The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1904-08-19
/ WOMEN; Y. AT. WORK.

\. y WOMEN, AT. WORK. - '.,4 :.
The csnAus report on occupations
throws . strong light on the tend
e,ncy Of women to engage in produc-
tion. To get our bearings 1t may be
\ said that there were engaged in
W gainfpl occupations in this country,
Is. 1890, =, 1880, males, q 60 R>s
NJ cent OF all males over 10 years OF
\ age; and 5,319, 1897 females, or 1873
par cont Of all females over 10 years
I 81 age. In 1880, 1877 per cent OF
. all males over 10 years old were ut
work, and IN 1890 1913 per cent.
The increase to so per cent in 1900
does not indicate any increase in the
drone or leisure class. In 1880, only
h 14.7 per cent of the females were
engaged in gainful occupations; and
1 in 1890 the percentage increased to
17.4 per cent. That it was 1873 per
. cent in 1890 indicates q more mark
I'd tendency among women to get to
work than among men, but it does
not indicate nearly 80 rapid an in
crease in this respect as the fuss
made about the entrance of women
into business might have led one to
expect.
OF the forty one principal occupa-
tons open to women-or, as the
census man calls them, females
predominant in eight, males in twen-
to six, and in the other seven fe-
males constitute q respectable min
ority ranging from one fifth to al
most q half. The predominantly
female occupations are those OF
teachers, etc.; housekeepers and
stewards; laundere1s and laundress-
es; nurses aud midwives; servants
and walters; stenographers and
typewriters, dressmakers, and finally
seamstresses.
In none of the five grand divis- |
ions of occupation do females pre-
dominate. These grand divisions,
together with the percentage of
women engaged in them out of the
whole number of persons SO employ
ed in the last three census years, Is
shown in the following table:
1880. 1890. 1900.
Agricultural pursuits ~ 84 "a
Professional service 29.4 $50 34.2
Domestic and per- . = ..;..-.
sonal service 34.6 1915 37.5
Trade and transport
tation "a 80 1915
Manufacturing and
mechanical 1877 1871 1875
The table shows steadily in
creasing proportion of women in
every class of occupation except do
meetic and personal service, in
which there was a falling off in the
last census decade. There are, how
ever, more women employed in do
mestic and personal service than be
fore, but the increase in the number
of men 80 employed has been more
rapid.
In the professional division the
only occupations in which women
constitute the majority are teachers,
etc., of which they constitute 1874
per cent against 67.s per cont in
1880 musicians and teachers of mus
ic, 56.s per cent, against 43.3 per
cent in 1880 and 55.5 per cent in
1890. Of government officials wom-
en- constitute 9.4 per cent, against
81 per cent in 1880; of journalists
7.3; per cent against 2.3 per cent in
that year; Of ph ysicians and sur
geons, Sc per cent, against 2.8 per
cent ;of clergymen 8 per cent, against
O.3; of dentists, ~ per cent, against
O.5 and as lawyers 90 per cent,
against O.1 per cent.
In the trade and transportation
group the. most noteworthy changes
in the proportion of women were as
follows;
1880. 1890. 1900.
Buokkeepers, clerks,
stenographers 60 15.1 "a.
Merchants and deal
ers 81 81 Al
Messengers and Office
boys ~ 81 80
Packers and shippers 81 1851 1876
Statesmen and sales
women $40 22.1 24.4
Telegraph and tele-
phone operators SIS 1872 30:1
The noteworthy points in this
table are the stationary proportion
r,..-1~oon o~1 tho no mid ry,.oufh