barber shops in 1949. The average (median) income was found to be $1,417. More than two-thirds of the women had incomes of less than $2,000 in the year, and at the upper end of the scale 4 percent had incomes of $4,000 or more.

The generally low annual wages for the majority of these workers may be attributed in part to slack periods and to the high incidence of parttime work in the industry. Many women work only when the demand for service is brisk, as in the late afternoons or during the last 3 days of the week.

The income range of women and men barbers, beauticians, and manicurists in 1949 was as follows:

Source: U. S. Bureau of Census. Decennial Census of Population. 1950. sample.

2

Based on a 20-percent

MINIMUM-WAGE PROVISIONS.- Of the 33 States and Territories (including the District of Columbia) having minimum-wage laws to insure payment of a living wage, approximately two-thirds have minimum-wage rates applicable to beauty operators, established either by the statute itself or by a wage order issued by the State Labor Department. In addition to the basic minimum wage, some States require overtime pay after a certain number of hours, and some also regulate working conditions. A few set a higher hourly minimum for part-time workers and some provide that an operator who is called to work on any day must be paid for not less than 4 hours work (in a few States, 3 hours). Some States specifically prohibit counting tips as part of the minimum wage. OTHER PROVISIONS AFFECTING WAGES.—In addition to the establishment of a minimum wage, other provisions sometimes are made, which in effect add to income. For example, minimum-wage orders issued for beauticians in some States provide that the employer shall furnish the beauty operator's work uniform, and provide for laundering. In other States, the employer is directed to sell uniforms at cost to the employee and to provide laundry service or pay the employee in lieu of this service.

2 Jurisdictions with minimum-wage rates applicable to beauty operators as of May 1956: Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming, District of Columbia, Alaska and Hawaii.

Miscellaneous requirements either in minimum-wage orders or in regulations of cosmetology boards, often include definite statements as to tools and supplies, specifying which are to be furnished by the beautician and which by the employer. Sometimes the owners must provide the beauty operator with tools and equipment; manicurists generally furnish their own tools. In some States the boards direct beauticians to give each other beauty service when business in the shop is slack.

In some shops, 1 week of vacation with pay is permitted after a year of service, and in a few shops 2 weeks of vacation are given. If a beautician works in a shop located in a department store, or connected with a governmental agency or other organization, she may be permitted to participate in the personnel plan of the organization, including sick and vacation leave and pensions.

Social-security coverage is automatically extended to all beauty operators working as employees in shops. They are entitled to both old-age and unemployment insurance. Under amendments to the Federal Social Security Act effective January 1, 1951, self-employed operators whose net yearly earnings are $400 or more also are entitled to qualify for old-age benefits by making the regular payments.

In about a third of the States all beauticians can benefit from the Workmen's Compensation Acts if they are injured while on duty. In the majority of the other States the industry is included in workmen's compensation, but the law applies only to establishments larger than most beauty shops. In about a fifth of the States the beauty operator if injured has no protection under workmen's compensation-her only recourse is to the courts.

The Operator Who Rents a Beauty-Shop Booth

A special business arrangement in the cosmetology field is the rental or lease of a booth in a beauty shop by an individual licensed beautician, who operates to a great extent as an independent contractor. The patron pays the individual operator, who in turn pays the owner of the shop either a rental for the use of the booth or a percentage of her receipts. She usually furnishes her own supplies. The owner of the shop has no control over the renter's working hours or her methods of work. In some shops, the owners employ beauticians and, in addition, have a few booths for rent. In other shops the owners have no employees and receive their entire income from the payments of booth renters.

The number of booth renters in the entire country is not known. The system is more common in some localities than in others. In one city that had 3,800 renewal licenses in 1954, 300 booth renters were reported, about 8 percent of the total. In this case the booth renter is licensed on

the same basis as an owner-manager and experience of 3 years is required before a license can be obtained.

This system offers certain advantages for the operator, although in practice it has some serious disadvantages. The booth renter can operate virtually as an owner-manager in the business without financing the expense of an individual shop. She can rent a booth in a desirable location in a commercial district of a city for a fraction of the cost of a shop and can arrange her working hours to suit her own convenience and sometimes works as little as 2 days a week. She sets her own rates and uses whatever method of operation she chooses. She is free to build up her own clientele. On the other hand, she does not have the opportunity of the beautician employed in a large shop to serve other patrons when not occupied with her own customers.

Another disadvantage to the booth renter is that she lacks the security of a regular employee. There is no way to assure her a regular income and the shop owner does not make social security payments toward the booth renter's old-age and survivors insurance. However, if her net earnings for the year come to $400 or more, she can obtain credits for the entire year as a self-employed person, by reporting her earnings on her individual income tax return and paying the self-employment tax of 3 percent on earnings up to the maximum of $4,200.

The most serious criticism of booth renting is one that affects customers and the public. It is the difficulty of ensuring satisfactory health and sanitary conditions in booths rented by independent operators. In some States the landlord renting out a booth is considered to be an employer responsible under the law for sanitary conditions, wages, and taxes. However, shop owners frequently feel that they should not be held responsible for sanitary conditions in these booths, and when the responsibility is placed on them, their supervision may be resented by the booth For these reasons, some authorities have sought to restrict or eliminate the system.

renters.

In an eastern city that has a considerable number of booth renters, the cosmetology board has provided that the shop owner or operator is responsible for sanitation in the shop as a whole, and for seeing that the booth renter is a licensed beauty operIn turn, the operator who rents a booth from the owner is responsible for sanitary conditions "in the total area occupied by such booth."

ator.

Organizations for Beauticians

Beauticians have formed a number of national organizations. Some of these are made up of shop owners or managers, some are employee unions, some have educational objectives. (See appendix, p. 43.)

State beauty culture boards are associated in two organizations, both seeking to improve educational standards. One also maintains a file of

registered cosmetologists and promotes a wider development than at present of interstate reciprocity.

Eight organizations exist for managers or beauticians in general. Largest of these, the National Hairdressers' and Cosmetologists' Association, with headquarters in New York, has 37 State branches, and directs a nationwide publicity and public-relations program for the industry. The All-American Beauty-Culture Schools, Associated, cooperates with the NHCA in promoting educational standards and legislation in the beauty-culture field. The National Beauty Culturists' League and the United Beauty School Owners and Teachers Association devote their efforts toward raising standards of beauty-culture education and practice for Negro operators. Somewhat smaller groups are the Associated

Master Barbers and Beauticians of America and the American Cosmeticians National Association, each of which has headquarters in Chicago. Two Greek-letter organizations have chapters in schools and work for high standards in education and practice.

There are two labor unions for beauticians in the United States. The larger is the Journeymen Barbers, Hairdressers, Cosmetologists and Proprietors' International Union of America. It was organized in the 1880's, and has been affiliated with the American Federation of Labor. In 1955 it reported a membership of 85,000, of whom about one-tenth were estimated to be women.

The Barbers and Beauty Culturists Union of America, affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations, was organized early in the 1940's. It reported about 5,000 members in 1955, many of them in the New York City area. From 10 to 20 percent of the members (men and women) were believed to be beauticians.

Both these organizations hold national conventions periodically. Both have group life insurance coverage available to members. The Journeymen Barbers' union also has sick benefits for all members and group malpractice insurance for members wishing to participate.

V. CHOOSING THE OCCUPATION

Who Should Choose Beauty Service?

In thinking of beauty service as a career, a girl is likely to ask: "How can I be sure I would like this type of work? How can I know that I could do it well?"

One of the first signs of suitability is a real interest in beauty culture. Finger dexterity is important, and can be easily determined through an aptitude test. A sense of the artistic is helpful in determining line, color, and proportion in hair arrangements. If, in addition, a girl enjoys trying new hair styles and giving herself and other girls waves and manicures, she can enter training with confidence in her ability to succeed in this field. Some girls like to imagine, whenever they meet a new person, how she would look with her hair styled differently.

A girl who hopes to become a beauty operator should give attention to presenting a well-groomed, neat, and attractive appearance at all times. Actually, she is selling beauty service to the public—and her personal appearance offers an example of her skill.

The successful beauty operator likes people and enjoys being of service to them. She must be able to cultivate good relationships with others-customers, employers, and fellow workers. The operator needs to be alert to the preferences of her customers and tactful with those who may be tired, nervous, and irritable. She will find it an asset to be friendly and cooperative with her fellow employees. As an employee, she should show a sense of responsibility, have the ability to follow instructions, and give careful attention to details.

Good health is basic in this type of work. The beauty operator must be able to keep up with the physical demands of the daily routine. The long hours of standing, much of the time with arms upraised, require energy and endurance.

Girls who are planning to enter a beauty-culture school should read as much as possible about cosmetology. A list of selected references which includes trade journals as well as books is given in the appendix (p. 50).

Tests sometimes given by schools for entrance to beauty courses include vocational interest and finger dexterity. A beginning was made in 1955 in devising a series of special aptitude tests for the beauty operator. The U. S. Employment Service, in cooperation with the Idaho and Minnesota State Employment Services, tried out these tests in eight beauty schools in Idaho and validated them in tests in one high school in Austin, Minn.

The areas of competency included: