1 EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN Growing Employment Opportunities How Many Women Work The number of women in the labor force averaged more than 20 million in 1955-a larger number than in any previous year in American history. The April 1956 figure was 21,194,000. This exceeds by more than 12 million the number of women workers in April 1945, the peak war year. (See table 1.) It exceeds the 1940 figure by over 7 million. In terms of proportion rather than absolute numbers, more than one-third (35 percent) of all women 14 years of age and over are in the labor force. Nearly one-third (32 percent) of all workers are women. These percentages have never been exceeded except during World War II. Figures for the labor force include both the employed and the unemployed. The number of women reported as unemployed in April 1956 was 921,000. This means that as of that date there were 24 women who actually had jobs for every 1 who was unemployed and looking for work. About 36 percent of all unemployed persons were women; this is slightly higher than the percentage of all workers who were women. More Women Than Men in Population There are now 2 million more women than men in the population 14 years of age and over. This is the opposite of the situation at the turn of the century, when men outnumbered women by over 1 million. When the decennial census of 1940 was taken, there were still slightly more men than women. By about 1942, however, the number of women had begun to exceed the number of men. Most Women Are Homemakers The majority of women continue to be homemakers, whether or not they also have paid jobs. More than a fourth of the married women, and many single women as well, are both workers and homemakers. Over half of all women devote full time to homemaking. Of the 115 million persons 14 years and over in the civilian population in April 1956, about 7 percent, mostly young people under 20, are in school. Of the women, 35 percent are in the labor force and 55 percent are keeping house full time. This means that practically all adult women in the population are making an essential contribution, as jobholders or homemakers or both, to the smooth running of the economy. Why Women's Employment Has Increased A powerful combination of twentieth-century forces has drawn increasing numbers of women into employment. Among these forces are momentous changes in the size and distribution of the population, in the organization of business, and in social customs. Also important are developments in industrial technology that increase the demand for women in special types of work, and the opening to women of educational and training facilities which enable them to prepare for a wider range of occupations. The improvement in job opportunities for women has coincided with economic changes and labor-saving inventions that greatly reduce the time and energy required for household tasks: for example, the manufacture and sale of readymade clothing, the mass production of all kinds of home appliances, and new methods of food preservation and preparation. Associated with these developments is the concentration of population in urban areas and the trend toward more compact living quarters. Women's Work Experience Because many women work only until they are married and have children, or work intermittently, or on a part-time basis, the number who have work experience is much greater than the number in the labor force at any one time. At the present time there are 10 to 11 million women who hold fulltime jobs the year round, plus a varying number of less permanent workers. Since a total of 27.7 million women worked at some time during 1955, and the number of unemployed women never rose above 1 million, there must be from 15 to 16 million of these in-and-out workers. They include women students who work during summer vacation or on weekends, women who take temporary jobs during rush seasons and housewives who prefer to work part time. In any one month, the number of women in the labor force will include from one-half to two-thirds of the in-and-out workers. Thus, a flexible reserve of experienced workers is built up, capable of rapid utilization in time of labor shortage. Approximately 46 percent of the women 14 years of age and over worked at some time during 1955. The percentage of adult women in the population who have worked outside their homes at some time in their lives and have thus obtained some job experience is certainly much higher. Women as Part-Time Workers Work on a part-time basis brings into use the skills of a considerable number of women who cannot take full-time jobs because of family responsibilities or for other reasons. The Bureau of the Census defines part-time employment as work for less than 35 hours a week. Under this definition, about a fourth of all women workers were on part time in the fall of 1955. About 60 percent of all those who usually work part time are women. Women who do not want, or could not accept, full-time employment make up less than one-fifth of the women in the labor force, but they account for the great majority of the women part-time workers. About a third of all workers who do not prefer, or could not accept, full-time jobs are women 25 to 54, and over a fifth are young girls and boys under 18, most of whom are still in school. Women workers with children, especially children too young for school, are much more likely to take a part-time job than are other women workers. Among married women workers who have no children under 18, about the same proportion work part time as among women workers who are single or widowed or divorced. The extent to which women are in part-time jobs varies with the occupation. In the two largest occupation groups for women-cleri cal and operative—and in professional work, about one-fifth of the women employed in the fall of 1955 were part-time workers. Over half of those in household work and more than one-third of those in other services and in sales occupations were on part time. To obtain more detailed information on kinds of part-time jobs women are doing, skills required, hours worked, earnings, and advantages and disadvantages in such employment, the Women's Bureau several years ago made a special study of more than 9,000 women part-time workers and over 1,000 employers of such workers, in 10 cities. (WB Bulletin 238.) This study, which did not include household employment or farmwork, showed that in most cities there were some part-time employees in social agencies, hospitals, educational organizations, libraries, insurance, and numerous other types of work. While later detailed studies are not available, it appears that there are even more opportunities for part-time employees now. Women as Members of Unions Almost 3 million women were members of labor unions in 1954, according to estimates of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. They constituted about one-sixth of all union members. The types of reporting and kinds of records kept vary widely among the unions. Some report on women members, others keep no separate record by sex. However, officers of unions usually can make rough estimates of their woman membership, often on a local rather than a nationwide basis. Obviously, the membership of women in unions is likely to be greatest in industries that employ many women-needle trades, service industries, electrical-goods manufacturing, communications, and textile mills. In some of the big industrial and semi-industrial unions, also, there are large numbers of women, although they make up only a small portion of the total. Of the 199 unions that replied to a Bureau of Labor Statistics questionnaire on membership, 95 reported the number of women members, 40 others reported that they had no women members, and for most of the remaining 64 there was information available from which estimates could be made. Most of the 40 unions that reported no women members are in occupations not likely to employ women, such as naval shore mechanics, railroad yardmasters, stonecutters, marine engineers. Listed on p. 6 are the unions reporting 10,000 or more women members. In addition, 9 unions had from 5,000 to 10,000 members, including unions in jewelry, pottery, and paper industries. There were 10 that had from 2,500 to 5,000 women, including those in the watchmaking and glove industries. Eleven had from 1,000 to 2,500 women; 20 had fewer than 100 women members. Further details as to types of unions reporting and numbers in the smaller unions are included in the Bureau of Labor Statistics publication, Directory of National and International Labor Unions in the United States, 1955 (data on 1954 membership). Union International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union--- Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America_ Approximate 330, 500 279, 100 189,000 180,000 132, 500 117, 000 Laundry Workers' International Union__. 86, 400 66,000 54, 900 Bakery and Confectionery Workers' International Union of America___ 53, 300 49, 200 Office Employees' International Union_-_ 40,000 Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North America__ 39, 800 United Textile Workers of America___. United Garment Workers of America_. 37,500 36,000 32, 600 32,000 Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International Union____ 23, 800 18, 200 16, 000 15, 500 International Printing Pressmen and Assistants' Union of North 14, 800 National Federation of Salaried Unions_. 13, 900 Glass Bottle Blowers Association of the United States and Canada____ 12, 800 12, 700 10, 000 Occupations of Women Chief Occupation Groups More women by far are in clerical work than in any other major occupation group. The second largest occupation group is made up of operatives, the majority of whom are in factory production. Nearly half of all employed women are in these two types of occupation. These are followed by service occupations (other than in private households) and professional or technical work. (See table 2.) Increases have occurred since 1940 in the number of women employed in every occupation group, with two exceptions-private household employment remained about the same and general laboring occupations declined. The greatest expansion occurred among clerical |