Show a aa a Babson's AUTHENTIC AUT C 51 A T ENT EMENT W n moo Special to THE VERNAL EXPRESS The Role Of The Working Wife Babson Park Mass January 26 20 A recent study by the Nat Nat- National ional Industrial Conference Board takes a realistic look at atthe the tho role of the working wife in America today The survey brings to light many questionS that should be of interest to families at all social lev levels ls and suggests suggests many answers that may not jibe with those of women contemplating taking jobs to double the Income their husbands are arc making The Working Mother With Children With prices so high and still climbing many young or mid mid- midd housewives with child child- children ren arc already holding down rEgular eeg jobs outside the home for economic reasons But their experience has not always been as helpful as they expected it would be for fol reasons that milY itI I not have occurred to mothers currently thinking of gOing out outto outto to work Scanning some stati statis- statis statistics tics on this situation we find that often the salary a mother had thought she would add to her hel husbands husband's take has somehow evaporated to an alarming degree before it got into her market basket For instance a woman who takes a job paying a year to add to her husbands husband's may well find that she ends up contributing only about to the family till Where does this sizable difference dis dis- dis appeal to Well if she has two children and is not blessed with witha mother mother law will will- willing I a or ing to do indefinite duty she will probably have to tolay layout lay out as much as a year for a time full housekeeper or nurse muse Then there are such heirs Hen a as carfare o 01 the upkeep of auto extra clot clothing hint lum h hs and taxes And usually not considered in advance the will have no time to hunt for fo retail bargains and fer- fer ferret fer ret out short cuts that will hold housekeeping costs down Conditions Of Course Vary Widely While this means that many manya a working mother will be sur sur- surprised by how slight her ad ad- ad addition is to the household household kitty there thele are mun many situa situa- situations in which it is eminently worthwhile for fol a wife to hold holda a 1 jou joh whether her time full or part time thane children are ale older and at school or 01 college there 3 arc more incentives ves for a a n to go outside the hom home e and make use of her talents In the first place the cost of household help at this particular lar time lime can be greatly reduced and perhaps entirely eliminated ed I hence more of the extra salary can be directed toward the education of the children boosting the family's standard of living generally Dt Despite spite the fact that many young women believe their place is in the home taking care of the children and of the house there are a surprising number of women who want to take economic advantage of their education and training as i soon as reasonably possible Such girls consider their col col- col college lege experience wasted unless they use it to help the family economically They feel feci also that they are healthier and in inI I better spirits if they can find stimulating work i I How Many Wives Are AreNow Now Naw Actually Work Working 19 The gradual extinction of pre pree against females in vari vari- I Ious ors ous segments of the social and economic order has now be be- be become come so complete that women are accepted in almost any role Out of the country's total labor force of about ap ap- ap approximately proximately are woo so- men working today Of this number about 60 per cent arc married and many of them have children The trend to tor ward an ever grater ever grater move move- movement ment of women into the full full- time Ume labor force may be expect expect- expected ed to intensify over the years immediately ly Iy in view of te manpower shortage in so many different II significant fields Part of the upward pressure will stem from the higher cd ed- ed education being attained by more and more American girls suit j ing them for a wider diversity ling of jobs Greatest concentration I will probably continue to be in inthe inthe the pay higher famil famil- families I ies At present of families with I incomes of over OVI a year some 40 per cent have two In in- in incomes comes You can expect working workingwomen women to become more numer numer- I ou more sophisticated more capable and more highly paid DS as educational opportunities are arc made more readily avail avail- available able to the economically de de- |