than single
women to be supporting children. However, considerable propor
tions of married women support adults—parents or husbands, for
example. In the large study of professional women in 1943, over
half the married women had adult dependents only, whereas onethird were supporting children only. Among over 1,000 Chicago
women with dependents, reported in 1941—42, a fifth of the 461 mar
ried women were supporting their husbands.
Table 17 shows the findings of several studies that give information
on the support of children and adults by single and married women.
Table
17.—Child
and
Adult Dependents
Study, period covered, and appendix
reference
War workers, Kansas; 1943-44 (49)
Professional women workers, U. S.; 1943
(SS)---------------------------------------Gainfully employed women in Chicago;
1941-42 (51_________________
Negro domestic workers, Baltimore; 1941
(71)--------------------------------- -----Professional and business women, U. S.;
1939 (57).......... ........ .................... .
of
Single
and
Married Women
Single women
Married women
Percent support
Number
ing—
reporting
de
pendents Children Adults
only
only
Percent support
Number
ing—
reporting
de
pendents Children Adults
only
only
57
11,027
341
NR
NR
7
86
484
21
85
21
2 7G
442
1 315
461
219
94
32
49
53
27
2 39
11
91
289
17
60
1
6
53
1 Includes some women not gainfully employed, since marital status is shown only for the total.
2 May include a few children stfch as nieces, nephews, grandchildren, since the report on children applies
only to own children.
FINDINGS FROM MANY STUDIES
79
CONTRIBUTIONS TO PERSONS LIVING OUTSIDE THE FAMILY
Most information as to support of dependents refers to those living
under the same roof with the woman furnishing support. There also
are many women who support or contribute to dependents not resid
ing with them, such as elderly parents without income, or adult sons
or daughters not able to support themselves, brothers, sisters, or other
relatives. Some of these women are contributing to the support of
dependents living in their families, and also to persons outside. Few
studies give information on this subject. Some of the reports that
are available along these lines show the following:
Women workers, electrical union, New York, 1944-45 (39).—Of the women re
ported who lived in family households, over one-fifth contributed to support per
sons outside. Over 60 percent of these gave a regular part of their pay, and more
than 10 percent gave regularly and also gave additional amounts for emergency
or special needs; the remainder made contributions for emergencies. Most
frequently these outside dependents were aged or incapacitated parents or
parents-in-law. In some cases they were adult sons or daughters, or brothers
or sisters, unable to support themselves. In other instances contributions sup
ported minor children who for various reaons were not living in the household.
Elementary and secondary teachers, 1937-38 (60).—Of the single women teach
ers selected for detailed analysis, almost two-fifths were supporting dependents
not living with them. However, this may include workers living apart from
their families, not separately shown.
Business and professional women, 1937 (58).—Of the women who had depend
ents, more than a third were responsible only for dependents outside their own
household. (This may include workers living apart from their families.) Not
far from a tenth had dependents both within and outside the household. The
median number of dependents supported outside the home was 1.3, and nearly
half of them were the elders of the woman who supported them.
DEPENDENTS OF WOMEN LIVING APART FROM FAMILIES
Women who live apart from their families often are a substantial
mainstay in the support of relatives. In the more usual case this
takes the form of regular contributions from their salaries to these
persons. In other instances women living apart send lump sums to
take care of special needs and unusual emergencies, such as doctor’s
bills, funeral expenses, school tuition, or the purchase of necessary
clothing. Often, they contribute to the support of elderly parents
without income, or to the general support funds of the worker’s family
at home. They may assist sons and daughters, either adults unable
to support themselves, or as often was the case during the war, minor
children cared for elsewhere while the mother was employed. They
may help to support brothers or sisters, or nieces and nephews, the
children of a widowed sister or sister-in-law. All these are patterns
frequently found in the lives of women workers. Since data on this
80
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
particular phase are meager, the citations given here include a few
reports considerably earlier than those presented in most other parts
of the current study:
Women workers, electrical union, New York, 1944-45 (39).—Over a tenth of all
women reported lived away from their families. Not far from half contributed
to support relatives, the majority sending regular weekly or monthly payments.
Others contributed lump sums for unusual or emergency needs.
Women war workers, 10 areas, 1944-45 (48).—About a fifth of the women work
ers reported lived apart from their families. The extent to which they contributed
to their families varied widely in the eight areas from which data on this subject
could be tabulated. In four cities, a fifth or more of these women living apart
regularly sent home money for support of their families. The proportion who
regularly made contributions ranged from 8 percent in two cities to 41 percent
in one.
University women, 1934 (54).—Of the women reporting dependents, not far from
half were living apart from their families. These were all single women, and
they were almost three in five of all single women reporting dependents. Of these
women, 24 percent had three or more dependents. All told, the contributions of
16 percent of these women who lived apart constituted the entire support of their
dependents.
Women workers, Connecticut, 1915-16 (70).—Almost a fifth of the women living
apart studied by State Bureau of Labor (82) sent financial help to relatives.
Women workers, stores and factories, 1910-11 (70).—The large early investiga
tion of woman and child wage earners (131) showed that more than a fifth of the
women reported who lived apart from their families contributed to the support
of needy relatives. These women gave on the average about 30 percent of their
earnings for this purpose.
FULL DEPENDENTS DISTINGUISHED FROM PARTIAL
The foregoing discussion has included women who had dependents
whether or not they had the entire financial responsibility for these
dependents. Information on full dependency would seem, with care
ful definition, to he more easily obtained than that on certain other
phases of women’s economic status. However, many studies of this
subject do not clearly define the meaning of “dependent” or the extent
of dependency. Often they do not show clearly whether dependents
are completely or partly supported, except for data as to women who
are the only support of their families.1
1 Various attempts have been made to report extent of dependency accurately. Studies
of teachers made in recent years by the NEA and private individuals often count two
partial as one whole dependent and report on “dependency units.” Other studies esti
mate “average number of dependents” by dividing number of workers into total number
of dependents, though these often include partial dependents in the total on which the
average is based. An early definition used in British studies considered a woman to have
a dependent if she had to share her wage with a person who gave no equivalent service.
Another method used in an early Women’s Bureau report (70, pp. 9, 33) was to calculate
a woman’s “proportionate share,” that is if there were two earners her share was half;
if she contributed more she shared in supporting a dependent. Obviously, following out
any of these methods for each individual would make a very complicated study.
81
FINDINGS FROM MANY STUDIES
Definite information on full dependency is given in several of the
recent studies, chiefly those made among women who are in the teach
ing or other professions or in business. These are summarized on
this page. In each of them, from one-fourth to three-fourths of the
women who reported type of dependents were responsible for the full
support of one or more persons (or the equivalent).
One study not confined to professional groups reports on 1,000
Chicago women workers with dependents (SI). Of these, a fourth
fully supported dependents. Largest proportion having whole
dependents was 30 percent for the self-employed. Other groups
shown were domestic workers and women in all other occupations,
where 25 percent of the women reporting dependents were responsible
for full support.
The same studies also may be considered on the basis of all the
women workers reported, including those who have no dependents. In
two of the seven studies about a fourth and in one nearly half of all
women reported were responsible for the entire support of others
besides themselves. Actually, this is smaller than the true proportion
would be, since some women are likely to support fully dependents not
included in this total because, although they report having depend
ents, they do not state whether these are fully or only partly supported.
From the little information available as to shared support of de
pendents, it would seem that married women are more likely than
Women Fully Suppokting Dependents
Women having
dependents and
with type of dependent reported
Study, period covered, and appendix
reference
Urban and rural teachers, 42 States; 1944
(36)---------------------------------------------Urban---------------Rural _
Professional women gainfully occupied;
1943 (38).
Gainfully employed women in Chicago;
1941-42 (51)____ ____
Elementary and secondary teachers;
1937-38 (60)_____________
Rural teachers, 20 States, 1936-37 (56)__
White_____ _____________________
Negro
Business and professional women, 25 Ala
bama cities; 1936 (63).
University women; 1934 (54)___________
Total reported in
study
Percent
Percent
•with full
with full
dependdepend
Number■
ents1 Number
ents2
1,712!
1,506i
206;
54
55
so
4, 028
3, 377
651
23
25
16
1, 308!
60
3, 107
25
1, 008;
26
3, 033
9
288;
651
637'
014:
24
74
71
87
641
7, 439
6, 336
1, 103
11
46
41
80
NR.
NR
586
16
3, 153;
36
8, 796
13
1 dependent.
the full dependency cases among those
reporting dependents but not reporting whether full or partial.
82
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
single women to share support with others. The large study of pro
fessional women in 1943 shows that among those with dependents
nearly half the single and over a third of the married are wholly sup
porting dependents (38). The study of rural teachers made in 1936
37 states that most of those married are sharing with others in the
support of dependents (56). On the other hand, in the 1941-42 study
of over 1,000 Chicago women workers having dependents (51), among
both the single and the married something less than a fifth were fully
responsible for the support of their dependents; however, in the
smaller group of widowed and divorced women almost 60 percent of
those with dependents were responsible for full support.
AGES OF WOMEN WITH DEPENDENTS
Few studies have afforded data as to ages of women with depend
ents. The first report that does this seems to be one dealing with
women workers who had received relief in the early 1920’s and before
in Brattleboro, Vt. (1J)7). In each of the five reports showing age,
the median for women with dependents fell within the range of about
38 to 44 years. However, women receiving relief or claiming unem
ployment compensation seemed to be supporting dependents at a
somewhat earlier age than did professional women. The following
summary gives further details:
Women reporting both age
and dependency
Number
Women receiving relief, Brattleboro, Vt.; 1922 (147)
Women claiming unemployment
compensation, Oregon; 1948
(18)---------------------------------Professional women, U. S.; 1943
(88)--------------------------------Professional women, U. S.; 1937
(58)---------------------------------Professional women, Alabama;
1936 (63)...______ _______
Percent
with
dependents
Median age of women
Total
(years)
With
dependents
(years)
380
52
41. 3
38. 3
2, 712
28
41. 6
40. 8
4, 377
34
38. 8
43. 7
10, 965
48
40. 6
f 1 41. 8
| 2 44
736
57
37. 1
39. 4
1 Partial.
i Total.
These same studies also may be examined for proportions of the
women in various age groups who support dependents. As before,
the results indicate that the highest proportion of workers having
dependents among those receiving relief or seeking unemployment
compensation occurs at an earlier age than for professional women.
83
FINDINGS FROM MANY STUDIES
In the studies of the former, the age groups at which larger-thanaverage proportions of women had dependents began at 25 or 30 and
continued to 45 or 50. In those of professional women, above-average
support responsibility began in a later age group (35 or over) and
continued to a much older age (60 or over) than among the women
on relief or seeking unemployment compensation. The summary
following gives further details:
Women at Various Ages Having Dependents 1
Professional
Ala.
U. S.
1986
ms
(68) 2 (38)
Number of women reporting on age and
dependency
689
4, 377
Unemploy
ment
insurance
claimants,
Oregon,
1948 (18)
2, 712
had dependents
All age groups
20-24____ _______________________________
25-29__________________ ____ ____________
30-34_____________ ________ _____________
35-39
40-44
45-49_______ ____ _______________________
50-54_________________ ______ ____________
55-59
60-64___________________ ____ ___________
65 and over
57
34
47
54
58
65
74
70
78
731 ...
43/
34
8
19l
.
27J
36][
42 J
52]\
55J
421|1
28
18
30
42
15
39
28
21
1 For complete references to studies, see Bibliography In the Appendix.
! These age groups vary slightly from the stub. They are reported, for example, as 21-25, 26-30,31-35, and
so forth. The 2 oldest groups are 61-65 and 66-70.
Ages of Greatest Dependency Load.—The relationship between age
of worker and responsibility for family support can be analyzed not
only by the percentage of workers of various ages who have any de
pendents, as in the preceding section, but by the number of dependents
per worker (dependency load) at various ages. A comparison of
studies of women claiming compensation (18) and of professional
women (88) as to dependency load reinforces the findings on age in
the earlier analysis. It reveals that the professional women had their
greatest number of dependents per woman at a later age than did the
unemployed.
Ages at Which Women Had Child or Adult Dependents.—These re
ports indicate, each in its own way, that women are more likely to
have dependent children when they are younger (under 40 or under
45), while older women are more likely to carry the support of adults
(or of relatives likely to be chiefly adults). Among the women claim
84
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
ing unemployment compensation, 20 percent had child dependents,
the proportion of child dependents being higher than average at
ages 25 to 44. Dependent relatives (likely to be chiefly adults) were
reported by 11 percent of all the women, and by a higher than average
percentage of those 35 to 64. Data for the professional women indi
cate that women who support adults average at least 2y2 years older
than those responsible for the support of children, as the following
summary shows:
Professional Women Reported in 1943 (88)
Number of total or partial
dependents
1
2
1
2
3
total_____________________
total_____________________
partial____________________
partial____________________
partial____________________
Median age (in years)
Median age of
of women whose depend- women supporting
ents are—
adults exceeds that of
■-------------------------------------• women supporting
Children
Adults r-“ children, by (years)
42. 5
45. 3
2. 8
40. 0
44. 8
4. 8
40. 8
44. 1
3. 3
40. 6
40. 4
0
40. 6
50. 6
10. 0
i Women partly supporting two children have median slightly higher than those partly supporting two
adults.
Ages of Single and Married Women With Dependents.—For
the
most part, studies do not show the ages of single and married women
with dependents. As has been discussed, a number of studies show
more dependents reported by married than single women, and married
more likely than single to report child dependents. The two studies
just discussed indicate that women with child dependents tend to be
younger than those with adult dependents. From these facts it might
be inferred that married women with dependents tend to he younger
than unmarried ones.
However, this is not borne out for the women reported in the one
study that gives data on this subject, that of about 650 elementary
and secondary teachers reported in 1937-38 (60). Among these, the
average married woman supporting dependents was slightly older
than the average single woman having such responsibilities. A more
striking fact shown for this group of teachers is that the women
supporting dependents, whether married or single, averaged con
siderably older than the men with such responsibilities, the age dif
ferences between women and men supporting dependents being
somewhat greater than the age differences between all women and
men in the study, as the following summary shows:
Average ages of—
Women teachers
Total
Single...
Married.
37. 6
39. 5
Supporting
dependents
39. 9
41. 9
Men teachers
Total
28. 6
38. 5
Supporting
dependents
29. 8
38. 5
85
FINDINGS FROM MANY STUDIES
WOMEN’S EARNINGS AND FAMILY FINANCES
PART OF WOMAN’S EARNINGS USED FOR FAMILY SUPPORT
The part of her earnings that a woman worker must give to support
dependents or to take care of family needs is of primary importance
to her, and to her family as well.
The more recent studies giving information on this subject (those
made during World War II or in the postwar period) indicate that
more than a third of all women workers give their total earnings to
family support, and at least half give 50 percent or more of their
earnings.
From these and a long series of earlier studies it can be stated with
confidence that from one-third to two-thirds of women workers give
all their earnings to the family upkeep. From one-half to fourfifths give at least half their earnings. Representative studies re
porting this type of information are listed in table 18. Most reports
on this subject indicate that fewer than 1 woman in 10 gives none
of her earnings to her family. In some studies all women workers
make some contribution. Only one report shows any considerable
proportion not contributing, and in this case many of the workers
included were young single women.
A study of business and professional women made in 1937 ap
proaches this type of information in a somewhat different way (58).
It shows that a total of 1,903 women gave 13 percent of their earnings
to dependents not living with them.
These substantial contributions made by women workers to the
support of their families are nothing new in the history of women’s
gainful employment. Striking data on this subject are shown in the
large-scale official report, made over 40 years ago, on the conditions
of women’s work in this country which included nearly 4,700 women
at work in stores and factories (131). It showed that these con
tributed 84 percent of their earnings to their families.
Table: 18.—Part of Their Earnings Women Give to Family Support
Percent who gave of their earnings—
Study, period covered, and appendix reference
Women workers, Utica, N. Y.; 1946 (30)
Women war workers living in family, 10 areas;
1944-45 U8)
Women workers, electrical union: 1944-45 (39)___ _
Women workers, 22 studies; 1929 (WB Bull. 75)__
Women workers, shoe factories, Manchester, N. H.,
1920 (TO)
Number
of women
reporting
1441
10, 700
959
61, 679
445
1 Women living apart included, probably a small proportion.
2 Fifty percent gave half or more; includes those who gave all.
3 Indefinite amount.
Some,
Half, but but
not
not all
half
All
«
34
57
53
68
2 50
20
16
NR
26
38
25
NR
12
11
None
24
8
2
9
39
86
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
The married women workers, to a considerably larger extent than
the single, use the major share of their earnings for family needs.
Among the women included in the large Women’s Bureau wartime
study giving information on this subject, about three-fourths of those
married, compared to over a third of those single, gave half or more
of their earnings to the family. Other reports show a similar rela
tion as regards the contributions made by women differing in mari
tal status and relationship to the family. The summary given below
shows further detail.
That women remain in the labor force for long periods and that
many women workers have a continuing responsibility for family
support is shown in a Women’s Bureau study of early date (1919-20)
which took pains to investigate how long women had been giving all
their earnings to the family upkeep (70). A tenth of the single and
a third of the married women for whom reports on this subject were
obtained had given the family all their earnings for 10 years or
longer.
Contributions to Family by Women Workers According to Marital
Status
Study, period covered, and ap
All reported
pendix reference
War workers, 10 areas, 1944-45 (4-8):
9,800
Number of women _ _ _
Percent that gave family:
37
All earnings..
__ .
32
Half, but not all. ____
Women workers, electrical union,
1944-45 (39):
943
Number of women__ .
.
Percent that gave family:
58
All earnings. .. _____
16
Half, but not all____ .
Women shoe workers, Manchester,
1920 (70):
Number of women.. _ _
Percent that gave family:
All earnings. ...
----Half, but not all...
Single
Married
Widowed,
divorced
4, 100
4, 700
1, 000
14
21
55
21
46
22
360
441
142
19
33
78
9
NR
NR
1 307
2 119
NR
60
16
96
0
NR
NR
1 Daughters; includes some who gave nothing.
2 Wives; includes some who gave nothing.
Though a larger proportion of the wives and mothers than of the
single women give all their earnings to the family, the working
daughter’s contribution often is of marked importance. Two
Women’s Bureau reports (one very early, the other much later) show
the part of their earnings that working daughters give to their fam
ilies. Of daughters employed in shoe factories, in Manchester, N. H.,
in 1919-20, not far from two-thirds gave all their earnings to their
families (70). Of daughters at work in Cleveland in 1938 in a variety
of industries, a fifth gave all their earnings to the family (65). In
each case, such contributions were given by a much larger proportion
87
FINDINGS FROM MANY STUDIES
of the daughters than of unmarried sons living at home. It used to
be considered more necessary for the man than for the woman to save
up toward starting his own home. Today, however, the young wife
often makes a contribution comparing well with that of the young
husband toward starting their home,2 though before marriage she
contributed substantially to the parental home. The summary fol
lowing shows details as to contributions of daughters and sons to
family:
Shoe workers,
Manchester, N. H.,
1920 (70)
Number reporting,. __ ___ _
Percent who contributed:
All their pay___ __
Half, but not all
_ _
Some, but less than half
None______ ______ _ __
Daughters
307
Sons
289
60
16
NR
NR
35
26
NR
NR
Workers in
Cleveland,
1939 {65)
Daughters
398
20
29
44
7
Sons
362
15
24
49
12
PART OF THE FAMILY EXPENSES PAID FOR BY WOMEN WORKERS
Women’s earnings often furnish a substantial part of the family
support. Information on the exact share of family earnings women
provide is very meager. Obviously, there are enormous difficulties
in obtaining such data, requiring information from individual fami
lies as to the amount each earner gives to the family exchequer.
Frequently numerous costs paid by women earners are not fully ac
counted for, even though they contribute markedly to the family well
being as well as to its more pressing needs. For example, a study
begun in 1929 reported on 624 rural homemakers in southern Rhode
Island (143), all of whom had full-time or part-time jobs. Sixty
percent bought three-fourths or more of the family’s clothing, half
bought all the bread eaten, some bought canned goods and other
necessities.
A few studies have attempted to show exactly the share of the
family earnings provided by individual women. These report chiefly
on workers in the manufacturing or service industries. At an early
date (1919-20) the Women’s Bureau made an analysis of schedules for
more than 850 earning daughters taken from a Bureau of Labor
Statistics study of family incomes, which showed that almost a third
of these daughters provided at least 30 percent (or more) of the earn
ings in their families (70). At about the same time, more than a
2 Recent census data (1950) show that almost 30 percent of the wives aged 20-24 were
in the labor force. In the next 10-year-age period the proportion of wives at work
decreased, although among single women the proportion increased markedly in this agegroup. See Census Current Population Report, P-50, No. 29, data for April 1950.
88
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
fifth of some BOO employed daughters in Manchester, N. H. shoe fac
tories, interviewed by Women’s Bureau agents, made similar contri
bution (70). In a still earlier study (1913-14) of over 1,150 women
workers in Boston stores, nine-tenths of whom were single, the Bureau
of Labor Statistics reported that 40 percent of these women furnished
at least a fourth of the income of their families {70).
Substantial percentages of the women reported in two recent studies
were responsible for at least half of the home expenses, as follows:
Percent of women supplying specified
part of family funds
Duluth; 1945 (63)
South Bend: 1932 (137)___
Number of
women
789
814
All
15
31
Half, but
less than
all
32
29
Some, but
less than
half
26
40
None
or N tt
26
In addition, the percentage of families half or more of whose funds
were furnished by women was found to be considerable in the large
and detailed Women’s Bureau study made in 1939 {65), which in
cluded over 2,000 families of women workers in Cleveland, and nearly
800 in Utah. Since many families had more than one woman earner,
a total of 4,500 women workers in Cleveland and over 1,400 in Utah
were reported. In over half the families women furnished 50 percent
or more of the funds:
Percent of families in which specified
part of funds was supplied by women
Cleveland............... ..
Utah_______________
Number of
families
2,027
773
All
33
45
Half, but
Some, but
less than all less than half None
20
44
3
14
37
4
Women as Principal Earners in Their Families.—Some studies give
information as to whether a woman is the principal earner in her
family, without showing the proportion of the family earnings she
provides. The principal earner is the member of the family with the
highest earnings. If there are more than two earners in her family,
she does not necessarily furnish as much as half the family earnings,
even though she earns more than any other individual member.
The Bureau of the Census annual report on consumer income for
1946, made from its current sampling of the population, gives the most
comprehensive data available on this subject {23). It shows that
more than a fourth of the 14,367,000 women earners in the United
States who lived in urban or rural-non-farm families were either the
sole or the principal earners in their families. Of these women
workers 11 percent were the sole family earners, and an additional 15
FINDINGS FROM MANY STUDIES
89
percent the principal earners in their families. (For earlier sources,
see (64-), (73) and (74) in appendix A.)
The census income report for 1947 shows that of the country’s 37%
million families 13 percent received half or more of their income from
women, 27 percent received a fourth or more from women. In 6 per
cent of the families women furnished the only income. However, this
is not confined to women workers nor to earnings, but includes all types
of income, such as dividends from stocks and bonds, rentals, pensions,
and so forth, as well as current earnings.
This census reporting also shows women as heads of families, and
indicates that in the various years very roughly a tenth of the country’s
families have women at their heads—in 1949 women headed 3,637,000
families.
Women as the Only Earners in Their Families.—Most important of
all, a woman is only earner contributing to support in a large number of
families. A long series of studies over the past 30 years (and even
longer) gives consistent testimony that many women workers, in
widely scattered localities and occupations, are the sole wage earners,
often in families of considerable size.
Nearly all reports on this subject show that at least a tenth of the
women are the only earners in their families; in some groups studied
the proportion was a fifth and well beyond. Most reports on mothers
with children in day-care centers show that from about a fifth to well
over half of these mothers provide the only support for their families.
Among women workers who were on relief projects during the depres
sion, very large proportions were sole family earners.
In discussing women as the sole earners, every effort has been made
here to be sure the women workers reported include only those living
with their families.
Listed on page 90 are some of the more notable findings in regard to
women workers as the only earners in their families. These cover
many different localities and periods of time. They are made by vari
ous agencies and for various purposes. They include women earning a
living in a wide range of occupations and under differing economic
conditions.
Information on women as sole family earners was given in the 1946
income data from the sample used by the Bureau of the Census in its
Current Population Reports on civilians in the country (23). This
showed 11 percent of the women earners in families to be the sole
family earners. Aside from this census sampling, several fairly recent
reports, each of which includes more than 5,000 women, give this type
of information.
One of these relates to families sending children to day-care centers
in San Francisco in 1949; over half the 11,500 families reported were
90
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
entirely supported by the mother (6). Another is an evaluation of
the day-care program by the New York Youth Commission in the fall
of 1946; this shows that the mother was the sole support in more than
a fourth of the 6,349 families with children in these centers (16). A
third report is a Women’s Bureau investigation toward the close of
World War II, which included nearly 10,000 women war workers living
with their families in widely separated areas; of these 14 percent were
the sole earners in their families (48) ■
Several smaller reports made since the war show that from more
than a fourth to well over half of the mothers using child-care centers
in Seattle (21), Fort Wayne (9), Omaha (17), and the District of
Columbia (10) were the only earners in their families. An earlier
study, including over 3,000 women in South Bend, Ind., 11 percent of
whom were sole family earners, showed that of these sole earners 40
percent had families of four or more persons (137).
Women Workers as the Only Earners in Their Families
Study, period covered, and appendix reference
Number of
women
reported
Percent
women
sole
family
earners
POSTWAR PERIOD
Employed mothers, New York City; 1950 (IS)----Families, San Francisco; 1949 (19)--------------------Families, California; 1949 (6)---------------------------Employed mothers, San Francisco; 1947 (SO)------Women earners, U. S.; Census sample for 1946 (83)Families, New York State; 1946 (16)-----------------Women workers, Bridgeport, Conn.; 1946 (86)----Women workers, Duluth, Minn.; 1945 (53)----------
NR
461
11, 548
1,414
14, 367, 000
6, 349
610
2 789
i
1
1
1
40
40
55
16
11
i 27
16
15
WARTIME PERIOD
Women war workers living in family, 10 areas;
1944-45 (48)----------------------------------------------Women workers, electrical union; 1944—45 (39)----Women war workers, Dallas; 1944 (34) (excludes
single women with dependents)----------------------Professional women, U. 8.; 1943 (38)-----------------Working mothers, Elmira, N. Y.; 1942 (40)---------
10, 700
960
14
19
2, 458
3, 680
513
28
11
1 28
2, 661
1, 077
7, 226
6, 181
16
20
26
86
553
42, 975
76
10
3, 311, 400
31, 482
14
21
2, 271
33
PREWAR PERIOD
Women workers, Cleveland and Utah; 1939 (65):
Cleveland
Utah
Business and professional women, U. S.; 1937 (58)Employed women on relief, N. Y. C.; 1935 (59) —
Rural women employed by WPA, Missouri; 1935
(78).—----------------------------------------- -----------Women workers, three cities; 1930 (66)--------------Employed woman homemakers; 1930 (W. B. Bull.
148)------------------------------------------- ----------- -
Women workers, four cities; 1920 (W. B. Bull. 155).
Single women workers, candy stores, laundries,
hotels, restaurants; 1915-16 (88)--------------------i Refers to mothers.
s Number contributing to support of family.
FINDINGS FROM MANT STUDIES
91
Aside from the information that applies particularly to mothers,
a few other reports give the marital status of the women who are the
only family earners. These show that among the widowed and di
vorced (always the smallest in marital groups) larger proportions
than in other marital groups are sole family earners. Among single
and married women workers, the proportions who are the only earners
in the family often do not differ markedly. Table 19 shows findings
as to women who are sole family earners, by marital status.
Table
19.—Women
Sole Family Eaenebs,
Total reported
by
Single women
Study, period covered, and
appendix reference
Marital Status 1
Married
women
Women who
were widowed
or divorced
Num Percent Num Percent Num Percent
Num Percent
sole
sole
sole
ber
sole
ber
ber
ber earners
earners
earners
earners
Women workers, Bridgeport, Conn.;
1948 {26).___ ______
____
610
Women war workers, 10 areas: 1944
45 US)------------------------ '
10,700
Women workers, electrical union,
New York; 1944-45 (39)____
959
Professional women; 1943 (38).
3,680
Women workers, three cities; 1930 (66) 242,
975
309
4,400
255
5,200
1,100
48
34
367
2,314
22,577
450
1,168
14,875
142
198
5,523
53
44
29
46
1 Women living apart from family groups excluded.
Includes some women not gainfully occupied, since the marital breakdown is given only for the total.
An earlier report (137), that on women sole earners in South Bend,
Ind., in 1930 during economic depression, shows that nearly a third
of the sole family earners were daughters, not far from two-thirds
wi\ es, mothers, or both, and a few were in other relationships. A study
made by the Connecticut Bureau of Labor in 1915-16 gave informa
tion especially on single women, and showed that a third of those re
ported in candy stores, laundries, hotels, and restaurants were the
only earners in their families (88). However, it is not clear whether
some of these were living apart and provided only for themselves.
The extensive study of consumer purchases made by the Bureau of
Labor Statistics in 1935-36 (6-(), indicated that women were the only
earners in much larger proportions in other types of families than in
those which had both husband and wife. This survey reported nearly
178,000 native-white husband-wife nonrelief families that had wage
earners. A woman was the only earner in 2 percent of these families.
974031).- 52------ 7
Appendixes
Pago
A. References, listed with annotations---------------------------------------------- I. Recent studies (1935 and later), used as the basis for part II-----
Postwar period----------------------------------------------------------War period-------- -------------------------------------------------------Prewar period--------------------- --------------------------------------II. Studies prior to 1935 by agencies other than the Women’s Bureau,
III. Women’s Bureau bulletins--------------------------------------------------Studies directed primarily or largely to this subject-------------Special field studies-----------------------------------------------Special studies from census data-----------------------------Bulletins summarizing many studies----------------- ------Studies including considerable information on this subject, ,
Studies of a particular industry------------------------------Studies of a particular State or locality--------------------Studies of women injured in industry-----------------------Studies during economic depression-------- -----------------Studies of business and professional women,..................
Miscellaneous------------------------------------------------------Other bulletins with references or summaries of other
studies (1935 and later)--------------------------------------Other studies briefly mentioning the subject-------------------B. Earliest reporting of certain kinds of information on economic respon
sibilities of women----------------------------------------------------------------------C. Schedule used in part I......................... ................. ................-......... ..........
92
93
93
93
96
98
101
107
107
107
107
107
108
108
108
109
109
110
110
110
111
112
115
APPENDIX A—REFERENCES
Listed With Annotations
I. RECENT STUDIES (1935 AND LATER1
USED
AS THE BASIS
FOR
PART II
POSTWAR PERIOD
1. American Nurses’ Association. Inventory of Professional Registered
Nurses. 1949. Includes data on 502,637 women nurses—298,031 active
and 204,606 inactive—from questionnaires. Over two-fifths reported
dependents. Of these, 81 percent supported children; 16 percent, adults;
and 3 percent, both. Children were the principal dependents of inactive
nurses and adults of active nurses. Of the 300,533 active nurses (men
and women) 30 percent had dependents.
2. American Woman’s Association. 100 Women Look at the Future. Isobel
A. Mikhalenkoff. 1948. Data on 100 New York City members of the
association, 1946-47, from questionnaires. Dependents were supported
by 15 of 42 women 50 years of age or older, by 12 of 23 women 35 to 49
years of age, and by an unreported number of the 20 women under 35.
There were 15 retired women, 10 of whom had had dependents at some
time in their working life.
3. Arizona. Employment Security Commission. Dependents’ Allowances—
How Much Do They Cost in Arizona? Earl A. Heise. In Employment
Security Review, July 1951. Data on 2,681 female claimants for unem
ployment insurance, July 1949 to June 1950, from records; 56 percent
claimed responsibility for one dependent, 27 percent for two, and 17 per
cent for three dependents.
4. Baltimore Council of Social Agencies. Day Care Needs in Baltimore City.
July 1946 (mimeo). Data on 139 families as of February 28, 1916.
The mother was the head in 31 families (22 percent). In nine families
the only source of income was through women’s employment.
5. California. City Teachers’ Club, Long Beach. Salary Report, 1947. In
cludes information on 965 women teachers in early 1947, from question
naires. Data for about 520 elementary-kindergarten teachers indicate
that more than a third supported an average of 1.3 dependents.
6--------- Legislature Assembly. Interim Committee on Social Welfare. Re
port on Child Care Center Program, January 1951. Includes 11,548
families in 1949. In nearly 55 percent (about 6,300 families) there was
only one parent. In “practically all” these one-parent families the mother
was the sole support.
7. Council on Women’s Advertising Clubs of the Advertising Federation of
America and Printers Ink. Women in Advertising. In Printers Ink,
June 3, 1949. Data on 1,000 women in advertising, from questionnaires.
Of these, 49 percent had dependents or contributed to support others.
8. Fisher, Marguerite J. Economic Dependents of Women Faculty. In
American Association of University Professors Bulletin, Summer 1949.
Data on 158 women faculty members in 20 colleges in 1949, from ques
tionnaires. More than half (54 percent) had dependents. Of the women
with responsibilities for support, 56 percent had total dependents, and
12 percent of them also had partial dependents.
9. Fort Wayne, Ind. Social Planning Council. Report of Day Care Com
mittee, 1947, and Summary of Day Care Committee, November 1950.
In 1947, the mother was the only family earner for 19 out of 51 children
cared for in one day nursery, and for 10 out of 18 families whose children
were cared for in another. In 1950, of 22 Negro mothers with 38 chil
dren in day nurseries, half were sole earners in their families.
93
94
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
10. Foster Day Care and Counseling Association, Washington, D. C. Plans of
Fifty-two Mothers Currently Using Foster Day Care Homes. In Child
Welfare League of America Bulletin, February 1946. Data on 52 work
ing mothers in September 1945, from questionnaires. In 14 families
(over a fourth of the total) mothers provided the entire support.
11. Halsey, Olga S. Allowances for Dependents of Claimants for Unemploy
ment Benefits. In State Government, July 1951. Data on 47,195 female
beneficiaries of unemployment insurance, October-Deeember 1950, from
records in 11 States. Of these women, 6.0 percent received allowances
for dependents. In 7 States which recognize children only as depend
ents, 4.9 percent of 44,462 women received allowances. The 4 other
States reported 23.2 percent of 2,733 women were paid benefits for both
child and adult dependents. Unpublished tables show that of a total of
2,828 women with dependents in the survey, 60.0 percent were responsible
for 1, 30.3 percent for 2, 7.9 percent for 3, and 1.8 percent for
4 dependents.
12. Mohr, Jennie. Home Making Problems of Working Women. In Smith
College Studies on Social Work, October 1948. Data on 81 women, mostly
clerical or service workers, serviced by the Family Service Association,
Washington, D. C., in March 1947, from case records. An average of
2.7 dependents each were supported by 73 percent of the women.
13. New York City. Department of Welfare. Report on families using day
care centers, November 1950. Almost nine-tenths of the mothers in
these families (number unreported) were employed or looking for work.
Over 40 percent of the employed mothers were the sole support of their
families.
14. New York State. Department of Labor. Women Who Work at Night.
1948. Data on 347 night workers in 20 manufacturing plants in 1947,
from personal Interviews. Nearly three-fourths of the women supported
dependents. Of 313 women living in family groups, 20 percent were sole
' contributing wage earners.
15.-------- -------- The Household Worker in New York State, 1948. May
1949. Data on 183 female applicants for household jobs in New York City
in the spring of 1948, from personal interviews. Almost 80 percent of
144 nonresident workers and 36 percent of resident workers had depend
ents. Responsibility for supporting 134 children was reported by 81
women, an average of 1.7 child for each worker.
16. ------------------Youth Commission. An Evaluation of the State-Aided Child
Day Care Program. January 27, 1947 (mimeo). Data for September
1946 on 6,349 families in New York State. In 1,698, or about 27 percent
of these 6,349 families, the mother was the only support.
17. Omaha, Nebr. Community Welfare Council. Report of Fact-Finding Com
mittee on Day Care of Children. July 1946 (mimeo). Data on 136
families with children enrolled in day-care centers as of July 1, 1946,
from application forms. In 54 (or 40 percent) of the families, the
mother was the sole support.
18. Oregon State Unemployment Compensation Commission. Dependents’ Al
lowances in Relation to Unemployment Compensation in Oregon, 1948.
Includes 2,712 female claimants in Oregon during May 10-15, 1948, from
questionnaires, of whom 28 percent had an average of 1.6 dependents.
This was a special study to determine costs if the State should provide
added allowances for dependents.
19. San Francisco. Community Chest. Use of Day Care in Solving Problems
of Families and Children. August 1949. Data from personal interviews
on 461 families serviced by 6 day-care centers in 1949. Mothers were the
only earners in 40 percent of these families, having an average of 1.4
children. A total of 388 mothers were working.
20.-------- County Public Schools. Summary of Findings Concerning the Care
of Children of 1,414 Working Mothers, Now Using Child Care Centers.
1947 (mimeo). Data on 1,414 San Francisco families with working
mothers in March 1947, from questionnaires; 16 percent of these families
were supported solely by the mother’s employment.
APPENDIX
95
21. Seattle and King County, Wash. Health and Welfare Council. Findings
and Recommendations on Day Care Services. April 1951. Data on
245 families with children in 5 branch nurseries in Seattle and King
County, Wash., on October 31, 1949. In 11 out of every 12 families
served in the nurseries the mother was working, and of the working
mothers two-fifths were sole family wage earners.
22. United States Congress. Joint Committee on the Economic Report. Low
Income Families and Economic Stability. 1949. Data on 38,500,000
families in the United States in 1948, from census sampling. Women were
the heads in almost 10 percent of the families (3,710,000). About 11 per
cent of 31,810,000 nonfarm families and 6 percent of 6,720,000 farm
families had woman heads.
23. United States. Department of Commerce. Bureau of the Census. Cur
rent Population Reports. Consumer Income. June 1948 (data for 1946) •
February 1949 (data for 1947) ; February 1950 (data for 1948) ; and Febru
ary 1951 (data for 1949). Series P-60, Nos. 3, 5, 6, 7. The 1946 data
which uniike other years, omit the farm population, show that more than
a fourth of the women workers living in families were either the sole or
the principal earner in the family. Of 14,367,000 such women, 1,545,000
or 11 percent were the sole, 2,152,000 or 15 percent were the principal
family earners. Of all the sole family earners (15,350,000) in 1946, women
were 10 percent, and of all principal family earners (12,783,000), women
were 17 percent. In 1947, women furnished half or more of the entire
income in 13 percent of the country’s 37,279,000 families; in 6 percent of
these families women were the only members having income. Women
in “U; iiead,roughly a tenth of all families in the country in 1946,
1,8 (see also 22 above), and 1949. In 1949 women headed 3,637,000
of the country’s 39,193,000 families.
24. —- Department of Labor. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Economic
Status of Registered Professional Nurses, 1946-47. Bull. 931. Data for
AiOUV,7i500 active and 9>°00 inactive nurses, 1946-47, from questionnaires.
About 98 percent of the respondents were women. Dependents were sup
ported by 27 percent of the active and 46 percent of the inactive nurses.
25. ----------------- Women’s Bureau. Baltimore Women War Workers in the
Postwar Period. 1948. Reports on 200 women war workers who in 1946
still remained in the labor force and lived with their families, from per
sonal interviews. Over nine-tenths contributed regularly to family ex
penses, and almost half gave all their earnings. Entire responsibility
for family support was borne by 15 percent of the 200 women.
26.
----------------- Women Workers after V-J Day in One Community—
Bridgeport, Conn. Bull. 216. 1947. Data on 678 women workers in
Bridgeport, Conn, in February, 1946, from personal interviews. About
47 percent of the women contributed to support of others. Of 610 women
living in family groups, 16 percent were sole wage earners.
-— -------- Bureau of Employment Security. (Federal Security Agency
to August 1949, thereafter Department of Labor.) Dependents’ Allow
ances. In Statistical Supplement, Labor Market and Employment Secu
rity (U. S. Department of Labor), January-February-March, June, July,
October, December, 1950; April 1951. In Employment Security Activities.
(U. S. Department of Labor) October, November 1949. In Employment
Security Activities. (Federal Security Agency.) February, April, May
June, August, October, 1947; January, May, July, October-November,’ 1948;
January, April, 1949. Only 11 States make allowances for dependents of
women receiving unemployment compensation—Alaska, Arizona, Connecti
cut, District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada,
North Dakota, Ohio, Wyoming. In the more recent years from about 4
percent to over 7 percent of those receiving unemployment compensation
are entitled to allowances for dependents. The majority of these have
only one dependent, but some have two and a small proportion are en
titled to receive allowances for three or four dependents. Definitions of
dependents differ considerably among these States. Only four of them
provide allowances for women’s adult dependents, and their data indicate
that many women are responsible for adult dependents. In the last
96
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
quarter of 1950, for example, allowances for dependents in States where
these are given for women with adult as well as child dependents went to
about 9 percent of the women receiving unemployment compensation in
Alaska and Nevada, and to 23 to 37 percent, respectively, in the District of
Columbia and Arizona.
28. ------- Federal Security Agency. Dependents’ Allowances Under State
Unemployment Insurance Laws. Olga S. Halsey. In Social Security
Bulletin, February 1951. Data on 140,976 women beneficiaries of unem
ployment insurance, April to June 1950, from records in 11 States; 4.6
percent received allowances for dependents. In four States which pro
vide allowances for adult dependents as well as children, 21.3 percent
of 3,913 women received benefits for both types of dependents.
29. -----------------The Dependents of Workers; Selected Data on Numbers
and Types. Marvin S. Bloom. In Social Security Bulletin, January 1949.
Data on 49,642 women beneficiaries of unemployment insurance July to
September 1948, from records in 5 States; 4.7 percent received allowances
for dependents. In 3 States which recognized children only as depend
ents, 4.2 percent of 47,884 women received allowances. In the 2 other
States, 16 percent of 1,758 women were paid benefits for both child and
adult dependents. Of a total of 2,308 women with dependents in the sur
vey, 57.3 percent were responsible for 1, 24.5 percent for 2, 9.4 percent for
3, 8.8 percent for 4, and 0.4 percent for 5 or more dependents.
30. Young Women’s Christian Association, Utica, N. Y. Women Who Work
in Utica, 1947. Data on 441 women in various occupations in 103 estab
lishments, spring of 1946, from questionnaires. About a third were
responsible for supporting others, principally parents and children. More
than three-fourths turned over part of their earnings to the family;
nearly half contributed at least half of what they earned.
WAS PEBIOD
31. Board of Education, Summit, N. J. Final Report of the Summit Teachers’
Salary Survey Committee, 1943. Includes about 60 women teachers in
1941, from questionnaires. Approximately half were responsible for
dependents.
32. Brewington, Ann, and Berg, Evelyn Van Emden. The Woman Graduate of
a Collegiate School of Business. 1942. Data on 180 employed women
who were graduated from the University of Chicago between January
1913 and January 1941, from questionnaires. An average of 1.8 depend
ents were supported by 69 women. Seven mothers were sole earners.
33. Connecticut State Department of Education and Connecticut State Teach
ers Association. Teachers in Connecticut Public Scbools. Bulletin
XXXI, June 1943. Includes 5,975 female elementary and secondary
school teachers in 1941-42, from questionnaires. Almost two-thirds of
these women had dependents. Of these, 45 percent were responsible for
the entire support of one or more persons; 11 percent for two or more
persons.
34. Dallas Chamber of Commerce and the Committee for Economic Develop
ment. Problems for Postwar Dallas Relating to Employment and the
Labor Force. February 1945. Dr. Arthur A. Smith. Includes over 3,300
women war workers in 1944. Dependents were supported by 19 percent
of 889 single women, 43 percent of 1,814 married women, and 60 percent
of 628 widowed, separated and divorced women. Excluding single women,
an estimated 28 percent of the respondents were sole earners in households
of two or more members.
35. Kasman, Ruth A. Employed Mothers of Children in the ADO Program,
Cook County Bureau of Public Welfare. In Social Service Review, March
1945. Data on 100 working mothers in Cook County, 111., in 1944, from
personal interviews. Each had an average of two dependent children.
36. National Education Association. The Teacher Looks at Personnel Admin
istration. Research Bulletin, December 1945. Includes 3,512 urban and
676 rural women teachers in elementary and secondary schools of 42
States In 1944, from questionnaires. Of the 4,028 women reporting on
financial responsibilities, 51 percent bad dependents. Of those with
dependents, 17 percent supported children; 61 percent, adults; and 22
percent, both children and adults. (A small group designated “other
patterns of dependency” is assumed to include more than one dependent.)
APPENDIX
97
37. National Education Association and Pi Lambda Theta. Women of the
Pacific Northwest, 1945. Data on 325 women, consisting of 100 teachers,
50 other professional women, 50 businesswomen, 50 housewives, 25 war
workers, and 50 students residing in the larger cities of the Pacific North
west in 1943, from questionnaires. An average of 1.3 dependents were
supported by 23 percent of 315 workers reporting on family
responsibilities.
38. -----------------Women in the Professions. 1945. Includes 4,387 profes
sional women in the United States in December 1943, from question
naires. Of 1,503 women supporting others, 30 percent were responsible
for full dependents, 59 percent for partial dependents and 11 percent
for both types. Single women were primarily responsible for adults,
married women and widows for children. Of those reporting full sup
port of one adult, 85 percent were single, whereas of those fully sup
porting one child, 79 percent were married or widows. The data were
reported for all women and also for those gainfully employed; however,
no breakdown by marital status was given for those gainfully employed.
39. New York State. Department of Labor. Why Women Work. March
1946. Data on 1,114 women members of the .United Electrical Radio
and Machine Workers, in 47 war plants in 10 war-production areas in
New York State in 1944-45 from personal interviews. Contributions for
support were made by 46 percent of 154 women living apart and 98 percent
of 960 women living in family households. Of the latter, 19 percent
were sole contributing earners. Fifty percent or more of take-home
earnings was turned over to the family households in which they lived
by 52 percent of the single women, 87 percent of the married women and
92 percent of the widowed or divorced women.
40. Department of Social Welfare. Children on the Home Front. April 15,
1943. Data on 513 mothers working in Elmira in October-November
1942 and having children under 16 years of age, from personal interviews.
Of 472 mothers working for economic reasons 31 percent completely
supported the home.
41. United States. Department of Labor. Bureau of Labor Statistics. War
time Labor Force of Houston Ordnance Plant. In Monthly Labor Review,
March 1946. Includes 67 women in Houston in April 1945, from per
sonal interviews. Half of the women had dependents, and 17 were heads
of families with 2 or more members.
42. -------------------------- Mobile Shipyard Workers in Wartime. June 1946.
Includes 37 women, 35 white and 2 Negro in the Mobile, Ala., shipyards in
March 1945, from personal interviews. Ten white women had one to four
dependents (Negro not reported). Three women were heads of families.
43. -------------------------- War and Postwar Experiences of Skilled Cotton Tex
tile Workers in New England. June 1946. Includes 103 women in cot
ton textile mills in 3 New England cities in June 1945, from personal in
terviews. Of these women, 32 percent had an average of 1.4 dependents.
44. -------------------------- Wilmington Shipbuilders During and After World
War II. In Monthly Labor Review, June 1946. Includes 31 women in
the Wilmington, Del., shipyard in April 1945, from personal interviews.
Of these women, 42 percent supported an average of 1.5 dependents. Six
of the twenty-four women living in family groups were sole earners in
their families.
45. -------------------------- Work and Wage Experience of Willow Run Workers.
In Monthly Labor Review, December 1945. Includes 128 women at the
Willow Run bomber plant in Ypsilanti, near Detroit, in May 1945, from
personal interviews. An average of two dependents were supported by
31 percent of the women. Of 108 women in families of two or more per
sons, 37 were heads of their families.
46. -------- ------- - —-—- City Family Composition in Relation to Income, 1941
and 1944. In Monthly Labor Review, February 1946. Includes all city
families (number unspecified) in the United States in 1944, from a sam
pling study. One-seventh of families of two or more persons were
headed by women.
47. -----------——--------- The Labor Force in Durable Goods Manufacture in
San Francisco Bay Area, 1943. In Monthly Labor Review, October
1945. Includes unspecified number of women workers in eight subareas
98
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
of the San Francisco Bay area in the summer and fall of 1943, from per
sonnel records of 45 plants. Responsibility for dependents was reported
by a fourth of the women; of these, 74 percent supported children only,
18 percent adults only, and 8 percent both children and adults.
48. -----------------Women’s Bureau. Women Workers in 10 War Production
Areas and Their Postwar Employment Plans. Bull. 209, 1946. Data
on 13,000 women war workers in 10 cities in 1944-45, from personal in
terviews. About four-fifths of the women lived in family groups; over
90 percent of these contributed regularly to family expenses. Contribu
tions varied with marital status. All their earnings were given to the
family by 55 percent of the married women, 46 percent of the widowed
or divorced and 14 percent of the single workers. Complete responsibility
for maintaining their families was carried by 34 percent of the widowed
or divorced, 12 percent of the single and 11 percent of the married women.
49. -------------------------- Women’s Wartime Hours of Work. Bull. 208. 1947.
Includes information on financial responsibilities for 1,230 women in one
department of a Kansas airplane plant in 1943 and 1944, from plant
records and personal interviews. Dependents were supported by 48 per
cent of the women. Of these, 87 percent were responsible for children
and 13 percent for adults. Children were the principal responsibility of
married, widowed and divorced women. In these marital groups, re
spectively, over 60 percent and nearly 75 percent supported dependents,
as compared to 14 percent of the single women.
50. United States. Federal Security Agency. A Survey of Claimants for Un
employment Compensation in February-March 1943. Arnold Steinbach
and Philip Booth. In Social Security Bulletin, December 1943. Data on
the responsibility for dependents of 16,334 women claimants in 47 States
for week ending February 13, 1943, from records and personal interviews.
Of these women 31 percent were responsible for the support of children
under 12 or for an aged or invalid person in the household. Dependents
were claimed by 22 percent of the single women and 33 percent of the
married.
51. -----------------Gainfully Employed Women in Chicago. Erna Magnas. In
Social Security Bulletin, April 1943. Erna Magnas. Data on 3,033 women
workers for period November 1941-March 1942, from personal interviews;
33 percent had dependents. Of these, 36 percent supported children, 54
percent adults, and 10 percent supported both types of dependents. Full
dependents were claimed by 24 percent, partial dependents by 74 percent,
and both types of dependents by 2 percent of the women who supported
others. The proportions of women in each marital group who were re
sponsible for dependents consisted of 32 percent of the single women, 35
percent of the married, 25 percent of the widowed, and 42 percent of the
separated and divorced. Of the single women 21 percent supported adults
(parents only). Of the married women 49 percent supported children
only (parents 7 percent, husbands 20 percent).
52. ----------------- Dependents of Unemployment Compensation Claimants in
Delaware. Marvin Bloom. In Social Security Bulletin, November 1943.
Data on 200 women workers for period December 1941-February 1942,
from personal interviews. Of 196 women reported, 16 percent had depend
ents—8 percent had one, 4 percent had two, and 4 percent had three or
four dependents.
53. Young Women’s Christian Association, Duluth, Minn. Women at Work.
September 1945. Data on 1,547 women workers in spring 1945, from per
sonal interviews. More than half contributed to family support. About
15 percent of these were sole earners; 32 percent accounted for one-half
the family income, and 26 percent for one-fourth; 26 percent did not desig
nate the amount. Children under 18 years were principal dependents and
were supported by 64 percent of the women. The average number of
dependents was 1.5 persons.
prewar period
54. American Association of University Women in cooperation with the
Women’s Bureau. Economic Status of University Women in the U. S. A.
Bull. 170. 1939. Includes 8,796 gainfully employed members of the asso
APPENDIX
99
ciation in January 1935, from questionnaires. Over 40 percent were re
sponsible for dependents, including 8 percent with full dependents, 23
percent with partial, and 5 percent with both types. An additional 5 per
cent supported others, type not reported, and 59 percent had no depend
ents. Larger proportions of the married women (48 percent) than of the
single (39 percent) supported dependents. Of those supporting others,
the great majority had adult dependents, but 16 percent supported children
16 years of age or less.
55. Greenwich, Conn., Board of Education. Report on the Salaries of Teach
ers and other Employees in the Greenwich School System. Willard S.
Elsbree. Included 197 women teachers, from questionnaires answered in
1936-37. Of these teachers, 40 women had 59 total dependents; 103 women
had 186 partial dependents.
5$. National Education Association. Teachers in Rural Communities. 1939.
Includes 8,610 women teachers—7,415 white and 1,195 Negro—in towns of
under 2,500 population in 20 States, during the period June 1,1936, to May
31, 1937, from questionnaires distributed through county superintendents.
Single women teachers had more dependents than did single men. Count
ing two partial or one whole dependent as a “dependency unit,” white
women teachers had an average of about 1.4 dependency units; Negro
women teachers an average of about 2.4 dependency units.
57. National Federation of Business-Professional Womens’ Clubs. Position of
Married Women in the Economic World. July 1940. Dr. Ruth Shallcross. Includes 2,300 members, 1939—571 married, 1,304 single, 416
widowed, divorced, and separated, from questionnaires. Of married
women 36 percent were engaged in public employment and were subject
potentially to restrictive legislation. These women, as a group, sup
ported more dependents than did the other working members reported.
581 ------------------ Why Women Work. Public Affairs Pamphlets No. 17. 1938.
Includes 12,043 members of the Federation in 1937, from mailed ques
tionnaires. Of women reporting on their responsibilities, 50 percent
supported themselves only, and an additional 47 percent supported
themselves and others.
59. New York State. Department of Labor. Wages and Family Responsibil
ities of Employed Women on Relief in New York City. The Industrial
Bulletin. February 1936. Study by Division of Women in Industry and
Minimum Wage. Includes 6,674 gainfully employed women on relief in
May-September 1935, from case records examined. In most of the fam
ilies the woman worker had the entire burden of support; in only
7.5 percent were wages of employed males available. The median family
consisted of 4.7 persons.
60. Pyle, Theresa P. The Teacher’s Dependency Load. Ph. D. thesis, Colum
bia University. 1939. Includes 641 women teachers in elementary and
secondary schools—140 married, 501 single—in 1937-38, from question
naires mailed to Pi Lambda Theta chapters. Single women teachers
most frequently supported parents and siblings and their dependency
load was heaviest in age group 50 to 60 years. Married women teachers’
greatest responsibilities were for children, husbands, and parents; their
burden was most significant at 40 to 50 years.
61. Rhode Island State College. The Rural Homemaker in Southern Rhode
Island as a Paid Worker. Bull. 259. December 1936. Margaret
Whittemore and Blanche M. Kuschke. Study started in 1929 of 624
gainfully employed homemakers, through interviews. All women were
included who were responsible for the conduct of the household, and
also at least part of its financial support. Of the group, 85 percent
reported they worked for necessities.
62. ------- Allocation of Time by Employed Married Women in Rhode Island.
Bull. 267. July 1938. Blanche M. Kuschke. Study started in 1935 of
69 gainfully employed homemakers, through time records. Of these
women, 58 percent worked for necessities, 9 percent to buy a home, and
6 percent to support parents.
68. Steckel, Minnie L. Women’s Financial Responsibility Towards Mainte
nance of Others. In Sociology and Social Research, July-August 1938.
Includes 586 business and professional women in 25 Alabama cities,
100
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
1929-36, from mailed questionnaires. “During a financial crisis the
obligation for the support of others increases for women as well as
for men.” Responsibility for dependents was greatest for women aged
35 to 55 years. In order of numerical importance, the persons most
frequently supported by all the women w7ere children, mothers, sisters,
brothers, and fathers.
64. United States. Department of Labor. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Study
of Consumer Purchases. Urban Series. Family Income and Expendi
tures. 1935-36. Bulls. 642, 643, 644, 645, 646, 647, 649. Published 1939,
1941. Department of Agriculture in cooperation with Works Progress
Administration. Consumer Purchase Study. Urban and Village Series.
Family Income and Expenditures. 1935-36. Bulls. 339, 345, 370, 375,
383. Published 1939, 1940. Of the native-white, husband-wife, non
relief families (the most usual type), 177,777 had wage earners, and in
4 percent of these a woman was the principal earner. Among these
families 137,511 had only one earner, and in nearly 2 percent of these
a woman was the only earner. Among Negro families having one earner,
a woman was the only earner in 3 percent of those in New York, and
5 percent of those in four chief cities in the South. In comparison with
husband-wife families, women were carrying a considerably heavier
share of the support of families of other types.
65. -----------------Women’s Bureau. Women Workers in Their Family En
vironment. Bull. 183. 1941. Includes 6,000 women workers in Cleve
land, Ohio, and Utah in 1939 from personal interviews. Women
contributed the entire income for 37 percent of 2,800 families reporting.
■Unmarried daughters were the most important woman earners. They
contributed more to family income than did unmarried sons.
66. -------------------------- Employed Women and Family Support. Bull. 168.
1939. Data on 58,000 gainfully employed women in Fort Wayne, Ind.,
Bridgeport, Conn., and Richmond, Va., from 1930 Census schedules.
Three-fourths of the women lived in families of two or more persons.
Of these women, 10 percent provided the entire support for their families
and 20 percent lived in families with no men earners.
67. -------------------------- Unattached Women on Relief in Chicago, 1937. Bull.
158. 1938. Includes 604 women, from records of social agencies in 1938.
More than a tenth had worked to supplement the family income.
68. -------------------------- Reemployment of New England Women in Private
Industry. Bull. 140. 1936. Includes 108,793 women wholly unem
ployed on January 2, 1934, from relief records examined. Relief assist
ance was sought in 1935 by 1,740 ■women of the Old Colony area,
Massachusetts, of whom one-fourth had financial responsibility for two
or more persons.
69. -------------------------- Family Status of Breadwinning Women in Four Se
lected Cities, Bull. 41. 1925. Data on nearly 40,000 working women in
Jacksonville, Fla., Wilkes-Barre and Hanover Township, Pa., Butte, Mont.,
and Passaic, N. J., from 1920 census schedules. Of the 31,482 breadwinning
women who reported on the number of wage earners in the family, 21 per
cent were classed as the sole breadwinner in the family and 27 percent
were in families having no men wage earners.
70.---------------------------The Share of Wage-Earning Women in Family Sup
port. Bull. 30. 1923. Includes 893 women employed in the shoe industry
in Manchester, N. H., in 1920, from personal interviews and plant records.
All their earnings were contributed to the family by 70 percent of 445
women living at home. Of 307 daughters 65 percent, but of 289 sons only
35 percent, gave their entire wages. The study summarized data on this
subject from 52 reports of other agencies made from 1888 to 1922, and
contains Bureau of Labor Statistics data collected 1918-19 for 92 cities
showing the economic importance of sons and of daughters in families.
71.-------- Federal Security Agency. Bureau of Old Age and Survivors In
surance. Negro Domestic Workers in Private Homes in Baltimore.
Erna Magnas. In Social Security Bulletin, October 1941. Data on 1,093
Negro and 46 white women employed as domestic workers in January
1941, from personal interviews. Of 976 Negro workers reporting on the
subject, nearly one-half had dependents. Of these, 37 percent of the
APPENDIX
72.
73.
74.
75.
101
single women, 51 percent of the married women, and 53 percent of the
widowed, separated, and divorced were responsible for the support of
others.
University of Missouri. Rural Women and the Works Progress Program.
By E. L. Morgan, J. D. Ensminger, and W. W. Sneed. Research Bull.
253, April 1937. Includes 553 rural women in workrooms in 12 counties
in Missouri in 1936, from questionnaires distributed to women at work.
All hut 7 were principal earners in their families; all but 37 supported
dependents.
University of Pennsylvania in cooperation with Works Progress Adminis
tration. Employment and Unemployment in Philadelphia in 1936 and
1937. Part I: May 1936. Part II: May 1937. Parts published sepa
rately August 1938 and October 1938. Gladys U. Palmer and Margaret W.
Bell. Includes data from personal interviews in Philadelphia on 44,817
households in 1936 and 45,927 households in 1937. In 1936, women were
chief earners in 13.5 percent of 15,138 households reporting on this sub
ject, and in 1937 they were chief earners in 15.6 percent of the 45,927 house
holds enumerated.
University of Pennsylvania. The Significance of Employment Patterns in
Households for Labor Market Analysis. Gladys L. Palmer, June 1942.
Includes 23,392 women workers in 22,675 multiworker households in
Philadelphia, Pa., Manchester, N. H., and Millville, N. J., in 1936, from
sample studies, spring and fall 1936. Women were principal earners in
13.5 percent of these households.
Washington State Federation of Business and Professional Women’s Clubs.
Report of Special Survey: State, County, and City Employees of Wash
ington, 1938. Includes 420 women employed in public service in 1937, 60
married and 360 single, from questionnaires. Excluding spouses, married
women had more dependents than married men reporting. Of the single
respondents living at home, women had 20 percent more dependents than
men.
II. STUDIES PRIOR TO 1935 BY AGENCIES OTHER THAN THE WOMEN'S BUREAU
76. American Association of University Women. Married College Women in
Business and the Professions. Chase Going Woodhouse. In Annals of
the American Academy of Political and Social Science, May 1929. Data
for 1926-27, from questionnaires and interviews, on 56S college graduates.
Of 336 women reporting reasons for working, 59 percent worked because
of economic reasons.
77. American Woman’s Association. The Trained Woman and the Economic
Crisis. Harriet Houghton and Louisa Blaine. 1931. Data for 1931,
from questionnaires, on 1,937 New York City business and professional
women. Dependents were supported by 40 percent of the 1,710 women
reporting on the subject; nearly a third of this group had total dependents.
78.-------- Women Workers Through the Depression. Lorine Pruette and Iva
Lowther Peters. 1934. Data for 1929-33, from questionnaires, on 1,350
New York City members: 49 percent supported dependents—10 percent
having total dependents; 31 percent, partial dependents; and 8 percent,
both types. Women with dependents contributed about a fourth of their
income for support.
79. California. Department of Education. Bull. 11. Adequacy of Salaries
■ Paid to Oakland School Teachers. R. E. Rutledge and Emily H. Hunting
ton. June 1, 1932. Data for 1931, from questionnaires, on 1,306 women
teachers. Of 761 reporting on the subject, 77 percent supported depend
ents.
80.-------- Industrial Welfare Commission. First * Biennial Report, 1013-14.
1915. Data for 1914, from personal interviews and questionnaires, on
4,810 women in retail dry-goods stores, of whom, 49 percent contributed
to the support of dependents.
81. Cleveland Teachers Federation and Cleveland Board of Education. Cleve
land Teachers’ Salaries. T. C. Holy. Bureau of Educational Research.
Monograph 16. 1932. Data for 1930-31, from questionnaires, on 2,650
women teachers; 57 percent supported an average of two dependents (be
sides self-support).
102
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
82. Connecticut. Bureau of Labor. Report on the Conditions of Wage-Earn
ing Women and Girls. Charlotte Molyneux Holloway. 1916. Data for
1915-16, from personal interviews and company records, on 8,730 women
working in laundries, hotels and restaurants, and stores. Of these
women, 61 percent contributed to support of others, 19 percent being the
sole support of their families.
83.-------- Citizens’ Emergency Committee on Unemployment and Relief.
Study of Unemployed Registered in Bridgeport, Conn. Thelma P. Skiff.
Monthly Labor Review, May 1931. Data for January 1931 from records
on 557 women, of whom 65 percent had dependents.
84.-------- Special Commission to Investigate the Conditions of Wage
Earning Women and Minors. Report of the Commission. 1913. Data
for 1912, from payroll records and personal interviews, on 10,351 women in
several industries. Of 2,001 women reporting on subject 70 percent gave
all and 29 percent gave part of their earnings for family support.
85. Fresno City Council of Education. Salary and Cost Study of Fresno
Schools. Walter Crosby Eels. May 1932. Data for 1931, from question
naires, on 390 women teachers who were responsible for 105 child de
pendents and 305 adult dependents. These teachers averaged about 1.1
dependents (besides self-support).
86. Graham, Irene J. Family Support and Dependency Among Chicago
Negroes: A Study of Unpublished Census Data. In Social Service Re
view, December 1929. Data based on 1920 census. Of 3,048 gainfully
employed Negro women, 36 percent were heads of families who supported
an average of over 2 dependents (besides self-support).
87. Hewes, Amy. Dependents of College Teachers. In Quarterly Publication
of the American Statistical Association, December 1919. Data for 1919,
from questionnaires, on 239 women teachers in 4 colleges. About 41 per
cent of 238 unmarried teachers had dependents.
88. Hughes, Gwendolyn S. (later, Gwendolyn Hughes Berry). Mothers in In
dustry. 1925. Data for 1918-19, from interviews, on 728 gainfully em
ployed Philadelphia mothers of children under 16 years. Of these
women, 89 percent worked because they had inadequate or no contribu
tions from husbands. Wives were sole earners in 30 percent of 600
families maintaining own households.
89. Illinois. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Fourteenth Biennial Report, 1906.
1908. Data for 1906, from schedules for employers and wage earners,
covers 2,545 working women in four cities in Illinois; 65 percent sup
ported an average of 1.8 dependents (besides self-support).
90. Indiana. Department of Statistics. Fifth Biennial Report, 1893-94. 1894.
Data for 1893-94, from personal investigations, on 500 women working
in various industries. Half of these women helped support dependents.
91. Information Bureau on Womens’ Work, Toledo. The Floating World:
1927. Data for 1925-26 from interviews with 126 nonfamily women in
Toledo, Ohio. Of 95 women reporting on subject, 31 percent contributed
to support of others.
92. Institute of Women’s Professional Relations. Women and the Ph. D. By
Emily Hutchinson, Jr. December 1929. Data from questionnaires on
1,025 women who received a Ph. D. degree from 1877 to 1924. Of 485
women who reported on the subject, 70 percent had had dependents at
some time during their careers; of this group a fourth had total
dependents.
93. Kansas. Board of Public Welfare. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Report
on the Wage-Earning Women of Kansas City, 1912-13. 1913. Data for
1912-13, from personal interviews and schedules, on 10,854 wage-earning
women in various industries. Of 5,680 women working in stores, factories
and laundries, 24 percent had dependents.
94. ------- Bureau of Labor and Industry. Tenth Annual Report, 1894. 1895.
Data for 1894, from questionnaire, on 1,865 working women in leading
cities in Kansas ; 45 percent supported dependents.
95. ------- Department of Labor and Industry. Twenty-Ninth Annual Re
port, 1913. 1914. Data for 1913, from personal interviews and question
naires, on 6,544 working women in Kansas. Of 1,921 women reporting on
subject, 42 percent supported others.
APPENDIX
103
96. La Follette, Cecile Tipton. A Study of the Problems of 652' Gainfully
Employed Married Women Homemakers. Teachers College, Columbia
University, 1934. Data for 1932, from questionnaires, on 652 working
wives living with their husbands throughout the United States. Of
these women, 28 percent worked to support dependents; seven women
provided entire support to their families.
97. Los Angeles City Board of Education. Teachers’ Salaries in the Los
Angeles Elementary and High School Districts. March 1931. Data for
1929 from questionnaires on 7,176 women. Of 1,099 reporting respon
sibilities 18 percent had sole dependents, 35 percent had partial depend
ents, and 10 percent had both types. Single women supported an average
of 0.7 dependent, married women 1.2 dependents, and widowed and
divorced 1.5 dependents (besides self-support).
98. Maryland. State Board of Labor and Statistics. Twenty-Eighth Annual
Report, 1919. 1920. Data for 1919, from personal interviews, on 4,296
women in various industries; 35 percent supported dependents.
99. Massachusetts. Commission on Minimum Wage Boards. Report, 1912.
Data for 1911, from payroll records and personal interviews, on about
7,000 women. Of 3,860 women working in candy factories, stores, and
laundries, 65 percent contributed all and 33 percent contributed part of
their earnings to the support of dependents.
180.-------- Department of Labor and Industries, Division of Minimum Wage.
Wages of Women Employed in the Manufacture of Druggists’ Prepara
tions, Proprietary Medicines and Chemical Compounds in Massachusetts.
1923. (Miineo.) Data for 1920, from payroll records and questionnaires,
on 1,485 women. Of 504 women living at home 63 percent helped support
others.
101. - ------------------------- Second Report on the Wages of Women Employed
in Paper Box Factories in Massachusetts. Bull. 22. September 1920.
Data for 1918-19, from payroll records and personal interviews, on 1,054
women working in 16 establishments. Of 573 women reporting on sub
ject, 58 percent contributed to support others,
102. -------------------------- Second Report on the Wages of Women in Corset
Factories in Massachusetts, 1919. Bull. 21. November 1919. Data for
1919, from payroll records and questionnaires, on 1,361 women working
in 10 factories. Of 610 women reporting on subject, 64 percent con
tributed to the support of others.
103. Michigan. Department of Labor. Thirtieth Annual Report, 1912-13. 1913.
Data for 1912, from personal interviews, on over 1,500 women in various
industries. Of the women living at home (the majority of the total
reported), more than 61 percent contributed all or the larger part of
their earnings toward support of their families—over 23 percent con
tributing all earnings.
104. ------- State Commission of Inquiry into Wages and the Conditions of
Labor for Women and the Advisability of Establishing a Minimum Wage.
Report, 1915. Data for 1914, from personal interviews, on 8,512 women
in 18 occupations. Of 5,929 women reporting on the subject 42 percent
contributed all their earnings and 46 percent contributed part toward
the support of the family.
105. Minneapolis. Central Committee of Teachers’ Associations. A Study of
Costs and Standards of Living of Minneapolis Teachers in Relation to
Their Salaries. Royal Meeker. September 1926. Data on 541 women
teachers. Dependents were supported by 23 percent of 446 single women
and 42 percent of 84 married and widowed women.
106. Minnesota. Department of Labor and Industries. Bureau of Women and
Children. Women in Industry in Minnesota in 1918. Carol Aronovici.
1920. Data for 1918-19, from personal interviews, on 51,361 women in
various industries; 56 percent contributed to family support.
107. Missouri. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Thirteenth Annual Report, 1891.
Data for 1890-91, from personal interviews, on 1,458 women in industry;
68 percent had dependents.
108. Monroe, Day. Chicago Families: A Study of Unpublished Census Data.
1932. Data from 1920 census on 23,373 families. Of 2,625 women with
104
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
broken marital ties, 38 percent bad dependent children. Mothers were the
only workers in 15 percent of 2,091 families of women with broken marital
ties. About three-fourths of 109 wives were sole earners in families of
men without occupations.
109. Morton, Grace M., and Clark, Marjorie R. Income and Expenditures of
Women Faculty Members in the University of Nebraska. In Journal of
Home Economics, August 1930. Data for 1928, from questionnaires, on 29
unmarried faculty women, of whom 15 contributed to dependents.
110. National Child Labor Committee. Survey of Wage Earning Girls Below
16 Years of Age in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. 1915. Sarah H. Atherton. Data
for 1913-14 from personal interviews, on 302 working girls aged 14 to 16
years. All but six of the girls contributed to their families.
111. National Education Association. The Teacher’s Economic Position. Re
search Bulletin, September 1935. Data from individual records on 1,955
women teachers who never married or had been separated or widowed,
in 37 cities, for period October 1932 to September 1933. These women
supported on the average 1.4 dependent persons (besides self-support).
112. National Federation of Business and Professional Women’s Clubs. Earn
ings of Women in Business and the Professions. Margaret Elliott and
Grace E. Manson. University of Michigan Business Studies. Vol. Ill, No.
1, September 1930. Data for 1927, from questionnaires, on 14,073 mem
bers. Of 13,856 reporting on the subject 39 percent supported an average
of 1.7 dependent persons (besides self-support).
113. New Jersey. Bureau of Statistics of Labor and Industries. Sixteenth
Annual Report, 1892-93. 1894. Data for 1892-93, from personal inves
tigations, on 3,877 women in various occupations; 26 percent helped sup
port others.
114. New York City. Bureau of Social Hygiene. Housing Conditions of Em
ployed Women in the Borough of Manhattan. Study directed by Dr.
Katherine Bement Davis. Data for 1920-21, from questionnaires, on 8,782
women in various occupations. One-half had dependents.
115. New York State. Department of Labor. Unemployment in Buffalo.
November 1931. Frederick E. Croxton. Special Bull. 172. 1931. Data
for November 1931. Of 9,557 heads of families, over 6 percent were women.
Of 3,009 women working, one-fifth were heads of families.
116. -----------------Unemployment in Syracuse, November 1931. John Nye
Webb. Special Bull. 173. 1932. Data for November 1931 from inter
views. Of 4,582 heads of families nearly 8 percent were women. Of 1,663
women working, more than one-fifth were heads of families.
117. ------- Factory Investigating Commission. Fourth Report, 1915. Data
for 1914, from personal investigations, on 1,937 women in stores and fac
tories. Of 1,782 reporting on the subject 36 percent contributed to family
support.
118. Oregon. Bureau of Labor. Eleventh Biennial Report, 1923-24. Data
from records on 11,438 women employed in industry, October 1922 to Sep
tember 1924. Of these women, about 17 percent supported 2,316 depend
ents, 1,652 children and 664 adults (an average of 1.2 dependents for 1,971
women).
119. ----------------- Tenth Biennial Report, 1921-22. Data for 1920-22, from
records, on 13,625 women in 1,016 firms. Of these women, 16 percent sup
ported 2,331 children and 1,392 adults (an average of 1.7 dependents for
2,209 women).
120. ------------------ Ninth Biennial Report, 1919-20. Data for 1918-19, from
records, on 13,594 women employed in various industries. Of these women
19 percent supported 1,798 children and 987 adults (an average of 1.1
dependents for 2,519 women).
121. Pennsylvania. Civil Works Administration Program in Pennsylvania. Re
port of the Administrator of the Federal Civil Works Administration of
Pennsylvania, November 15, 1933, to March 31, 1934. Eric H. Biddle.
Data for November 1933 to March 1934 from case records on 13,329 women
employed on CWA projects. These women supported 17,387 dependents,
12,568 full and 4,819 partial.
APPENDIX
105
122. -----— Department of Labor and Industry. State Employment Commis
sion. Thirty Thousand in Search of Work. Gladys L. Palmer. 1933.
Data for 1932 from records on 10,356 women. Of 6,932 women reporting
on the subject, two-thirds had dependents.
123. Peters, David Wilbur. Status of Married Women Teachers. 1934. Ph. D.
thesis, Teachers College, Columbia University. Data for 1930-31 from
questionnaires on 921 married and 921 single teachers in Virginia. Single
teachers had about three-fourths as many dependents as did married
teachers.
124. Russell Sage Foundation. The Incidence of Work Shortage. Margaret H.
Hogg. 1932. Data for 1931 from personal interviews. Of 1,034 women
workers in New Haven, Conn., reporting on the subject, 23 percent were
responsible for dependents.
125. ------- Italian Women in Industry. Louise C. Odencrantz. 1919. Data
for 1911-13, from personal interviews, on 1,095 women workers; of 884
who reported on dependency, 86 percent gave all and 9 percent gave part
of earnings to their families.
126. ------- Mothers Who Must Earn. Katharine Anthony. 1914. Data for
1912, through records and personal visits, on 370 working mothers in New
York City; 27 percent were sole earners in families having an average of
3.2 members.
127. Short, Jessie M. Women’s Wages Compared With Living Costs and General
Community Standards, 1914-32. In Reed College Bulletin, January 1933.
Data for 1932 on 629 women teachers in Portland, Oreg. These women
as a group supported on the average 1.5 dependents (besides self-support).
128. United States. Council of National Defense. New Orleans Division and
Louisiana State Division. Women in Industry Committee. Conditions
of Women’s Labor in Louisiana. New Orleans and Louisiana Industrial
Survey, 1919. Data for 1918-19, from company records and personal in
terviews, on 5,202 employed women, half of whom supported dependents.
Women were chief earners in at least 56 percent of the families of 5,085
women living at home.
129. —------ Department of Commerce. Bureau of the Census. Women in
Gainful Occupations, 1870 to 1920. Census Monographs IX. 1929.
Joseph A. Hill. Data from 1920 census on 271,000 women workers living
witti their families in 11 cities. Of these women 8.1 percent of the total—
or 6.2 percent of 162,312 single women, 5 percent of 71,368 married and
22.2 percent of 37,342 widowed and divorced—were sole breadwinners in
their families.
130. ------------------------ The Woman Homemaker in the City. Bertha M.
Nienburg. 1923. Data from 1920 census on 74,000 Rochester, N, Y.,
women ever married. The wife or widow was the only wage earner in
almost 6 percent of 74,467 families.
131. ----- Department of Commerce and Labor. Report on Condition of
Woman and Child Wage Earners in the United States. Volumes 1-5.
1910-11. Data for 1907-8 from personal investigations on 16,982 women
throughout the United States.
Cotton textile, men’s ready-made clothing, glass and silk industries:
From 25 to 33 percent of net family income contributed by 1,917 work
ing mothers; from 27 to 43 percent of net family income contributed
by 7,172 women over 16 years (excluding mothers). The proportions
of their earnings contributed by mothers ranged from 86 to 97
percent.
Stores and factories in seven cities: Of 4,584 women living at home, 75
percent gave all earnings and 23 percent gave part of earnings to
the family. Of 1,275 women living away from home, 22 percent
contributed to needy relatives.
Hotels and restaurants in seven cities: Of 127 women living at home,
69 percent gave all earnings to the family. Of 222 women living
away from home, 20 percent contributed to needy relatives.
----- Department of the Interior. Bureau of Labor. Working Women
in Large Cities. Fourth Annual Report of the Commissioner of Labor,
1888. 1889. Data for 1888, from personal investigations, on 17,427
women in 22 cities. Of 14,918 reporting on subject, 59 percent con
106
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
tributed to general support of families. Of 5,716 reporting year’s income,
about a tenth had dependents. An average of nearly a fourth of the
earnings of these 5,716 women went to support of dependents,
133.-------- Department of Labor. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Cost of Living
in the District of Columbia. In Monthly Labor Review, January and
March, 1918. Data for 1916-17, from personal interviews, on 600 women
working in various occupations in the District of Columbia. Almost 22
percent supported others. Of 137 self-supporting women who lived away
from home, 38 helped support dependents.
134.---------------------------Unemployment Among Women in Department and
Other Retail Stores of Boston. Bull. 182. 1916. Data for 1913-14,
from personal interviews, on 1,763 women. Of 1,156 women regularly
employed, 85 percent contributed to their families.
135. ----------------- Children’s Bureau. Children of Wage-Earning Mothers.
Pub. 102. 1922. Helen Wright. Data for 1918-20 from interviews and
case records on 843 gainfully employed Chicago mothers of children under
14 years. The average number of dependent children under 14 years
was about 2.5 per woman.
136. -------------------------- Children of Working Mothers in Philadelphia. Part
1. The Working Mother. Pub. 204. Clara Mortenson Beyer. 1931.
Data for January-Septeinber 1928, from interviews and records, on 12,227
families. Of 3,509 mothers who had children under 16 years and who
worked during 6 months preceding interview, 18 percent were the sole
support, 9 percent were the chief support, and 73 percent were supple
mentary earners in their families.
137. -----------------Women’s Bureau. See section III of appendix A.
138. University of Kentucky. A Salary Study for the Lexington Public Schools.
Bulletin of the Bureau of School Service, College of Education, March
1935. Data for 1934 from questionnaires on 235 women teachers; 76
percent had dependents.
139. University of Pennsylvania. The Employment Characteristics of New Ap
plicants at the Philadelphia State Employment Office, 1934. Special
Report A-6. Gladys L. Palmer. November 1935. Data for 1934 from
records on about 15,000 women. Of 6,574 women reporting on the sub
ject, 77 percent supported an average of 2.5 dependent persons (besides
self-support).
140. ------- The Applicants at Three Pennsylvania State Employment Offices
in 1933. Special Report A-3. Gladys L. Palmer. October 31, 1934.
Data for 1933 from records on almost 6,000 women. Of 4,767 women
reporting on subject, 59 percent supported dependents—25 percent having
one dependent, 17 percent two dependents, and 16 percent three or more
dependents (besides self-support).
141. -------- Employed Married Women in Philadelphia. November 17, 1931.
Estimated data from records for April 1931, on 55,000 married women
workers. Of 34,000 employed full-time, 28 percent, and of 10,000 em
ployed part-time, 28 percent were only wage earners in their families.
142. Washington (State) Industrial Welfare Commission. Fourth Biennial
Report, 1919-20. 1920. Data for 1918-20, from records and personal
interviews on 3,256 applicants for apprenticeship licenses and 2,560
women workers in public housekeeping, manufacturing, laundry and dye
industries. Dependency burden described in report for at least 1,600
women in various industries and of varied marital status. The 263
widowed apprenticeship applicants supported 389 children. Among 739
laundry workers, over half of 146 widows and more than a fourth of 262
single girls had dependents. Of 991 women in manufacturing, 43 percent
had dependents. Widows with dependents constituted almost a fourth
of 830 women in public housekeeping.
143. Whittemore, Margaret. Wage Earning Homemaker and the Family Income.
In Journal of Home Economics, November 1931. Data on 408 women
in one rural Rhode Island county; 71 percent worked because they must.
144. Wisconsin. Consumers’ League. Women’s Wages in Milwaukee. Ruby
Stewart. In Proposed Minimum Wage Law for Wisconsin. 1911. Data
from questionnaires on 1,189 women in 15 Milwaukee factories. Of 1,078
APPENDIX
107
women living at home, 81 percent contributed all and 18 percent contnbuted part of earnings for family support.
145.
Industrial Commission. Employment Services in Wisconsin, Jan
uary 1934 to December 1935. June 1936. Data on 19,623 women ap
plicants in the 6 months preceding January 1934, who as a group averaged
0.(3 person as dependents (besides self-support).
——-—7— Cost of Living of Wage-Earning Women in Wisconsin. Marv
C. Wiggin, Emma Lundberg, et al. Women in Wisconsin. May 1 1916
Data for 1913-14, from questionnaires, on 17,356 women in 41 cities Of
13,686 single women living at home, 39 percent gave all their earnings
and 59 percent gave part toward family support.
147. Women’s Educational and Industrial Union. Boston. A Legacy to Wage
Earning Women, Lucille Eaves, et al. 1925. Data for 1922, from per
sonal interviews, on 480 working women in Brattleboro, Vt.; 56 percent
had dependents.
148. Young Women’s Christian Association of Cincinnati and Helen S. Troun_s™e Joundatl°n- Wage Earning Girls in Cincinnati. 1927. Data for
ft-0111 questionnaires, on 500 women. Of 287 women reporting on
the subject, 66 percent contributed regularly to family support.
III. WOMEN'S BUREAU BULLETINS
Section III lists all Women’s Bureau studies referring to the economic re
sponsibilities of women workers. Where titles are followed by numbers in
parentheses, the study appears in the annotated list in section I of appendix A
Studies Directed Primarily or Largely to this Subject
special field studies
Women’s Bureau
Bulletin No.
30. The Share of Wage-Earning Women in Family Support. 1923 (1919-20
data.) 170 pp. (70)
183. Women Workers in Their Family Environment. 1941. (1939 data )
82 pp. ( 65)
209. Women Workers in Ten War Production Areas and Their Postwar Em
ployment Plans. 1946. (1944-15 data.) 56 pp. (AS)
Baltimore Women War Workers in the Postwar Period. (Mimeo.) 1948
(1946 data.) 61 pp. {25)
SPECIAL STUDIES FROM CENSUS DATA
23. The Family Status of Bread winning Women. 1922. (1920 Census data.)
43 pp. Of 7,838 women in Passaic, N. J., reporting, 9 percent were sole
earners in their families.
41. Family Status of Breadwinning Women in Four Selected Cities 1925
(1920 Census data.) 145 pp. {69)
148. The Employed Woman Homemaker in the United States; Her Responsi
bility for Family Support. 1936. (1930 Census data.) 22 pp. Well
over one-tenth of 3,311,386 homemakers in the United States were sole
earners in their families.
168. Employed Women and Family Support. 1939. (1930 Census data ) 57
pp. (66)
BULLETINS SUMMARIZING MANY STUDIES
30. The Share of Wage-Earning Women in Family Support. 1923. (1919-20
data.) 170 pp. Includes summary of 52 reports and Bureau of Labor
Statistics data for 92 cities (1888-1922). (70)
75. What the Wage-Earning Woman Contributes to Family Support. 1929,
21 pp. Reports on 35 studies (1888-1927), including 16 that were not
reported in Bull. 30.
155. Women in the Economy of the United States of America. 1937. 137 pp.
da}a from 33 studies, based on examination of 72 reports
(1888-1936). (Of these, 31 were studies not summarized in earlier
bulletins.)
974036—52——8
108
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
Studies Including Considerable Information on this Subject
STUDIES OF A PARTICULAR INDUSTRY
4. Wages of Candy Makers in Philadelphia in 1919. 1919. 46 pp. Study
covered 1,505 women. Of 42 women interviewed at home, 32 supported
others besides themselves.
1.1. Women Street Car Conductors and Ticket Agents. 1921. (1919-20 data.)
90 pp. Study covered 880 women in 4 cities. Of 47 women interviewed
in Detroit, 34 supported 79 dependents.
45. Home Environment and Employment Opportunities of Women in Coal
Mine Workers’ Families. 1925. (1922-23 data.) 61 pp. In 1,578
families scheduled in an investigation by the Coal Commission, 90 per
cent of the gainfully employed wives and daughters contributed regularly
to their families. Wives gave all their earnings, which amounted to
20-25 percent of family income; daughters gave from one-half to threefourths of their earnings and this amounted to 15-20 percent of family
income.
47. Women in Fruit-Growing and Canning Industries in the State of Wash
ington. 1926. (1923 data.) 224 pp. Study of 3,014 women inter
viewed. Of 2,591 women who lived with their families, 12 percent had
no male wage earner in family and 6 percent were sole earners.
62. Women’s Employment in Vegetable Canneries in Delaware. 1927. (1924
data.) 47 pp. Of 1,167 women interviewed, 95 were chief wage earners
in their families.
78. A Survey of Laundries and Their Women Workers in 23 Cities. 1930.
(1927-28 data.) 166 pp. Study covered 19,758 women. Of 1,850 women
interviewed who reported reasons for working, all but 78 worked to
support themselves or themselves and others.
88. The Employment of Women in Slaughtering and Meat Packing. 1932.
(1928-29 data.) 210 pp. Study covered 6,568 women. Of 897 women
visited in their homes, 11 percent were the sole support of themselves
and others.
93. Household Employment in Philadelphia. 1932. (1928 data.) 88 pp.
About 2,000 women were included in questionnaires answered by em
ployers. Separate questionnaires were filled out by 76 employees; of
those reporting on family obligations, more than two-thirds were re
sponsible for dependents.
STUDIES OF A PARTICULAR STATE OR LOCALITY
4. Wages of Candy Makers in Philadelphia in 1919. 1919. (Discussed above.)
10. Hours and Conditions of Work for Women in Industry in Virginia. 1920.
(1919-20 data.) 32 pp. Study covered 18,781 women. Of 59 women
interviewed, 37 were responsible for full or part support of their families.
17. Women’s Wages in Kansas. 1921. (1919-20 data.) 104 pp. Study of
5,651 women interviewed. Of 4,321 reporting on the subject, 39 percent
contributed all their earnings and 36 percent contributed part of their
earnings to the home.
34. Women in Alabama Industries. 1924. (1922 data.) 86 pp. Study
covered 5,726 women. Of 194 interviewed and reporting personal data,
114 gave all their earnings and 69 gave part of their earnings to their
families; 41 were sole breadwinners.
47. Women in the Fruit-Growing and Canning Industries in the State of Wash
ington. 1926. 224 pp. (Discussed above.)
48. Women in Oklahoma Industries. 1926. (1923-24 data.) 118 pp. Study
covered 4,135 women. Of 46 women interviewed, 25 supported
dependents.
58. Women in Delaware Industries. 1927. (1924 data.) 156 pp. Study
covered 4,176 women. Of 3,255 women interviewed, 4 percent were
sole earners in their families.
60. Industrial Accidents to Women in New Jersey, Ohio, and Wisconsin. 1927.
(Discussed below.)
62. Women’s Employment in Vegetable Canneries in Delaware. 1927. (Dis
cussed above.)
APPENDIX
109
77. A Study of Two Groups of Denver Married Women Applying for Jobs.
19-9. (1928 data.) 11 pp. Of 448 women interviewed in survey, 91
percent of 405 reporting on subject supported themselves or themselves
and dependents.
80. Women in Florida Industries. 1930. (1928 data.) 115 pp. Study
covered 7,844 women. Of 114 women interviewed on this subject in 3
Florida cities, 31 of 55 single, widowed, separated and divorced women
had dependents; only 2 of 59 married women did not work because
of need.
92. Wage-Earning Women and the Industrial Conditions of 1930. A survey
of South Bend, Ind. 1932. (Discussed below.)
93. Household Employment in Philadelphia. 1932. (Discussed above.)
108. The Effects of the Depression on Wage Earners’ Families. A Second
Survey of South Bend. 1936. (Discussed below.)
124. Women in Arkansas Industries. 1935. (1932-33 data.) 45 pp. Study
covered 3,959 women. Women were sole wage earners in 60 out of
202 households in Little Rock, in which women were interviewed.
129. Industrial Injuries to Women in 1930 and 1931 Compared with Injuries
to Men. 1935. (Discussed below.) Illinois data.
140. Reemployment of New England Women in Private Industry. 1936.
(1934-35 data.) (68)
151. Injuries to Women in Personal Service Occupations in Ohio. 1937. (Dis
cussed below.)
153. Unattached Women on Relief in Chicago, 1937. 1938. (67)
160. Industrial Injuries to Women and Men, 1932 to 1934. 1938. (Discussed
below.) Pennsylvania data.
216. Women Workers after V.J Day in One Community—Bridgeport, Conn
1947. (1946 data.) (26)
STUDIES OF WOMEN INJURED IN INDUSTRY
60. Industrial Accidents to Women in New Jersey, Ohio, and Wisconsin. 1927.
(1919-20 data.) 316 pp. Of 385 injured women interviewed, 182 had
some responsibility for support of others (26 percent were the sole
support) hesides themselves.
129. Industrial Injuries to Women in 1930 and 1931 Compared with Injuries to
Men. 1935, (1930, 1931 data.) 57 pp. Among 2,408 Illinois women
injured in 1930, as reported by the State Department of Labor, about
47 percent of 977 married women and 37 percent of 295 widowed and
divorced had dependent children.
151. Injuries to Women iD Personal Service Occupations in Ohio. 1937. (1932
33 data.) 23 pp. The Ohio Department of Industrial Relations re
ported that 1,122 women injured in 1932 and 1,119 women injured in
1933 had an average of 0.7 dependent in each year.
160. Industrial Injuries to Women and Men, 1932 to 1934. 1938. (1932-34
data.) 37 pp. Among 4,943 Pennsylvania women injured in 1932 and
1933, as reported by State authorities, about 39 percent of 1,632 mar
ried women and 27 percent of 657 widowed and divorced women had
dependents. Only 10 of 2,654 single women were responsible for sup
port of others.
STUDIES DURING ECONOMIC DEPRESSION
92. Wage-Earning Women and the Industrial Conditions of 1930. A Survey
of South Bend, Ind. 1932. (1929-30 data.) 84 pp. Study covered
over 5,000 women. Of 3,245 interviewed, 11 percent were sole earners
in their families.
103. Women Workers in the Third Tear of the Depression. 1933. (1931-32
data.) 16 pp. Of 109 women attending the Bryn Mawr summer
school in 1932, about 40 gave from one-half to all their wages for fam
ily support.
108. The Effects of the Depression on Wage Earners’ Families: A Second Sur
vey of South Bend. 1936. (1932 data.) 31 pp. Of 814 women inter
viewed, 30 percent were the sole support of their families and another
25 percent supplied half or more of their families’ earnings.
no
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
Fluctuations and Unemployment of Women. 1933. (1928-31
113. Employment
data.) 236 pp. Summarizes findings of several earlier studies which
showed from over a fifth to nearly two-tliirds of the respondents to
have dependents.
140. Reemployment of New England Women in Private Industry. 1936.
(1934-35 data.) (68)
158. Unattached Women on Relief in Chicago, 1937. 1938. (67)
STUDIES OF BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL WOMEN
117 The Age Factor as it Relates to Women in Business and the Professions.
’
1934. (1931 data.) 66 pp. Of 14,346 women responding to question
naires as to whether they had dependents, 9,118 were contributing to
support of others and more than a third of these were fully respon
sible for dependents. Of some 3,400 who reported number of depend
ents, 35 percent had 2 or more, some as many as 5.
170. Economic Status of University Women. 1939. (1935 data.) (54)
MISCELLANEOUS
20. Negro Women in Industry. 1922.
(1920 data.) 65 pp. Study covered
11,812 women. Of 85 women interviewed, 70 lived with their families;
of these, 35 contributed all and 19 contributed part of their earnings to
the household.
49. Women Workers and Family Support. 1925.
(1924 data.) 10 pp. Of
101 women workers attending Bryn Mawr Summer School, all but 13
contributed to family support.
74. The Immigrant Woman and Her Job. 1930. (1925 data.) 179 pp. Of
2,146 immigrant women interviewed in Philadelphia and Lehigh Valley,
156 were sole earners.
89 The Industrial Experience of Women Workers at the Summer Schools, 1928
' to 1930. 1931. (1928-29-30 data.) 62 pp. Study covered 609 women.
Of 459 women reporting proportion of their earnings contributed to
family support, 20 percent gave all, 30 percent gave half or more, and 39
percent gave less than half of their earnings; 11 percent did not
contribute.
208. Women’s Wartime Hours of Work. 1947. (Wartime data.) (49)
OTHER BULLETINS WITH REFERENCES OR SUMMARIES OF OTHER STUDIES (1935 AND
LATER)
134. Summaries of Studies on the Economic Status of Women. Compiled by
the American Association of University Women. 1935. 20 pp. Bibli
ography, including references on dependents.
145. Special Study of Wages Paid to Women and Minors in Ohio Industries
Prior and Subsequent to the Ohio Minimum Wage Law for Women and
Minors. 1936. 83 pp. Section 1:3 cites findings of reports on this
subject.
152. Differences in the Earnings of Women and Men. 1938. o7 pp. I art I
cites findings of reports on this subject.
in Industry. 1938. 85 pp. Section IH-b refers to studies on
164. Women
married woman workers’ responsibilities for support of their families.
196. “Equal Pay” for Women in War Industries. 1942. 26 pp. Quotes data
on the subject from earlier studies.
_
_
,
220. Old Age Insurance for Household Workers. 1947. 20 pp. Refers to
earlier studies on the support responsibilities of working women.
224. Women’s Bureau Conference. 1948. 210 pp. Three addresses on women
who work to support themselves and others quote findings of studies on
this subject.
_
„
„ ,
225. Handbook of Facts on Women Workers. 1948. 79 pp. Part III quotes
findings of Women’s Bureau Bulletin 209.
237. Handbook of Facts on Women Workers. 1950. 106 pp. Part III cites
1946 Census data on woman sole and principal earners in their families,
as well as findings of Women’s Bureau Bulletin 209.
Special Bulletin No. 18. A Preview as to Women Workers in Transition from
War to Peace. 1944. 26 pp. Cites findings of earlier studies on
women’s share in the support of families.
APPENDIX
111
Other Studies Briefly Mentioning the Subject
[Page numbers refer to pages of bulletin where subject Is mentioned]
Women’s Bureau
Bulletin No.
19. Iowa Women in Industry, 1922, p. 35.
21. Women in Rhode Island Industries, 1922, pp. 58-60.
22. Women in Georgia Industries, 1922, pp. 57-58.
24. Women in Maryland Industries, 1922, pp. 76-79.
25. Women in the Candy Industry in Chicago and St. Louis, 1923, pp. 56-58
126. Women in Arkansas Industries, 1923, pp. 60-61.
29. Women in Kentucky Industries, 1923, pp. 84-85.
32. Women in South Carolina Industries, 1923, p. 79.
35. Women in Missouri Industries, 1924, pp. 61-63.
36. Radio Talks on Women in Industry, 1924, pp. 5, 33.
37. Women in New Jersey Industries, 1924, pp. 67-68.
38. Married Women in Industry, 1924. (Entire text.)
44. Women in Ohio Industries, 1925, p. 8.
55. Women in Mississippi Industries, 1926, pp. 57-58.
56. Women in Tennessee Industries, 1927, p. 85.
59. Short Talks About Working Women, 1927, pp. 21-24.
67. Women Workers in Flint, Michigan, 1929, p. 9. Majority of 143 married
women workers interviewed reported husbands’ earnings inadequate to
support of family due to irregular employment.
79. Industrial Home Work, 1930, p. 6.
84. Fact Finding with the Women’s Bureau, 1931, pp. 32-35.
85. Wages of Women in 13 States, 1931, pp. 85-86.
86. Activities of the Women’s Bureau of the United States, 1931, pp. 10-11.
161. Women at Work, 1939, pp. 7-8.
233. Night Work for Women in Hotels and Restaurants, 1949, p. 28. A “sub
stantial proportion” of 148 women night workers interviewed were the
sole support of the family or contributed to its expense.
APPENDIX B
EARLIEST REPORTING OF CERTAIN KINDS OF INFORMATION ON
ECONOMIC RESPONSIBILITIES OF WOMEN
Date of
publica- Agency, subject, and Appendix A Type or combinations of information
not given in earlier reports
lion
reference
1889
Department of the Interior, U. S. Number of women workers (living
at home) reported who gave of
Bureau of Labor. Fourth An
their earnings to the family.
nual Report of the Commis
Number of women reporting
sioner of Labor {132).
dependents.
Part of worker's annual earnings
that went for support of depend
ents (average).
Women workers as sole support of
their families.
Dependents of women workers not
living at home as well as those
living at home.
1891
Missouri Bureau of Labor Statis
tics. Thirteenth Annual Re
port {107).
1895
Kansas Bureau of Labor and Average number of dependents
Industry. Tenth Annual Resupported by women workers,
port {94).
1908
Illinois Bureau of Labor Statis- Relationship of dependents (par
ties. Fourteenth Biennial Reents, brothers, sisters, children,
port {89).
husbands).
1911-12
U. S. Department of Commerce Proportions who gave to family
and Labor, by special Act of
support all, part, or none of
Congress, January 1907. Retheir earnings.
_
port on Condition of Woman Part of family earnings furnished by
and Child Wage Earners {131).
mothers; other women, by na
tionality group.
Proportions of their earnings given
for support of family by women
living at home, and for support of
dependents by women living
apart.
Part of family income given by
widows, married women with hus
bands at work, ill, idle, deserted.
Comparison with men as to part of
earnings given; part of family
support furnished.
1912
Massachusetts Report of Com
mission on Minimum Wage
Boards (99).
Women workers living at home, in
families with no male wage earners,
by size of family.
1913
Kansas Board of Public Welfare,
Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Twenty-ninth Annual Report
{93).
Dependents distinguished as to
whether fully or partially sup
ported, with income distribution
for women having each type.
Marital status of women workers
having dependents (combined for
separated and divorced).
112
APPENDIX
113
Date of
publica- Agency, subject, and Appendix A Type or combinations of information
tion
reference
not given in earlier reports
1914 Russell Sage Foundation. Average size of family of 101 mothers
Mothers Who Must Earn (186).
who were sole family support.
1915
California Industrial Welfare Com Married women workers whose
mission. First Biennial Report
husbands were present by whether
(80).
or not contributing to family
support, and absent by whether
or not contributing.
1916
Wisconsin Industrial Commission.
Cost of Living of Wage-Earning
Women (146).
1916
Connecticut Bureau of Labor. Single women living apart (as well
Report on the Conditions of
as those at home) who contri
Wage-Earning Women and
buted to support of others.
Girls (88).
Single women who were sole
earners.
Married women, and combined
widowed and divorced, fully or
partly supporting families.
1916
U. S. Department of Labor. Bu
reau of Labor Statistics. Un
employment Among Women in
Department and Other Retail
Stores of Boston (134).
Women heads of families.
1919
Amy Hewes. Dependents of Col
lege Teachers (87).
Dependency load of a group of
professional women shown by
marital status and relationship
of dependents. Part of salary
spent for dependents. Age of
these with and without depend
ents.
1919
Russell Sage Foundation. Italian
Women in Industry. Louise
Odencrantz (125).
Proportions who gave all earnings
to the family among women in a
defined nationality group.
1919
U. S. Council of National Defense,
New Orleans Division and Louis
iana State Division. Condi
tions of Women’s Labor in
Louisiana (128).
Women as chief earners in their
families.
1920
Maryland State Board of Labor
Statistics. Twenty-eighth
Annual Report (98).
Women who had 1, 2, 3, or more
dependents.
1920
Minnesota Department of Labor.
and Industries.
Bureau of
Women and Children. Women
in Industry (106).
Contributions to family support
shown separately for separated
and divorced women as well as
single, married, widowed.
1920
Oregon Bureau of Labor. Ninth
Biennial Report (180).
Numbers ofchild dependents and adult
dependents, given separately.
1922
Children’s Bureau. Children of Inadequacy of husband’s support as a
Wage-Earning Mothers. Helen
reason for wife’s employment.
Russell Wright (135).
Single women living at home giving
family all, part, or none of earn
ings. Widows with children fully
dependent. Part of earnings giv
en by 128 women to family and
to support dependents, by earnings
per week.
114
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
Date of
publica Agency, subject, and Appendix A Type or combinations of information
not given in earlier reports
reference
tion
Gwendolyn Hughes Berry. Mothers, in own households or
1925
boarding who are sole earners in
Mothers in Industry (88).
families.
1925
Women’s Educational and Indus
trial Union, Boston. Report on
wage-earning women in Brattleboro, Vt.
Age groups in which women have
greatest dependency load; age groups
at which specified relatives were
dependent on women.
1929
Irene J. Graham. Family Sup
port and Dependency Among
Chicago Negroes (86).
Negro women workers with depend
ents. Comparison of numbers of
Negro and white working mothers
of young children.
1931
Children’s Bureau. Children of Mothers who were sole, principal
and supplementary earners in
Working Mothers in Philadel
their families.
phia. Clara Mortensen Beyer
(136).
1931
Los Angeles Board of Education.
Teachers Salaries in the Los
Angeles Elementary and High
School Districts (97).
1934
Cecile Tipton La Follette. Prob Dependents not living with woman
worker who supports them.
lems of 652 Gainfully Occupied
Married Women (96).
Average number of dependents given
separately for single, married, and
for widowed and divorced women
teachers.
APPENDIX C
SCHEDULE USED IN PART I
U.
S.
Department
of
Labor
x
Women’s Bureau
WASHINGTON
A
WHAT ARE YOUR REASONS FOR WORKING?
This is often asked about women workers.
The questions in this folder are being asked of groups of union women In
order to tell the story of why they are at work.
Will you help tell this stovy by your replies? The form looks complicated,
but most questions can be answered merely by circling a number.
Read the questions one at a time. Please answer them carefully and correctly
so that a true picture can be given. Please continue to the end of the
questionnaire.
ALL INFORMATION GIVEN IS STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL. Your an
swers will be analyzed by the Women’s Bureau in the United States Department
of Labor. They will be used, with those of women in your union and several
other unions, to show the public the facts about why these women work and
how they use their wages.
If you already have answered a questionnaire like this, DO NOT ANSWER
ANOTHER.
1. To what union do You belong? (Circle only one number.)
1. Brotherhood of Railway and Steamship Clerks.
2. Communications Workers of America.
3. Hotel and Restaurant Employees International.
4. International Ladies Garment Workers Union.
5. International Association of Machinists.
6. Textile Workers Union of America.
7. Other (give name)-------------------------------------------------------------------2. Give the number of your local------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------In
8.
,
4.
5.
c
6.
7.
8.
what city do you work?-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
kind of work do you do?
(Circle one number.)
1. Factory or shop.
5. Waitress.
2. Sales.
6. Other hotel and restaurant work.
8. Clerical or office.
7. Other work (tell what)----------4. Telephone operator.
How MUCH MONEY DO YOU USUALLY GET IN YOUR PAY ENVELOPE?
(If you customarily receive tips add the usual amount of your tips to the
amount in your pay envelope.) Amount, $-------------How often are you paid ? (Circle only one number.)
1. Weekly.
3. Twice a month.
2. Monthly.
4. Other period (tell what)-----------Do you save part of your pay? (Circle only one number.)
1. By deduction from my pay for bonds.
2. By some other way.
3. Both by deduction from my pay for bonds and by some other way.
0. I do not save any of my earnings.
Do YOU RECEIVE'OTHER INCOME (OF AS MUCH AS $50) DURING THE YEAR BESIDES
your earnings?
(Circle one number.) 1. Yes. 2. No.
Do you support (circle one number) —
1. Yourself only (either fully or partly) ?
2. Yourself and others (either fully or partly) ?
3. Others but not yourself?
What
115
116
WOMEN WORKERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
9. How
MUCH OF THE MONET IN TOUR PAT ENVELOPE GOES TO SUPPORT TOURS ELF OR
Amount, $
If you cannot give an exact amount, give your best estimate. Amount, $_____
toubself and others?
10. What
relation to tou are the persons tou support?
Check in column 1 each person you support fully and
check in column 2 each person you support partly.
RELATIONSHIP TO WORKER
(l)
(2)
YOU SUPPORT
FULLY
YOU SUPPORT
PARTLY
A. Self___________________________________
B. Mother .
C. Father. .
.. .
__ __
_____ __ _________ ..
D. Husband. ______
___ ________
_
_ _
E. 1 child of your own under 18 years old.
F. 2 children of your own under 18 years old..
G. 3 or more children of your own under 18
. _
years old (give number)____
H. 1 other relative (who?)_________
_
I. 2 other relatives (who?).. ...
_
_
J. 3 or more other relatives (who?) (give
number).
_________ _ _____ _ _
11. Total (leave blank)
12. Wht
__
__
...
do tou work?
In column 1 check the chief reason why you work.
If you have other important reasons for working check these reasons in
column 2 but do not check more than 3 items in column 2.
REASON FOR WORKING
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
(1)
(2)
CHIEF REASON
(Check one
item only)
OTHER IM
PORTANT
REASONS
(Check not more
than 3 items)
To buy a home ____ ______
______
To educate my children__
______ _
To support myself. .
___
To support myself and others .
_
Satisfaction out of having a job
To keep in practice..____
__
To have money for other special purposes.
(Indicate special purpose)__
13. Do TOU LIVE WITH SOME MEMBER OR MEMBERS OF TOUR FAMILT
to tou) ?
(Circle one number.) 1. Yes. 2. No.
(PERSONS RELATED
117
APPENDIX
QUESTIONS 14-18 TO BE ANSWERED ONLY BY WORKERS LIVING
WITH FAMILY
14. HOW MANY PERSONS ARE IN YOUR FAMILY HOUSEHOLD, INCLUDING YOURSELF?
Number
15. How MANY
IN YOUR FAMILY HOUSEHOLD ARE WAGE EARNERS OR HAVE REGULAR
? Number
16. How many contribute to the family expenses, including yourself?
Number
17. What share of the family expenses do you pay regularly? (Circle
number wbicb represents most nearly your share.)
1. All.
4. One-fourth.
2. Three-fourths.
0. None.
3. Half.
18. How DO YOU CONTRIBUTE REGULARLY TO THE FAMILY EXPENSES? (Circle
number or numbers which apply.)
1. By putting regularly all of your earnings into the common household
fund.
2. By putting regularly part of your earnings into the common household
fund.
3. By paying regularly a specified amount for board.
4. By paying regularly a particular family expense (such as grocery
bill, rent, etc.).
Describe______________________________________________
income, including yourself
4
*
0. I do not contribute regularly to the family expense.
TO BE ANSWERED BY ALL
(Circle one number in each one of the following questions)
t
«
19. How MANY YEARS HAVE YOU HAD A PAID JOB?
1. Under 3 years.
4. 10 to 19 years.
2. 3 to 4 years.
5. 20 or more years.
3. 5 to 9 years.
20. What was the last school grade you attended?
1. Below sixth.
4. College, 1 to 3 years.
2. Sixth to eighth.
5. College, 4 years.
3. Ninth to twelfth.
21. What was your age at your last birthday?
0. Under 20.
6. 45 to 49.
1. 20 to 24.
7. 50 to 54.
2. 25 to 29.
8. 55 to 59.
3. 30 to 31.
9. 60 to 64.
4. 35 to 39.
X. 65 or over.
5. 40 to 44.
22. Are you—
1. Single?
3. Widowed?
2. Married?
4. Separated or divorced?
23. Do YOU LIKE THE KIND OF WORK YOU ABE DOING? 1. YeS. 2. No.
USE THIS PAGE FOR ANY ADDITIONAL COMMENTS YOU CARE TO
MAKE
Comments as to type of contributions you make:
Comments as to other uses of your money:
Comments as to dependents :
Other comments:
Date .
(Name of distributing agent)
o
@FedFRASER