Show a lowi Re in n washington ASHINGTON by walter shead 1 correspondent RI burotti union trust building Buil Sias women and war work COUNTY seats and other rural i towns and communities can number into the thousands the women and girls who are commuting or have moved to larger cities to take up war work of one kind or another and join the labor loice force ot of I 1 18 million women now employed in the tha country I 1 As one of 0 many examples a huge radio plant at cedar rapids iowa employing thousands of 0 workers is manned almost exclusively by women recruited from the small towns and rural districts in the counties surrounding cedar rapids ra p ids what will happen to these women and girls from these rural communities muni ties when starts in earnest will they stay in in du austry s try or will they return to their homes the bureau of the department ot of labor is seeking 9 answers to these questions in a series ot of surveys now being conducted e d on women in industry the labor bureau found for instance that 80 per cent of the women employed in the dayton springfield area ol of ohio want their jobs or other jobs after the war so when 12 million servicemen and women come home all seeking jobs I 1 and when men are tf thrown irown out of work due to cutbacks and other upsets will these women many of 0 whom are now union members be able to hold these jobs there are today five million more women employed than there were in 1940 but census records show that with slight variations the number of women in labor f forces aces has increased decade by decade and the bureau of the census states that of the women who entered the labor mar market during arg i the war would have done so had there been no war while about 3 million became workers work ers because ot of war conditions it then seems that at least these 3 million women will have to fight to maintain their jobs if 11 they want to remain in employment nine opt of ten in the trade and service industries at least nine out of ten women indicate they want to retain their jobs when the war ends this is in comparison with three out ot of tour four in the manufacturing industries As a result of this tremendous surge of american women into all fields of employment there Is now underway among these workers a drive for pay rates based on the job and not on sex of the worker for instance the national industrial conference board asserts that in 25 selected industries mens average hourly carol earnings in all occupations are SO 50 per cent higher than those of women and that th at in unskilled occupations mens men a average hourly earnings topped those of women by 20 per cent significant progress however Is being made by labor organizations to make the equal pay principle for men and women doing the same lobs jobs effective in 80 union contracts covering women workers one halt half were found by a survey y to have provided equal pay in the contract although this is not in itself sufficient to prevent discrimination entirely equal rights proposal in addition to this drive for equal pay for men and women workers there is now in the congress a proposed amendment to the constitution w which h ich seeks to secure equal rights for women whatever that means both the democratic and republican political platforms are on record in favor of such an amendment and the house judiciary committee has approved the proposal the rhe suggested amendment proclaims that equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the united states or by any state on account of sex there is no denying the tact fact that in some states women are subject to legal discriminations that should be abolished but those who have stud led this proposal believe that its passage or adoption would eliminate all the protective and preferential laws which have been enacted in behalf it f women these include limited working hours tor for women preferential health and medical laws support for the wife and many other laws enacted for the particular protection and benefit of women opponents assert that only time education and changing public opinion can assure women a fair deal in the competitive labor field where 18 million 1111 of them are now employed ayed it if such a constitutional amendment were adopted the contention Is that not only would all tate state and federal laws that give special protection to women be wiped ut but it would be impossible to provide future protection without extending a like protection to men who may not want it |