The great majority of the women and girls benefiting from federally aided vocational training are in home-economics classes. (The teaching of home economics is limited by law to 20 percent of the Federal funds allotted to a State for vocational purposes.) A much smaller, but significant, number of women and girls are in courses which prepare them for distributive occupations—a branch of work added by the act of 1946. All the women taking courses in distributive work are in part-time or evening classes, and presumably are employed at least part-time. In 1954-55, almost 90,000 women and girls were enrolled in trade and industrial courses, well over half of them in part-time or evening classes. (The type of training being received is discussed in detail later.) The number of women in agricultural classes is not recorded separately, but they are believed to be only a very small proportion, probably about 1 to 2 percent, of the total. However, in certain short-unit intensive courses-for example, horticulture or poultry raising the proportions may be higher. Important skills women are learning in trades and industries classes include practical nursing, food handling, medical-assistant techniques, occupations in the needle trades such as dressmaking, and other skills in great demand. Nearly one-half of the women are taking training for work in service occupations; the majority of them are studying practical nursing and beauty service. Over two-fifths of the women are studying a craft or operative occupation. More than half of the women in this group (25 percent of the total number) are learning skills in dressmaking and needle trades, with the food trades next in importance. A number of women are learning skills for electrical industries-for work in communications, radio, television, or electronics. Others are developing mechanical skills, such as those used in airplane production. A few are preparing for work in such fields as the printing industry, upholstering, paperhanging, and cabinetmaking. A small group of women (6 percent) are studying technical occupations, including women preparing to assist in medical and dental laboratories and those taking commercial art, drafting, and photography. (See table 8.) Some courses are organized especially to provide alternate periods of work and class attendance. If used in connection with industrialplant training, they must be under public supervision to assure that actual vocational training is being given. Those who take them are referred to as "student-learners" to distinguish them from the learners under plant supervision whose minimum wage and learning time are specified by the United States Department of Labor under Federal law. Table 8.-WOMEN ENROLLED IN FEDERALLY AIDED TRADES AND INDUSTRIES CLASSES, NOTE.-Percents do not add to total, due to rounding. Source: U. 8. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Provisional data. 2, 059 1 596 324 (2) 372 (2) 5, 188 4 RECOMMENDED STANDARDS FOR Development of Standards Significant changes in women's work have been in the process of development over the last century and a half. They have been the result of economic and technological progress, and of demographic and social influences. Two world wars speeded up the process. Today, women are an important part of the Nation's labor force. In large and increasing numbers they are employed in manufacturing goods or performing services for the public-working in factories, offices, schools, stores, hospitals, hotels, restaurants, and laundries. Many thousands of women are employed by Federal, State, and local governments; other thousands work in private households. The Nation's best interests demand good labor standards for women, many of whom are mothers and homemakers as well as wage earners. In many instances, employers voluntarily have established such standards for their employees. In other cases, good standards have been adopted through collective bargaining between employers and workers. But when standards depend wholly on voluntary action, they often vary in adequacy from firm to firm and many workers are completely unprotected. For this reason, the States quite generally have set up standards for women's employment, governing wages, hours, and other conditions of work in a large number of occupations and industries. The standards vary from State to State, and not every State has established each type of standard. Labor standards are not static, but are influenced by continuously changing conditions. They change as a result of advancing scientific knowledge and as a result of growing recognition by both workers and employers of the importance of good working conditions. Minimum-wage standards have been adjusted in many States to reflect rising prices and improved standards of living. Historically, hours of work have been reduced as factory processes have been mechanized and also as fatigue has come to be recognized as detrimental to the worker's health, efficiency, and productivity. The development of good industrial health and safety practices provides a basis for protecting the worker from unsafe working conditions and from processes that endanger his health. Labor standards are developed through many channels-employers, unions, governmental, and private agencies. The enactment in many States of laws establishing adequate standards governing wages, hours, and working conditions for women often has stimulated the adoption by employers of better standards for men also. In matters such as training, seniority, and promotion, women workers often are in a particularly vulnerable situation which requires special attention. These matters ordinarily are not governed by law, and fair adjustments require methods other than legislation. Women may be hired for beginning jobs on an equal basis with men, but may not get equal consideration for promotion. Frequently they do not have the same training opportunities, and are not given a chance at better jobs. The opportunity to secure an equal rate of pay or equal seniority in their jobs is sometimes lacking. Outlined in the following pages are basic recommended standards to safeguard health and efficiency of women employees. These standards apply mainly to manufacturing, trade, and service occupations and office workers. They do not attempt to deal with details, but indicate the direction in which good standards should move. Federal labor laws and social-security provisions affect both men and women workers and, therefore, lie for the most part outside the scope of this chapter. They relate to labor-management relations, wage and hour standards, social security, employment security, job training and education, workmen's compensation, and so forth. Wage Standards Adequate basic wages serve to promote the Nation's welfare by maintaining a secure and healthful level of living for individual workers and by sustaining the purchasing power of workers as a whole. To aid in accomplishing this objective, many States have provided by law for a floor to wages. Since earnings determine standards of living, workers should be assured a minimum wage adequate to meet the cost of living. The adequacy of the wage depends not only on the amount of the rate paid, but also on the opportunity for regular employment throughout the year. Wage standards should include the following: 1. A minimum wage adequate to maintain the health and well-being of the worker. 2. The principle of equal pay: Wage rate based on the job, and not on the sex of the worker. 3. No deduction from wages for protective clothing, other safety equipment, and uniforms; provision and maintenance of these facilities by the employer as part of the cost of production. 4. Wages paid regularly and in full, on a weekly or semimonthly basis, and on a fixed day; assistance by the appropriate government agency in collection of unpaid wages. Hours Standards Standards which provide workers with adequate rest for health and welfare, and time for other responsibilities and for leisure, are important to both workers and employers. Experience has shown that maximum production can be maintained over a prolonged period only under working conditions that sustain the health and efficiency of the workers and strengthen their morale. The 5-day, 40-hour workweek is an accepted practice in many industries. Hours and leave standards should include: 1. A workweek of 8 hours a day and 40 a week with worktime over 8 or 40 to be paid at time and a half the worker's regular rate of pay. 2. At least 1 day of rest in 7; preferably 2 consecutive days in 7. 3. Meal periods of at least 30 minutes; no work period of more than 5 hours without a break for meal and rest. 4. A rest period of at least 10 minutes in the middle of each halfday work period, to be allowed in addition to the lunch period and without lengthening the workday. 5. Vacation with pay after 6 months on the job; longer vacation after longer service. 6. Time off with pay on legal holidays. 7. Sick leave and maternity leave without loss of job or seniority rights; maternity leave to cover a minimum of 6 weeks before and 2 months after confinement, with extension of either period on advice of the worker's physician. 8. Nightwork, except in continuous-process industries and essential services, kept to a minimum; observance of the International Labor Organization standard; e. g., a guarantee of an uninterrupted rest period of 11 consecutive hours, including an absolute "barred period" of 7 hours between 12 midnight and 7 a. m. Health and Safety Standards Standards adequate to insure safe and healthful working conditions are essential in all workplaces. The standards should include: For Health 1. Working environment: Adequate ventilation, lighting, and heating, to preserve health and reduce strain and fatigue. 2. Plant facilities: Washrooms, toilets, restrooms and dressing rooms, and drinking water, to be convenient and available to all workers; lunchrooms with nourishing food at reasonable prices to be pro |