to OMEN WORKERS in Wartime and Reconversion BY MARY T. WAGGAMAN Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 https://archive.org/details/womenworkersinwaOOwagg Women Workers in Wartime and Reconversion BY MARY T. WAGGAMAN (formerly) Associate Economist, U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Associate Editor, Monthly Labor Review Published for THE SOCIAL ACTION DEPARTMENT N. C. W. C. by THE PAULIST PRESS. 401 West 59th Street New York 19, N. Y. Nihil Obstat : Imprimatur : New York, June 9, 1947 . John M. A. Fearns, S.T.D., Censor Librorum. © Francis Cardinal Spellman, Archbishop of New York. Copyright, 1947 , by The Missionary Society of St. Paul the Apostle in the State of New York PRINTED AND PUBLISHED IN THE U. S. A. BY THE PAULIST PRESS, NEW YORK 19 , N. Y. OHdtitfk' WOMEN WORKERS IN WARTIME AND RECONVERSION Prepared by MARY T. WAGGAMAN I. A PAPAL CALL TO ACTION 46nPHE feverish agitation of the present moment of travail and still more apprehensions of an uncertain future have brought the position of women to the forefront in the programs of both friends and enemies of Christ and Church/’ His Holiness Pope Pius XII declares in -his soul stirring address, “Woman’s Duties in Social and Political Life.” The problem regarding woman, as he envisages it, “hinges entirely on the question how to maintain and strengthen,” especially today, that dignity which she “has had from God.” The following brief report brings together very recent facts on women breadwinners in the United States who in October 1946 numbered more than seventeen millions in the civilian labor force of the country, constituting approximately 29 per cent of that force. The possibilities of improving the conditions of this im- mense sector of workers for the purpose of augmenting their dignity is indeed a challenge to socially minded Catholics in these unprecedented days in which our present Holy Father holds that women’s destiny is at stake and calls upon them to “look at things as they are.” II. WOMEN IN THE PREWAR, WAR AND POSTWAR LABOR FORCE The almost incredible changes in women’s work, which gained such momentum during World War II constitute an evolution of over 100 years dating back to the shift of industry from the home to the factory. In ever expanding ranks women have become wage earners away from their households in both manufacture and public services in which they play an increas- ingly significant role. 1 l In July 1945 the U. S. Bureau of the Census adopted an improvement in interviewing procedure resulting in a more careful count of the labor force. As a consequence, labor force statements for the period preceding July 1945 are not strictly comparable to the figures subsequent to that date. Under new techniques the estimates of employment are larger and of unemployment slightly smaller. [ 3 ] During the war the numbers of women workers rose pyro- technically and their job opportunities showed something akin to geometric progression. The months following V-J Day brought various changes in this unprecedented situation— a shrinkage in numbers discharged from war industries, necessary returns to lower paid work, and undesired openings in service occupations traditionally classified as women’s province. Fur- thermore, training opportunities and employment upgrading have been substantially reduced. However, the situation as a whole shows numerically and proportionately more women in the labor force in the fall of 1946 than before Pearl Harbor and a greater number of women utilizing a larger variety of skills. In 1940 some 13 million women were in the labor force or practically one-fourth of the total force and slightly more than a fourth of the woman population. Among the women in the labor force 13 per cent were unemployed. In July 1944 over 6 million more women were in the labor force than in 1940. While this tremendous addition included women and school girls in highly seasonal summer employment, nine-tenths of the expansion was in non-agricultural work. By July 1945, just before V-J Day there was some reduction in the number of women workers but only a relatively slight rise in unemployment. Although some women had left the labor market between July 1944 and July 1945 their proportion in the total civilian labor force both in July 1944 and March 1945 was over one-third. In July 1945 women constituted 35 per cent of the civilian workers. From that date to January 1946 the decrease was almost 4 million or almost one-fifth of the women labor force, more than half of the decline being among women non-agricultural workers. Although large numbers of women deserted the labor market as the war ended, the total number of women in the working age group was greater in 1946 than in 1940. While the number not in the labor market has risen somewhat, higher percentages of the female population may remain in gainful occupations than before World War II. At the beginning of 1946 more than 30 per cent of the adult women of the United States could be considered paid workers. Based on a report on 3,600 workers in the winter of 1945- 46 one-fourth of the war workers were unemployed; a substan- tially larger percentage of women than men were jobless and the employment status of older workers was less favorable than that of younger workers. In March 1940 unemployed women numbered approximately one and three quarters million. Post [4] War unemployment among women was by no means as striking as the shrinkage in their employment—only 530,000 being unemployed’ in January 1946 as compared to 470,000 in July 1945, according to new Census estimates. In various war plants women were the last to be hired and, as a consequence they are in an unfavorable position in the matter of seniority rights. Peace, therefore, has serious un- employment implications for these workers. Moreover, un- employed women are subject to a special hardship due to the fact that so many of them were in uninsured employment before the war. Frequently when they secured war jobs they were not able to acquire sufficient basic credits to get an insured status. If they cannot get new jobs in covered employment they exhaust the credits they already have. War Changes in Women’s Jobs. As might have been fore- cast, the greatest war increase among women workers was in the group of craftsmen, foremen, operators and laborers (other than farm) which expanded almost 119 per cent from March 1940 to March 1944. The clerical group ranked next with a jump of approximately 85 per cent between the same dates. The outstanding decrease was in domestic service. In 1944 this group of women dwindled 20 per cent as compared to the number in 1940. Women in the professions increased in num- bers to some extent in 1944 but because of the great expansion in the numbers of women in the manufacturing and clerical groups, the percentage of women workers in the professional group was considerably less in that year than in 1940. One of the striking war developments was the number of women who successfully held jobs which in peacetime had been regarded as available only for their brothers or husbands. Shifts in women’s industrial distribution were especially con- spicuous in manufacture which by 1944 employed 140 per cent more women than in 1940, the increase in women workers in the war manufacturing industries in the same period reaching about 460 per cent. The one decrease between these two dates in the employment of women was that of almost 10 per cent among the domestic and other service group. In March 1945 women constituted 45 per cent of the workers in trade, approximately 40 per cent of those in Government and almost 33 per cent of those in manufacture. Ages of Women Workers. The most remarkable wartime percentage expansions in the female labor force were among those 35 years of age or over and those who were not yet 20. Of the five million additional girls and women 14 years of age [ 5 ] and over in the labor force in March 1945 as compared with March 1940, 3 million were 35 years of age or over, 40 per cent of this group being under 45; almost 1 and % million were in the 20 to 34 age group and slightly less than a million were be- low 20. Normally, the smallest percentage of women in the population in gainful employment is in the 45 and over age group but under pressure of war such percentage swung from 16 to 24. Womgn in the older groups, it seems safe to forecast, will constitute a much higher percentage of the postwar than of the 1940 labor force because of — 1 . The aging of the woman population, and 2. The larger percentage of women 35 to 45 in the war labor market who developed new skills. Studies in various war congested districts by the U. S. Women’s Bureau indicated that 81 per cent of all women workers 45 years of age and over intended to remain in the labor market while only 70-75 per cent of the 20 to 44 age group reported such a purpose. Women 65 and over will prob- ably retire, and there was a drop in their numbers following V-E Day. It has been estimated by the census that there will be almost 2 >4 million more women 35 years of age and over in the labor force in 1950 than in 1940. Of these women workers, 1,120,000 will be 45 years of age or beyond it. Possibly one of the signal working age changes to be reckoned with in the future will be among the women 35 to> 44, of whom 38 per cent were in labor force by 1945 as against only 27 per cent in 1940. In the midst of war these workers have acquired new skills and will probably wish to keep on working since they have passed the years which are loaded with household cares. It seems more than likely that many women who have passed the awful boundary of 45 years or possibly those over 35 may find job hunting very disheartening. According to the U. S. Women’s Bureau study of Bridgeport, Connecticut, early in 1946, of almost 1,000 job opportunities for women, in close to 60 per cent of the openings for clerical work the maximum hiring age limit was 35 or under and for 55 per cent of the factory jobs 40 or under. If this reflects the general situation in these lines of employment, older women must have recourse to the various service jobs. The problem may become more [ 6 ] acute because of the augmenting numbers of women 35 and over who are in the labor market. Women under 65 who are regarded as too ancient to put on the payroll cannot receive old age insurance benefits even if their previous occupations were in covered employment. Furthermore, public assistance or relief available to unemployed persons in the older groups who are able and willing to work is so meager that the Constitutional right to the pursuit of happiness seems more than shadowy from the point of view of freedom from want. Some psychiatric treatment for certain employers should be devised to eliminate their proneness to look upon older women job seekers as unemployable. Adjustments in working condi- tions and assignments to suitable occupations would not only utilize excellent skills but also enable these women to support themselves. By 1945 about one-third of the girls 14 and under 20 were in the labor market, the proportion in 1940 being about one-fifth. Large numbers of this age group may be expected to remain in school in peacetime, and their job placement involves a very different problem from that of women in the upper, age brackets. Marital Status of Women Wage Earners. Married women always outnumber single women but in normal times a much greater proportion of single than of married women is gain- fully occupied. However, marriage rates were accelerated in . the midst of war, and in 1944 the number of married women was almost 2^ million over the 1940 figure while in the same period the number of single women decreased by 830,000 con- stituting only about, 25 per cent of the female population as compared to approximately 28 per cent at the time of the 1940 census. In 1940 only 15 per cent of the married women were in the labor force as compared to 45 per cent of the single women and when the widowed and divorced women workers are added the 3 groups accounted for approximately two-thirds of the female 1940 labor force. At the outbreak of the war a very heavy proportion of the available single women were already gainfully employed. Con- sequently the sore demand for woman power had to be filled largely by married women. While the impact of war brought strong reinforcements of single women into the ranks of labor almost three-fourths of the new women recruits were married. In 1944 more than 50 [ 7 ] per cent of the single women and somewhat less than 2 5 per cent of the married women were in the labor force. From July 1945 to January 1946, as previously stated, there was a decline of about 4,000,000 women in the labor force not including the women reported as unemployed. Without a doubt, a great number of these women were wives and mothers. A substantially less number were unmarried. The findings of surveys by the U. S. Women’s Bureau in ten war congested districts, referred to above, revealed that 4 in 10 married women proposed to desert the labor market while only 1 in 10 in the other marital status groups was planning to do so. A later report on the labor force in the November 1946 Monthly Labor Review states that large numbers of women have entered or reentered the labor market because of the growing demand for their services and because of the mounting cost of living. How- ever, their increased participation in gainful employment has been restricted by high marriage and birth rates. Trends in Placements. As already noted, by January 1946, the female labor force had shrunk by 4,000,000. The major proportion of this decrease, however, did not appear as an accession to the ranks of the unemployed. While there are no overall statistics showing the particular industrial and occu- pational groups in which laid off women have landed jobs, some U. S. Employment Service placement figures give some glim- merings on the situation. In the non-agricultural placement of women in the last quarter of 1945 through that Govern- mental agency the industrial distribution was rather similar to that of the wartime labor force—much higher percentages being reported for manufacturing and lower percentages in the services than were found in 1940 employment. Of the women in the 1940 manufacturing labor force, ap- proximately 43 per cent were in the textile and apparel indus- tries. Various factories in these industrial groups held and even expanded their labor force after the war began in order to meet the war demand for their products. In the last quarter of 1945, twenty-eight per cent of all the manufacturing placements of women by the U. S. Employment Service was in these industries. Among displaced women’s peculiar reconversion difficulties, is their inability to find opportunities to utilize their war skills. Some women were not in the prewar labor market. Others developed higher skills in wartime. Because they are new mem- bers of the labor force or because they have so recently acquired their skills large numbers of these women have no prior seniority in jobs held when lay-offs are in order. Only a very small [ 8 ] number of them are entitled to veteran job preferences. When there are no openings at the skill level the women desire, the tendency is to try to get them to take their prewar types of jobs. A study made by the U. S. Employment Service in Atlanta, Coluipbus and Trenton disclosed that 40 to 61 per cent of the job opportunities for women were in clerical, sales or service groups but only from 15 to 18 per cent of the women wanting employment had last been occupied in these lines. In some localities garment and hosiery factories could not get the women they needed because former operatives were averse to returning to this type of job. A tendency toward lower basic rates is noted for available peacetime jobs for women as compared to their wartime rates. Moreover, the elimination' of overtime has resulted in a big pinch in the pay envelope. Consequently women applicants for work hold back from taking these unattractive offers, which, of course, stretches out their period of unemployment. Fur- thermore, unemployment compensation restrictions are particu- larly hard on women. However, the expansion announcements of various industries and reports from women war workers in different parts -of the country as to their post war employment intentions indicate a probably higher proportion of all women workers in manufac- turing than in 1940. Women’s Increased Economic Responsibilities due to War Casualties. One of the tragic aftermaths of war is the large and permanent expansion in the number of women members of families with veterans who have died or are disabled. By June 1945, more than 50,000 widows of veterans of World War II were in receipt of pensions. To maintain an adequate level of living many of these women may find it necessary to take jobs. At the same date over half a million veterans were receiv- ing disability pensions. A large number of these men who are married with families may not be able to care for them without assistance or may not be able to maintain them at all. However, since the publication of the article in the February 1946 Monthly Labor Review from which the above information is taken, pensions have been raised but the cost of living has also mounted. It is also pointed out in that article that indirect results of war casualties will have to be reckoned with such as the single status of so many more young women because of the death or disability of hundreds of thousands of men in the age groups in which they ordinarily marry. The majority of these women will endeavor to support themselves and many [ 9 ] of them will also have dependents. The proportion of un- married women in the United States will also be higher because so many bachelor service men have married foreign women. III. WOMEN'S WAGES • The question of wartime repercussions on women’s wages is an insistent and recurrent quiz. Undoubtedly, wage rates increased during the war, particularly in the supplying of munitions and because of unparalleled demands for production in various other lines. Weekly earnings climbed upward even more than hourly earnings due to longer regular hours and overtime. Despite wartime wage clamps the National War Labor Board allowed some increases in order to offset the rising costs of living. The Board also> permitted advances foir individual employees suffering from intra-plant inequities. Such in- creases were often accorded women because their pay was so low as compared with male workers. Some of the press reports on high war wages women were being paid when tracked to their source disclosed that the spec- tacular remuneration was for special skills, absolutely necessary in the crisis or for protracted hours including much overtime. While the wage rates for women as well as men in these post- war days are now above the rates in the period immediately pre- ceding the war, the addition shrivels when compared to the over- whelming advance in cost of living. Moreover, the return to normal hours and the doing away with overtime pay and wartime bonuses have, of course, reduced the earnings of large numbers of those who have been able to hold on to their jobs. Another adverse factor in the situation is, as already noted, women’s frequent experience on dismissal from their jobs that available employment means a slimmer pay envelope and no opportunity to utilize their best wartime developed skills. However, even in higher paying occupational fields there have been many declines in earnings, chiefly due to reductions in hours, the elimination of overtime and war bonuses or downgrading procedures. As an outcome, trade unions in num- bers of industries are struggling through collective negotiations to secure higher rates to counterbalance the effects of the sudden close of the war upon the remuneration of their members. The kinds of data which give the most satisfactory picture of women’s wages, such as distribution rates, comparisons for special occupations, and similar details of great significance can, of course, be secured only through highly specialized, [ 10 ] individual studies. The character of such data makes it next to impossible to get the information on an extensive scale or on a wide series kept always up to the minute. Some available scattered wage material is presented here by way of a rather rough sketch of women’s earnings in wartime with contrasts for the prewar and postwar periods. National War Labor Board Findings. The National War Labor Board’s report on the distribution of 27,700 workers by hourly pay rates in January 1944 (without breakdown by sex) showed that almost one-fifth of these workers received substandard rates—under 50 cents per hour; 8 per cent of the 13,600 manufacturing employees were also being paid sub- standard rates. In reported average rates (other than entrance rates) women’s averages are always under men’s, it is, there- fore, quite safe to conclude that percentages at least this high of the women covered were being paid substandard rates. According to this same report trade and service groups, the majority of whom are women, were even worse off—56 per cent of the 4,700 trade workers and 59 per cent of the 1,900 service employees were receiving under 50 cents per hour. Median Annual Money Income of Single Women 1941 and 1944. The median annual income of single women in cities jumped from $760.00 in 1941 to $1,290.00 in 1944. This sug- gests, as pointed out in the February 1946 Monthly Labor Review, higher earning power among employables. However, the author of the article reminds that this apparent gain contracts seriously when war income taxes are taken into account and the higher cost of living is reckoned with, to say nothing of the van- ishing of low-priced clothing articles from the consumer’s ken. Women’s Low Earnings in Certain Occupations An War Factories. Even in war plants large numbers of women were in occupations in which hourly earnings were less than the accepted minimum standards. Moreover, in numerous cases the entrance hourly rates pass muster for entrance rates such as the usual entrance rates for men, but no' regular procedures have been devised for upgrading women., Consequently they have next to no chance for getting higher rates. Some U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Data on Women’s Earnings. The U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found that in 1943 the average hourly earnings of a considerable number of women clerical workers (most of them in war manufacture) were less than 65 cents per hour. This was particularly true in the case of file clerks, clerk-typist and switchboard operators in such establishments. [ll 1 The following data are also based on studies of the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Limited, Price Stores Retail Clerks, April, 1945 . Average Full Time Hourly Earnings State City Colorado Denver $0.46 Kentucky Louisville 42 Maryland Baltimore 41 Michigan Detroit 49 Ohio Cincinnati 44 Columbus 43 r Toledo 44 Youngstown 42 Pennsylvania Erie 42 Pittsburgh 40 Utah Salt Lake City 49 District of Columbia Washington 49 Power Laundries, Plant Workers, July, 1945 Selected Occupations Average Hourly Earnings Per cent State City Range by Occupation earning less than 50c. 55c. Kentucky .... Louisville .... $.42 —$.62 59 77 Ohio ? Cincinnati 48 — .73 54 71 Youngstown ... 42 — .84 49 67 The following straight-time average hourly earnings at post- war dates in the textile industry, which is so predominantly a woman-employing industry, are a decided improvement as com- pared to the earlier figures. Again, it must be recalled that the elimination of overtime,- the continuation of wartime taxes, and inflationary prices tend to cancel pay rises. Straight-time Average Hourly Earnings in the Textile Industry and in Selected Branches, December 1941 to February 1946 December December February 2 1941 1945 1946 {Cents) (Cents) (Cents) Entire Textile Industry ... 56.1 77.7 87.6 Cotton: North 56.1 81.5 87.0 South 46*9 67.1 76.0 Woolen and worsted 67.7 86.1 100.0 Knit underwear 49.4 70.5 - 72.0 Hosiery, seamless 46.0 64.8 67.0 Hosiery, fashioned 65.8 97.3 100.0 Rayon and allied products 77.7 95.7 103.0 2 Estimated. [ 12 ] Average Weekly Earnings of Women Workers at Specified Dates Date War Workers Nonwar Workers 1941 $21.65 $23.95 1945 (Spring) 53.75 40.65 1945-46 (Winter) 34.40 37.95 Women’s Earnings As Given by Two Authoritative Sources. The National Industrial Conference Board reports women’s hourly earnings for April 1941, 1943 and 1946, respectively, as 51.0 cents, 68.7 and 84.8 cents. The Illinois State Department of Labor gives hourly earnings for April, 1943 and 1946 as 67 and 87 cents, respectively. No corresponding figures for the same dates are available from the New York State Department of Labor. While the preceding figures for general manufacture indicate a substantial advance in money wages, this gain is drastically offset by higher living costs and increased taxation. Further light is cast upon women’s earnings by some statis- tics in selected lines of production. For example, the National Industrial Conference Board reports that in aircraft manufac- ture in the United States from April, 1943 to April 1946 the average weekly earnings of women rose from $38.63 to $42.50. In shipbuilding, however, in the same period there was a drop from $44.18 to $43.03. The Illinois Labor Department Bulletin records the sub- stantial advances in average weekly earnings from April 1941 to April 1946 in certain industrial lines as follows: April 1941 1943 1946 Men’s Clothing ... $17.37 $27.04 $36.03 Women’s and Children’s Clothing 16.12 22.41 31.29 Millinery 19.53 31.29 37.09 Trade, Wholesale and Retail 15.73 17.92 21.57 Laundry, Cleaning and Dyeing 14.79 18.70 24.04 Transitional Hardships. Various references have been made to the difficulties women war workers have in finding jobs at the wages they have been receiving and in employment in which their war acquired skills can be utilized. Tragic illustrations of this experience are cited in a report on a survey made by the Bureau of Employment Security, Social Security Board, and the U. S. Employment Service on average weekly earnings of women in their last jobs and jobs open October 1945. For example, in Atlanta, Georgia, in their last jobs they averaged weekly $46.40 and in the available jobs October 1945, average earnings [ 13 ] were only $21.70. The corresponding earnings for Columbus, Ohio were $49.40 and $25.55; for Trenton, N. J., $56.90 and $29.00. Women’s Budgets as Wage Yardsticks. The measurement of the adequacy of a woman’s wage depends largely upon what it costs her to maintain herself in health and decency. A sub- stantial rise in prices or added responsibilities may readily reduce her to a substandard existence, although she may be receiving the same amount of money which formerly assured her the necessaries of life. It may be recalled that 50 cents per hour is appreciably less than the rates the National War Labor Board set in various sections of the country as common labor minimums which are rarely below 55 cents and in considerably over half of these localities are 65 cents and/or more. The following estimated budgets for single women workers may serve as rough measuring rods in discussing the wage prob- lems of this great group, but always with due regard for changes in the cost of living. Estimated Weekly Costs of Single Women’s Budgets Connecticut District of ... $17.99, 1938 $28.10, March, 1946 Columbia ... 17.00, 1937 31.50, September, 1946 New York ... 21.17, 1941 34.55, September, 1946 San Francisco ... ... 21.68, 1941 38.15, September, 1946 These budgets are far from being strictly comparable but the limitations of space will not permit of detailed analysis. Consumers’ prices rose 18 per cent (estimated) from Decem- ber 1945 to December, 1946. The respective advances for the preceding 5 years were not nearly so great, as indicated below: Per cent December 1940 to December 1941 9/4 December 1941 to December 1942 9 December 1942 to December 1943 3^4 December 1943 to December 1944 2^4 December 1944 to December 1945 2^4 Industrial Homework. Since the Fair Labor Standards Act went into effect much headway has been made toward the elimination of industrial homework. However, the evil still persists to some extent in most of the States. Under this system work is distributed by employers to be done at home. The vast majority of persons doing such work are women. Piece [ 14 ] rates and low pay prevail frequently combined with protracted hours and child labor. The character of this kind of work makes it very difficult to find out how much is being done and how many are doing it. Various surveys of families doing home- work referred to in the Monthly Labor Review of June 1944 show that many of these workers were obliged to have recourse to private or public relief, their reported earnings being some- times as low as $2, $4, $5, $8 or $12 a week. Summary. The lack of available satisfactory statistics on women’s wages tends to preclude overall clear cut conclu- sions on the subject. However the Director of Industrial Research, U. S. Women’s Bureau stated in November, 1946 that women’s wage rates (as well as men’s) were then “higher than before the war, but the advance was not so great as the cost of living.” Furthermore, “The return to normal work hours and the elimination of overtime pay have caused a decline since the war in the earnings of those retaining jobs,” According to the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “the flow of war workers tended to be in the direction of lower wage industries and lower wage jobs. Although the reduced earn- ings reported in the winter of 1945-46 were largely the result of a decline in hours worked with consequent loss of overtime the redistribution of workers, occupationally and industrially, undoubtedly contributed to the diminution in wage income.” IV: THE DRIVE FOR EQUAL PAY F.OR EQUAL WORK Certain wartime reports on weekly wages in manufacturing indicate, on the whole, that women’s earnings were about 60 per cent of men’s. This is explained in part by the fact that men work more hours on the average. Women’s earnings based on various sources, range from approximately’ 65 to 81 per cent of men’s earnings. This difference is due in part to the em- ployment of relatively more women in the lower wage indus- tries, among them textiles and boots and shoes. Generally speaking, there are more men than women in the better paid jobs. Sample surveys over a period of years in which there are comparable occupational data for men’s and women’s earnings disclose that differences exist and are almost wholly favorable to men. Entrance rates in the industries covered by the U. S. Women’s Bureau study of 1942 and 1943 were reported more often than not to be the same for both sexes. However, there were still larger numbers of establishments which hired green [15] women at lower rates than green men. Furthermore, it was usually difficult for women to get their rates increased after they became experienced and women less frequently than men were given the opportunity to> secure higher paid jobs. Not being able to get a toe-hold in the more skilled jobs, together with the generally acceptable concept that a woman’s work is not worth as much as a man’s, constitutes a bar to women’s more adequate remuneration. A wage rate based on sex rather than on the job is a menace to the wage scale and working conditions, the A. F. of L. Committee on Post War Planning declares in its report on Women Workers (1945). The National War Labor Board and various Government branches with large numbers of women production workers implemented the practice of a rate for the job, accelerating the equal pay for equal work movement. In the Federal Civil Service salaries are fixed without re- gard to sex. In states with regularly established civil service systems men and women are in general paid the same salaries when they are doing similar work but in large numbers of cases their types of duties are wholly different. The prob- ability of equal pay practices in local governmental units with merit systems is declared to be high. (For equal pay pro- visions for teachers, see section on Labor Legislation for Women.) Numerous international unions have officially adopted an equal pay policy, and more and more frequently equal pay pro- visions are being included in local union agreements. Among the more important labor organizations that have been backing the equal pay policy are: The United Automobile, Aircraft and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, and the United Electrical Radio and Machine Workers of America. (See also section on Labor Legislation for Women.) An advance preliminary report of a U. S. Women’s Bureau study concerning the techniques of wage determination demon- strates that wage structure rationalization has frequently ef- fected appreciable changes in women’s job ratings. In one case cited, a union succeeded in getting an agreement which called for the reclassification of jobs. Women’s job classifica- tions were fitted to those of men’s for which descriptions indi- cated that the job content could be compared. The result was an average wage hike of 30 per cent for the women involved. The International Labor Conference in 1944 recommended that “the redistribution of women workers in each national [ 16 ] economy should be carried out on the principles of complete equality of opportunity for men and women in respect of ad- mission to employment on the basis of their individual merit, skill and experience, and steps should be taken to establish wage rates on the basis of job content, without regard to sex.” V. LABOR LEGISLATION FOR WOMEN The encouraging advance already made in protective legis- lation for women workers should be a stimulus for unceasing efforts for more and more adequate labor provisions. Equal Pay for Equal Work. The Public Contracts Act of 1936 covering employment conditions in producing supplies under Governmental contracts makes no> sex distinction in re- gard to fixing minimum rates. The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 provides for the establishment by private employers in interstate commerce of minimum wage rates without regard to sex. The National War Labor Board, empowered by Con- gress to control in wartime all wage adjustments is authorita- tively reported as having given “the greatest single impetus to the adoption of the equal pay principle in industry generally.” While no comprehensive statistics are available .concerning the total results of that Board’s work on equal pay practices, it may reasonably be assumed that there will be a tendency among employers to follow in future already adopted practices where they have promoted the efficiency of workers and made them more contented. Other than for teachers and certain other public employees, however, only two> states, Michigan and Montana had equal pay laws before World War II. By September, 1946 five additional states—Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, and Washington had enacted such measures, although there are differences in their coverage. Early in 1946 the statute books of thirteen states included provisions against sex discrimination in teachers’ salaries, and the District of Colum- bia’s teachers salary schedule fixed by the U. S. Congress is such as to assign equal salaries for both sexes. Several Federal equal pay bills have been introduced, two companion bills having been favorably reported in 1946. During the sessions of 1945 equal pay bills were introduced in seventeen State Legislatures, the one for Massachusetts being passed, and in 1946 measures on the subject were before two State Legislatures, the Rhode Island proposal being enacted into law. [ 17 ] Minimum Wages. Minimum wage legislation and admin- istration not only fix a floor for wages but make for a guar- anteed weekly wage, higher rates for overtime and split-shift schedules, rest and lunch periods and employers responsibility in the matter of requisite uniforms. After a rate is fixed for a certain industry it is illegal for any employer in that industry to pay under that rate. Such legislation, however, does not prevent higher wage payments. As already noted, under equal pay legislation, the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 provides a minimum wage rate* for both men and women workers in interstate commerce or in produc- tion for interstate commerce. In October, 1946 the rate was 40 cents per hour and time and a half of the worker’s regular rate for hours in excess of 40 per week. This so-called wage-hour act covers the great majority of factory workers in the United States, also numerous workers in wholesale trade, transporta- tion, telephone, telegraph, radio, press, banks and insurance companies. State minimum wage legislation is necessary in order to cover local or so-called intrastate industries not coming under the Federal provisions. In October, 1946 the District of Columbia and the follow- ing twenty-six states had minimum wage Acts: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado', Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Ne- vada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin. Most of these state laws are applicable to women and minors only; in four states—Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island the acts have been amended to include men. The laws of 3 states.—Arkansas, Nevada and South Dakota provide for a legal minimum rate. In the remaining 23 states and the District of Columbia no minimum rate is fixed by law, but the setting of a rate is provided for by a wage board for each industry, and the rate for the industry becomes effective only upon the issuance of an order. After the surrender of Japan the importance of fixing State minimum wage rates was intensified, especially for service indus- tries. As jobs in war manufactures have folded up many women workers have had to look for employment in industries the majority of which are not included in the minimum-rate pro- visions of the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act. Some service employers raised wage rates substantially during the war, espe- [ 18 ] dally in areas which suffered most seriously from a dearth of labor. Other employers, however, made little or no adjustments in the prevailing low wage rates in these industries. In mid-fall of 1946 some States with minimum wage acts had not then issued wage orders for all service industries. From V-J Day to October 1946, the District of Columbia and 1 6 states amended or began to formulate new orders. Most of the wage orders issued in this period are for the retail trade industry, the basic rates and weekly hours for which in five states are given below. Basic weekly rate Hours per week Connecticut $22.00 36 to # 44 New York 21.00 Over 30 including 40 North Dakota 16.90 48 (54 in small towns) Rhode Island 22.00 36 to 44 Utah 20.00 40 to 48 In October, 1946, progress towards the issuance of retail trade orders was reported for California, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Washington. Space will not permit the recording of wage orders issued or of work already begun on such orders for other industries in various states. Industrial Homework. Twenty states and the District of Columbia have laws or regulations on industrial homework. Except in Colorado, Oregon, Utah and the District of Columbia, provisions are . applicable to “persons.” In these four juris- dictions women and minors only are covered. Conferences of homework administrators have made re- peated recommendations that States having no homework laws should enact one and that other States should legally empower their respective departments of labor to prohibit such work industry by industry. Maximum Hours. It will be recalled that during the war longer regular hours and much overtime were allowed despite existing restrictive legislation. Five states, however, (Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Iowa and West Virginia) are the only States that have no laws limiting hours of work for women. The District of Columbia and 24 States have fixed 8 hours per day and/or 48 hours per week as the maximum for a woman’s employment in one or more indus- tries. In all of these 24 States except Kansas, the maximum hours provisions include manufacturing establishments. The South Carolina law, however, applies only to textile mills. In [ 19 ] Connecticut the work week may not be over 48 hours for several industries. Daily hours in mercantile establishments are re- stricted to 8 and in manufacturing plants to 9. The 8-48 hours provision in Kansas is applicable only to telephone exchanges and public-housekeeping occupations; in manufac- turing 9 hours per day and a 49^2 hours per week are allow- able. In 10 states 3 the maximum week in all but one (Idaho) is 50 to' 54 hours. In Arkansas weekly hours are not specified in the law but its 6-day week provision is practically a 54-hour maximum week. Eight states limit the women’s working day to 10 hours with a 54 to 60-hour week. 4 In two of these states (Georgia and South Carolina) the statute covers only cotton and woolen mills. In manufacfuring and other industries Tennessee fixes a I0y2 hour maximum day and a 57-hour week, while Minnesota sets no limit for the working day but restricts the working week to 54 hours. Day of Rest. Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia prohibit women’s employment for over 6 days per week in specified or all industries. In Colorado and Utah the law is not applicable to manufacturing. Meal Periods. Twenty-seven states and the District of Columbia stipulate that meal periods of from 20 minutes to 1 hour must be accorded women in certain industries or in all industries. Rest Periods. Ten-minute rest periods after a specified work period are legally provided for in Colorado, Oregon, and Utah. In California the Industrial Welfare Commission may require such rest periods if the character of the work calls for continuous standing. Night Work. The District of Columbia and 21 states re- strict the hours of employment at night of women or persons between 18 and 21 years of age. Seating. The District of Columbia and all the States, ex- cept Illinois and Mississippi, have seating laws. Occupational Limitation Laws. While 29 of the States have occupational limitation laws for women, some of these measures include only one occupation. Weight Lifting. Regulations concerning the lifting or carrying of heavy weights by women are provided in 9 states. 3 Arkansas, Idaho, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Vermont and Wisconsin. 4 Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, South Caro- lina, and South Dakota. [ 20 ] Employment before and after Child Birth. Laws prohibit- ing women’s employment immediately before and after child- birth are on the statute books of 6 states—Connecticut, Massa- chusetts, Missouri, New York, Vermont and Washington. Social Insurance and Assistance. The Social Security Act of 1935 and the great system of State legislation stemming there- from protect immense numbers of women as well as men through unemployment compensation, old age insurance and old age assistance. However, 15 to 20 million workers are not yet cov- ered by the Act. Job Placement. Women as well as men benefit under the Act of Congress of 1933 providing for a network of employment offices. VI. WOMEN IN TRADE UNIONS At the risk of its seeming repetitive and platitudinous, attention is called to the fact that the low wages of women are a menace to the wages of all workers. As a consequence, labor organization for women is an imperative. The growth of women’s membership in trade unions in recent years is attributed in part to the safeguarding of collective bargaining under the National Labor Relations Act. It has been estimated that in 1939 the number of women in labor unions in the United States was approximately a quar- ter of a million. Towards the close of 1946 the National Women’s Trade Union League reported that this number had increased to three and a half million. This was the latest estimate then available to that organization. Of these women union members, 1,800,000 belonged to the C.I.O. affiliates and 1,550,000 to the A. F. of L. and 150,000 to independent unions. The majority of the last mentioned group are members of the National Federation of Telephone Employees. However, the Secretary-Treasurer of the League, in giving the above information, pointed out that many women who entered the war industries had left their jobs. The numbers of women in some of the large national unions reported by the same organization are given below. Unions Women Membership The United Auto Workers Union 300,000 International Association of Machinists 150,000 United Steel Workers 85,000 Garment Workers Unions * 400,000 Textile and Hosiery Workers Unions 185,000 Railway Mail Clerks 85,000 [ 21 ] The National Women’s Trade Union League of America, which has been in action since 1903, not only includes trade unions with women members but also individual members who endorse its program. Among the major objectives of the League are, a living standard based on national productive capacity and equal pay for equal work. Some Recent A. F. of L. Recommendations. “The A. F. of L. Committee on Post War Planning in its report on Women Workers announces that the American Federation of Labor calls on all national and international unions, State branches and central labor unions to cooperate in carrying out our program for organization of women workers.” This committee points out that “union responsibility does not end with accept- ing women as members,” but should accord them equal rights and opportunities in union work and activities. At the same time the committee stresses the duties of women as trade unionists and emphasizes that when they enter industry they must accept the responsibility of doing the work for which they are hired, should recognize the need for team work, for seeing that industrial relations are democratically organized on equity and justice. They should select agents to represent them and should also assume when occasion requires official positions themselves. Women’s Bureau Conference with Women Labor Leaders. On October 30, 31, 1946, women labor union leaders met with the U. S. Women’s Bureau. Among the delegates were mem- bers of that Bureau’s Labor Advisory Committee. The major subjects scheduled for discussion were: equal pay, wage determination techniques, certain aspects of political and civil rights with reference to women wage earners, the protection of women workers and the improvement of their conditions through the enactment of amendments to minimum wage provisions, and the economic and legal aspects of night work for women. The following list of unions represented at the conference suggests the increasing influence of organized women workers: AFL: International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union; Brotherhood of Railway and Steamship Clerks; United Textile Workers; International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers; United Hatters, Cap and Millinery Workers In- ternational Union; International Brotherhood of Book- binders; Tobacco Workers International Union; Uphol- sterers’ International Union; Hotel and Restaurant Em- 122 ] ployees’ International Alliance; Retail Clerks’ International Protective Association. CIO: United Automobile, Aircraft and Agricultural Im- plement Workers; United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers; Amalgamated Clothing Workers; Laundry Work- ers Joint Board of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers; Textile Workers Union; Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union; United Office and Professional Workers; Union of Food, Tobacco, Agricultural and Allied Workers; United Farm Equipment and Metal Workers ; American Communi- cations Association, United Steel Workers. In addition to these unions, the National Federation of Telephone Workers, the National Women’s Trade Union League, the headquarters office of the AFL, and the head- quarters office of the CIO were represented. A few other unions invited were unable to send representatives. In addressing the delegates, Secretary of Labor Schwellen- bach declared: “We cannot have discrimination in employ- ment,” “The problem is not merely legislative; it is also a matter of collective bargaining.” Another reason for immedi- ately acting to promote progress for women workers, the Sec- retary said, was their “demonstration during the war of their capabilities—never dreamed of prior to the war, this lesson is not to be forgotten now; . . . ”. Social Program—A Cooperative Project. Although trade unions have done valiant service in the campaign for social legislation, further accomplishment demands that all thinking citizens should help shoulder the responsibility of post war progress along this line. VII. THE AGENDA FOR TODAY AND TOMORROW The war work of women was an amazing manifestation. Their contribution to victory was beyond computation. The position of women in reconversion seems, on the whole, to prom- ise economic progress. However, much remains to be done to change things as they are into things as they should be. Even in States which have long established labor legislation for women existing measures are far from adequate. In the States having little or no such legislation the crying need for it or for better laws and regulations must be met. The section dealing with this subject suggests great gaps in minimum wage, maximum hours, industrial safety and sanita- [23 ] tion measures. Women and children are still being exploited under the homework system. Equal pay laws are in effect in only a few States. Because of the insufficient income of families, mothers with young children are forced into the labor market. While the Fair Labor Standards Act fixes a minimum wage (now painfully low in the face of the soaring cost of living) for both men and women engaged in interstate commerce, only 26 states, Alaska and the District of Columbia guard the live- lihood of the lowest paid workers in intrastate industries and in some cases such guardianship' is far from adequate. Service industries in which great numbers of women are engaged pay traditionally low wages. As these are intrastate un- dertakings they are not covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act. In some States the women’s backward protective legislation is a special challenge to social reformers. For example, in Kentucky the minimum wage law under a blanket order including various intrastate industries except laundry, dry cleaning, and dyeing provides for a minimum of 20 to 25 cents per hour, according to zone. A laundry, dry cleaning and dyeing order fixes rates of 20 to 28 cents per hour. Domestic service and agriculture and persons subject to regulation by the public service com- missions are not covered by the act. A hotel and restaurant order issued since the blanket order sets rates at from 20 to 30 cents per hour. Agriculture and household employment do' not come under the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act or the Social Security Act and are excluded from practically all State mini- mum wage and maximum hour legislation and to a large extent from workingmen ’s % compensation and wage collection laws. In brief the report here presented calls for the translation of the love of our neighbor, through a careful study of these problems of women workers, into constructive and far reaching social action. Such action is strongly urged in the following Papal pronouncements and excerpts from the recommendations in that historic document the “Bishops’ Program of Social Reconstruction.” Governmental Intervention. To produce these goods the labor of the workers, whether they expend their skill and strength on farms or in factories, is most efficacious and necessary. Nay, in this respect, their energy and effective- ness are so important that it is incontestable that the wealth of nations originates from no other source than from the [ 24 ] labor of workers. Equity therefore commands that public authority show proper concern for the worker so that from what he contributes to the common good he may receive what will enable him, housed, clothed, and secure, to live his life without hardship. Whence, it follows that all those measures ought to be favored which seem in any way capable of benefiting the condition of workers. Such so- licitude is SO' far from injuring anyone, that it is destined rather to benefit all, because it is of absolute interest to the State that those citizens should not be miserable in every respect from whom such necessary goods proceed.— (En- cyclical letter “On the Condition of Workers” by Pope Leo XIII, paragraph 51.) The function of the rulers of the State, moreover, is to watch over the community and its parts; but in protecting private individuals in their rights, chief consideration ought to be given to the weak and the poor. A new .branch of law, wholly unknown to the earlier time, has arisen from this continuous and unwearied labor to protect vigorously the sacred rights of the workers, that flow from their dignity as men and as Christians. ( En- cyclical letter “On Reconstructing the Social Order” by Pope Pius XI, paragraphs 25 and 28.) But in your social and political activity much depends on the legislation of the State and the administration of local bodies. Accordingly, the electoral ballot in the hands of the Catholic woman is an important means toward the fulfillment of her strict duty in conscience at the present time. (Address “On Woman’s Duties in Social and Political Life,” by Pope Pius XII, page 11.) Hence it is contrary to social justice when, for the sake of personal gain and without regard for the common good, wages and salaries are excessively lowered or raised; and this same social justice demands that wages and salaries be so managed, through agreement of plans and wills, in so far as can be done, as to offer to the greatest possible num- ber the opportunity of getting work and obtaining suitable means of livelihood. ( Encyclical letter “On Reconstructing the Social Order” by Pope Pius XI, paragraph 74.) As far back as 1919 the Bishop’s Reconstruction Program advocated minimum wage laws for women which would provide [25] for wage rates “at least . . . adequate to the decent individual support of female workers.” Turning now from those agencies and laws that have been put in operation during the war to the general subject of labor legislation and problems, we are glad to note that there is no longer any serious objection urged by impartial persons against the legal minimum wage. The several States should enact laws providing for the establishment of wage rates that will be at least sufficient for the decent maintenance of a family, in the case of all male adults, and adequate to the decent individual support of female workers. In the begin- ning the minimum wages for male workers should suffice only for the present needs of the family, but they should be gradually raised until they are adequate to future needs as well. That is, they should be ultimately high enough to make possible that amount of saving which is necessary to protect the’worker and his family against sickness, acci- dents, invalidity and old age. Equal Pay for Equal Work. The Bishops’ Program re- ferred to above also declared that those women who are engaged in the same tasks as men should receive equal pay for equal amounts and qualities of work. Pope Pius XII in bis 1945 address “On Woman’s Duties in Social and Political Life” says, “Indeed, we have on former occasions pointed out that for the same work output a woman is entitled to the same wages as a man.” Mothers in the Labor Market. It is an intolerable abuse, and to be abolished at all cost, for mothers on account of the father’s low wage to> be forced to engage in gainful occupa- tions outside the home to .the neglect of their proper cares and duties, especially the training of children. Every effort must therefore be made that fathers of families receive a wage large enough to meet ordinary family needs adequately. But if this cannot always be done under existing circum- stances, social justice demands that changes be introduced as soon as possible whereby such a wage will be assured to every adult workingman. It will not be out of place here to render merited praise to all, who with a wise and useful purpose, have tried and tested various ways of adjusting the pay for work to family burdens in such a way that, as [ 26 ] these increase, the former may be raised and indeed, if the contingency arises, there may be enough to meet extraor- dinary needs. ( Encyclical letter “On Reconstructing the Social Order” by Pope Pius XI, page 71.) “To restore as far as possible the honor of the woman’s and mother’s place in the home: that is the watchword we hear now from many quarters like a cry of alarm, as if the world were awakening, terrified by the fruits of material and scientific progress of which it before was so proud.” (Actdress, “Woman’s Duties in Social and Political Life,” Pope Pius XII, page 7.) The state and politics have in fact precisely the office of securing for the family of every social class conditions necessary for them to' exist and to' evolve as economic, juridical and moral units. Then the family will really be the vital nucleus of men who are earning honestly their temporal and eternal welfare. ( Address , “Woman’s Duties in Social and Political Life,” by Pope Pius XII, page 11.) Importance of Labor Unions. Workers’ associations ought to be so constituted and so' governed as to furnish the most suitable and most convenient means to attain the object proposed, which consists in this, that the individual mem- bers of the association secure, so far as possible, an increase in the goods of body, of soul, and of prosperity. (En- cyclical letter of Pope Leo XIII, “On Condition of Work- ers,” paragraph 76.) In his Encyclical, “Reconstructing the Social Order,” Pope Pius XI declares : First and foremost, the State and every good citizen ought to look to and strive toward this end: that the conflict between the hostile classes be abolished and har- monious cooperation of the Industries and Professions be encouraged and promoted. The most important among these interests is to promote the cooperation in the highest degree of each industry and profession for the sake of the common good of the country. To implement this new democratic social order would re- quire the expansion of labor unions and other organizations in industry. [ 27 ] Days of Rest. Finally, it is not right to demand of a woman or a child what a strong adult man is capable of doing or would be willing to do. Nay, as regards children, special care ought to be taken that the factory does not get hold of them before age has sufficiently matured their phy- sical, intellectual, and moral powers. For budding strength in childhood, like greening verdure in spring, is crushed by premature harsh treatment; and under such circum- stances all education of the child must needs be foregone. Certain occupations likewise are less fitted for women, who are intended by nature for work of the home—work indeed which especially protects modesty in women and accords by nature with the education of children and the well-being of the family. Let it be the rule everywhere that workers be given as much leisure as will compensate for the energy consumed by toil, for rest from work is necessary to restore strength consumed by use. In every obligation which is mutually contracted between employers and workers, this condition, either written or tacit, is always present, that both kinds of rest be provided for; nor would it be equitable to make an agreement otherwise, because no one has the right to demand of, or to make an agreement with anyone to neglect those duties which bind a man to God or to him- self. ( Encyclical letter oj Pope Leo XIII “On Condition of Workers paragraph 60.) Existing Successful Social Action Agencies. Numerous types of efficient undertakings are already functioning in the field of Catholic Social Studies and Social Action by women and for women. A report summarizing their activities would be an inspiration. These undertakings, however, should be multiplied, streamlined, and headed up more directly with the Social Action Department of the National Catholic Welfare Confer- ence and the National Council of Catholic Women. Valuable literature may be secured from these central agencies along social action lines, and expert specific advice obtained by per- sons and organizations desiring to do outstanding work to better the conditions of women workers. When possible local organizations should send some work- ing women to the annual Institute on Women in Industry held in Washington, D. C., by the National Council of Catholic Women with the Social Action Department of the National Catholic Welfare Conference. Working women should be advised to join the labor unions of their occupation. • [ 28 ] Catholic women workers might well take an active part in the Association of Catholic Trade Unionists. Cooperation with various women’s organizations, local, na- tional and international, engaged in promoting the progress of women breadwinners is strongly recommended, provided the objectives of these organizations are in harmony with Catholic ideals. An .Important Source of Information. The United States Women’s Bureau, of the Department of Labor, one of the most ardent reform branches of the Government, places at the dis- posal of the public the results of its scientific research in up-to- date reports. Its “Reconversion Blue Print for Women,” adopted at a 1945 conference of that bureau with various women leaders in national organizations declared: “Women’s employment must be considered not only as a woman or labor problem but one of human welfare, which includes women’s status in the wage-earning world, their home and family re- sponsibilities, and their relation to the national economy.” “Standards for Employment of Women,” published by the Women’s Bureau in 1946 is a heartening program. A Re-emphasis. In conclusion the dynamic call of Pius XII to Catholic women to take an active part in political and social movements is again reiterated here in a somewhat different key : “Woman has to collaborate with man for the good of the State for she has the same dignity as he. Both have the right and duty to cooperate for the total good of society.” “Your day is here Catholic women and girls . . . Public life needs you. . . . May you be under the standard of Christ the King, under the patronage of His Wonderful Mother—restorers of home, family and society.” N. C. W. C. STUDY CLUB OUTLINE I. Introductory 1. Why is the woman problem so dominant in postwar planning? 2. Upon what does this problem hinge, according to Pope Pius XII? 3. Give figures indicating the importance of the challenge to improve the conditions of women # workers. II. Women in the Labor Force 1. Discuss wartime and reconversion shifts in the woman labor force. 2. For which age groups are the greatest wartime percentage expansions of women workers reported? 3. Why was there such a large proportion of married women in the war labor force? [ 29 ] 4. What do the U. S. Women’s Bureau studies in ten war congested districts disclose in regard to postwar plans of married women workers? 5. What are some of the special reconversion difficulties encountered by displaced women? 6. What seem to be women’s prospects in postwar manufacture? 7. What were the findings of a postwar study by the U. S. Employment service in three cities in regarcf to women’s job opportunities? III. Women’s Wages 1. What were the National War Labor Boards’ findings on hourly rates ,of pay in January 1944? 2. Give some of the results of the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics studies on women’s earnings in wartime and after. 3. Upon what does the measurement of the adequacy of women’s wages depend ? a. Give some samples of single women’s budgets. b. Report on recent increases in cost of living. 4. Tell of some of the conclusions of experts on women’s wages in 1946. IV. The Drive for Equal Pay for Equal Work 1. What do certain wartime reports show concerning women’s wages as compared to men’s? 2. What are some of the bars to women’s more adequate remuneration? 3. What is the attitude of the A. F. of L. Committee on Post War Planning, relative to a wage rate based on sex? 4. What did the International Labor Conference of 1944 recommend as to equal pay for equal work? V. Labor Legislation for Women Summarize situation as to labor laws for women: a. Equal pay for equal work b. Minimum wages c. Industrial home work d. Maximum hours e. Other labor legislation VI. Women in Trade Unions 1. What are the estimated numbers of women in trade unions in 1939 and as reported by the National Women’s Trade Union League in 1946? 2: Give recent figures on women’s membership in some of the large international unions? 3. What announcement does the A. F. of L. Committee on Pcstwar Planning make in its Report on Women Workers (1945) ? [30] 4. What does that Committee stress with reference to union respon- sibility ? 5. Give major subjects scheduled for discussion at U. S. Women’s Conference with women labor leaders in October, 1946. VII. The Agenda for Today and Tomorrow 1. What are some of the facts indicating the serious need for vigorous efforts to improve the condition of women wage earners? 2. Cite Papal pronouncements on Government intervention, wages, equal pay for equal work, mothers in the labor market, the impor- tance of labor unions, days of rest. 3. What next steps are suggested in the line of Catholic Social Action by and for women? 4. What Government agency is an invaluable source of sympathetic and scientific information on women’s labor problems? 5. Memorize prayerfully the sacred alarum from the “Watch Tower of the World” to the Catholic women of this atomic age, quoted in the closing paragraph of this report. SELECTED REFERENCES United States Women’s Bureau: Bulletins No. 161—Women at Work. Washington, 1942. No. 209—Women Workers in Ten War Production Areas and Their Postwar Plans. Washington, 1946. No. 211—Employment of Women in Early Postwar Period with Background of War and Prewar Data by Mary Elizabeth Pidgeon. Washington, 1946. • Special Bulletins No. 18—A Preview as to Women Workers in Transition from War to Peace by Mary Elizabeth Pidgeon. Washington, March, 1944. No. 20—Changes in Women’s Employment During the War by Mary Elizabeth Pidgeon. Washington, 1944. Mimeographed Reports, Press Releases and Other Data Including — Women Workers; A year after VJ-Day by Director of U. S. Women’s Press Release, August 31, 1945. Women’s Wages in Wartime, Mimeographed Reports. November, 1944 and February, 1945. Women’s Frontiers in 1946, Mimeographed. January, 1946. Summary of State Labor Laws for Women, February 15, 1946. Mimeographed. Also information by correspondence and telephone from Bureau’s Division Chiefs. [ 31 ] United States Bureau of Labor Statistics: Bulletins No. 876—Workers’ Experience During First Phase of Reconversion. Prepared by Nathan Weinberg, Washington, 1946. Reprints from the Monthly Labor Review R. 1581—Women Workers in Two Wars by Mary V. Robinson. (October, 1943.) R. 1659—Development and Control of Industrial Homework by Ruth Crawford. (June, 1944.) R. 1824—City-Family Composition in Relation to Income, 1941 and 1944. Prepared by Lenore A. Epstein and Ann S. Ritter. (February, 1946.) R. 18^1—Effects of War Casualties on Economic Responsibilities of women. Prepared by Janet M. Hooks. (February, 1946.) • R. 1841—‘Progress of State Minimum Wage Legislation by Alice Anjers and Loretto Sullivan. (May, 1946.) R. 1851—Equal Pay for Women Workers. Prepared by Margaret L. Plunkett. (September, 1946.) R. 1855—Labor in the South. (October, 1946.) R. 1865—The Labor Force in the First Year of Peace. Prepared by Leonard Eskin. (November, 1946.) U. S. Bureau of the Census: Monthly Report on the Labor Force. Washington. November 8, 1946. International Labor Office: The War and Women’s Employment. The Experience of the United Kingdom and the United States. Montreal, 1946. American Federation of Labor: Committee on Postwar Planning. Women Workers. Washington,, 1945. National Women’s Trade Union League: Life and Labor—recent issues from League’s Washington office. Also information by correspondence and telephone. National Catholic Welfare Conference: Rerum Novarum. Encyclical Letter on the Condition of Workers by Pope Leo XIII. New translation authorized by the Holy See. Washington, 1942. Bishops’ Program of Social Reconstruction. 20th Anniversary Edi- tion. Washington, 1939. Women in Industry by Members of the N. C. W. C. Social Action Department. Washington, 1938. Quadragesimo Anno. Encyclical Letter on Reconstructing the Social Order by Pope Pius XI. New Translation authorized by the Holy See, Washington, 1942. Woman’s Duties in Social and Political Life. Address by Pope Pius XII. Washington, National Council of Catholic Women, 1945. [32] 61