Show Women's Bureau of Labor Department 25 Years Old Busy With Present and Postwar Needs of Workers I Agency Watches Over Overl Rights 1 an and Security l t Of Eighteen Million l By C C. C V V. PETERS Eighteen and a half million women are now working fo for r wages mostly in jobs essential essential essential essen essen- to war Some five million of these are new to the labor markets they have gone into factories f and fields since 1940 when the nation began to buckle down for the great con con- flirt All in all women have been doing a magnificent job No task has been too dirty o or dangerous or difficult they have cheerfully accepted a all discomforts and hazards In World War I I. I when as now millions of women were called upon to replace men In a thousand occupations ecru potions the department of labor b bame became became be be- c came ame interested In the special needs and problems of working women I In 1920 a permanent subdivision th the Women's bureau was established w which superseded the temporary tempera rY Woman in Industry Service set up in 1917 Miss Mary Anderson director of the war agency was appointed head of the Women's Bureau After Alter d developing the Bureau to its present present pres pres- ent eat impressive status she retired l last ast June at the age of 71 71 with 25 years of service to working women wom worn e en n accomplished Under the guidance of Miss Anderson Anderson Anderson An An- derson the bureau made intensive s study tudy of conditions and problems of w women omen workers in various types of employment employment professional professional business industrial and domestic She was r responsible for calling two important important t tant ant conferences of women in industry industry indus indus- try in 1923 and 1936 attended by r representatives of all important w women's omens organizations The principles principles p ples les she advocated were 1 Complete equality of opportunity opportunity for men and women on the basis of their Individual merit skill and e experience 2 Wage rates based on job conent content content con con- t tent ent without regard to sex 3 Establishing of precise and objective objective ob ob- standards for far determining job content as a al basis for determining ing wage rates In 1918 there were eight and aalf a h half alf million women workers In the win 4 r A i o JA JAb b t I n Mrs bits Nora T. T Sterns outstanding member of a class of pilots a big machine on the acre Sterns farm She Is a Triple-A Triple woman and organizer of at her class of at women tractor operators I spring of 1940 there were 13 million Now there are 18 million women inthe in inthe inthe the labor force These 18 million women make up 36 per cent of the total nonagricultural labor force and 20 per cent of the agricultural 1 labor force of the United States Machine Age Changes Life The amount of gainful work donby done don e by women at home has decreased decreased decrease d steadily while the amount of their list r gainful work outside the home ha has s increased At the beginning of th the e century women still were Fere spinning spinning spin spin- ning at home but the yarn wa was s brought for weaving to large rooms room s where looms were in use The earliest earliest ear ear- liest cotton mill was established in 1814 and thereafter weaving became became be be- came a factory occupation In 1831 there were women n employed In various cotton factories s in the United States By the middle middles of the century the sewing machine came into effective use use usually o operated op p crated by women Thus into a world of gardening gardenia g and raising sheep in the back yard of grinding lour flour of weaving clo cloth th In the front room the first machines ma ma- shines chines appeared and revolutionized revolutionize revolutionized d our whole manner of life Since c many of the earlier machines di did d work work that that had always been done b by Y women at home manufacturers manufacturer Ys s 4 J Jt t i h This specially trained girl makes some adjustments on the nose a assembly assembly as as- s of at a 39 P There Is scarcely any task in aviation sn n manufacture that women have not mastered l looking for factory operatives turned to women The he factories located with a view to available power and future marketing marketing mar mar- soon developed communities and these attracted other workers in various lines of activity As towns grew in size many of the older household occupations became im im- possible The entrance of women into wage- wage earning occupations was tremendously tremendously tremendously speeded up by the Civil war and World War I I. I Of the role women women wom worn en played during the first World war we have a dramatic picture The war itself wrenched the whole industrial machine In the quick shift from peace to war women as well as men were rapidly absorbed absorbed ab ab- absorbed ab- ab by the iron and steel mills metal factories and foundries they were practically drafted to make munitions and other war supplies Aerial warfare created a new industry industry indus indus- try in which women were indispensable indispensable indispensable sable and it expanded the industries industries indus indus- industries tries that made the material necessary necessary necessary sary for aircraft manufacture Meanwhile the army of men had to be fed and clothed andin and andin andin in addition the nations nation's industries had to continue to supply the needs of the people at home There are arc striking parallels between between between be be- tween the first World war and the present one in regard to women workers In steadily increasing numbers then as now now women entered entered entered en en- fields which had been regarded regard regard- ed as mens men's exclusive province province al al although though thousands of women carried on in traditionally feminine food and fabric industries Experienced women women wom worn en who were already in manufacturing manufacturing manufacturing turing in 1917 were utilized largely for munitions making They helped to train new groups formerly otherwise otherwise otherwise other other- wise employed such as school teachers teach teach- ers ers who joined their ranks as well as the large numbers of inexperienced inexperienced women never before in the labor force Growing numbers o of ot f women were fere hired in such Industries Industries Indus Indus- Industries tries as iron steel lumber transportation transportation transportation trans trans- equipment chemicals metal and metal products and others oth oth- ers The Women's Bureau had recorded record record- ed World War I experience in th the e use of women labor so it was natural natural natural nat nat- ural that the bureau should be recognized rec red as the official agency fo for r all matters relating to women's employment employment employment em em- in the present war ef of fort On March 15 IS 1941 1941 the Undersecretary Undersecretary Undersecretary Un Un- of War indicated that tha t he would take measures to see that tha 1 the War department take up a all 11 matters of concern to women workers workers work work- ers with the Women's Bureau an and d there has been close cooperation n since that date Cooperative relationships relationships rela rela- have been established with the Navy Department with other r Government departments and with state organizations and war con con- tractors Can Do Any Job If It Trained The peacetime work women were e doing on punch presses drilling machines machines ma chines milling machines lathes grinders and polishers as well a as s their high record of achievement In hi inspection assembly filing and other othe r bench work vork In hi metal and electrical 1 industries was well known to th the bureau The extent to which these thes e developed skills would be useful to t o war implemented industries wa was s easily dem demonstrated In the last war women 1 had proved themselves s able in an emergency to make go good goodon od on any job if it adequately trained The transfer of vast numbers o of ot t agricultural workers to the war industries in in- as well as the rapid induction induction tion lion of others into the armed forces resulted in a growing demand fo for tor forthe r the employment of women in agri agri- cultural work In interesting wom worn women women en in such work the bureau cooperated cooperated cooper cooper- r. r with other government agencies agencies agen agen- cies dies concerned and in addition formulated formulated for for- mulcted and helped put into practice practice practice tice standards for women's employment employment employ employ- ment meat on farms Today women are being utilized utilize d I in three broad categories of jobs 1 1 Those that women have always alway s done now multiplied by the tI demands demands de de- mands of war 2 Those where they have bee been n used as substitutes for men either eithe r as replacements or in expanding i In In- In n- n 3 3 Those that are arc new v processes s never performed by either se sex x some of these are the result of su subdivision subdivision sub sub- b division of skilled operations to t fa facilitate facilitate fa- fa a- a mass production while of others others oth oth- ah h ers are arc the result of manufacture of at new kinds of equipment Though men are still found In mo most st of the top and hi highly skilled Industrial industrial Indus indus- s trial jobs women to an increasing g degree are arc doing the more skilled skille d difficult and ind disagreeable jobs a awell as aswell aswell s well as certain dangerous and sometimes sometimes some some- times inappropriate types of wor work k During World War I 1 the question n was Would women remain as wor workers workers work work- k ers when the war ended Man Many Y people thought this question would woul d be answered by the return of at women n to their homes or their old a This time the question i is s' s How may we best organize and ca cary carry carry car car- r- r ry out the shift from wa wartime time t to peacetime employment Three Million Will Quit The Women's Bureau believes th that that at at least 3 million women will vo voluntarily voluntarily vol vol- 1 withdraw from the la labor boy market young market young girls will go back t to o school older women at retirement nt age or past will retire many of th the housewives who joined th the labor force for the duration only y will be glad to take over full tim time homemaking duties This will leava leave leav leavea a force of about 15 million women workers for the immediate postwar ar period Miss Frieda S S. S Miller who became becam Director of the Women's Bureau o on n August 17 17 1944 believes the shift t to peacetime jobs is a manageable e thing if we are both forehanded d and farsighted as to planning Sh She believes this planning must begin at t it local levels and provide for advisory advisory adv i- i id sory counsels for all groups an and d facilities for tor training and retraining g of war workers for peacetime e em em- m After the last war the Assistant nt Secretary of War acting as the Director Director Di Di- D 1 rector of Munitions at that time tiro e paid this tribute to women For the successful carrying o out ut of our program for the production n of vast quantities of explosives an and d propellants as well as shell loading g I Ithe Ithe the women of America must be gi gien given v en credit on account of the highly highl Y important part they took in ih this is phase of of helping to win the wa war r Fully 50 per cent of the number of employees in our explosive plan plants is were women who braved the da dangers dangers dan dan- n gers connected with this line of oI work to which they had been of at course entirely unaccustomed b but ut whose perils were not unknown t to them Miss Miller believes that women's women s I contribution has been much more mor extensive In hi World War II II In lb the postwar world she says Let us dovetail the skills and experiences experienc es of men and women workers so as t to produce all the varied and numerous numerous numer name r ous goods and services needed for a I I well balanced economy and we wen well ll rounded living for all our people With the war still far from bein being g won won women of America give ever every Y indication of surpassing all previous goals in hi war production |