Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1918-03-21
WOMAy'S POSITION
IN LIFE AFTER WAR

That women will stick to their new
jobs in the industrial world after the
war is over is the conclusion reached
by several industrial commissions
which have recently Investigated the
problem. For a problem it has be-
come, writes Frederic j. Haskin of
Washington, D. c. 1t is estimated
that 100000 women have entered
American industries since the war
began, the majority undertaking jobs
that were formerly supposed to be
only within the masculine capabili-
ties.
All this widespread employment OF
women, however, has been looked
upon as merely temporary. 1t has
been taken for granted that during
the war women would fill the places
of men. and that after the war was
over they would politely hand them
back again. But two things have oc-
Cured to upset these optimistic cal
culations Women are exhibiting sat
isfaction with their jobs and their
employers a satisfaction with their
work.
In Europe for example, where the
substitution of women in the places
of men has proceeded to an even
greater extent than in this country
women have developed an unexpected
liking for mems work. Women cooks
and shop girls and seamstresses are
becoming rapidly scarcer in England
it is reported, for the women all in
sist upon either tilling the soil OF
making munitions.
In this country, too, women are'be'
ginning to show a certain preference
for masculine jobs, largely, no doubt
for the reason that they pay the most
money. At a meeting of labor dele
gates a short time ago an attempt
was made to pass resolution exclud-
ing women from certain occupations
that were considered harmful for
them, but it failed.
women may some day be presi'
dents of the United States" was the
protest voiced by a workwoman, "and
1t would be mistake to exclude them
from the opportunities that any job
offered"
Another popular belief to be shat.
tered recently is that women look
upon their work as a stepping-stone
from school to marriage. Investiga'
tions have shown that the majority
OF the women workers who marry
these days hold onto their jobs, even
when it is not absolutely necessary.
These are some of the reasons why
close observers of the industrial stu.
alton predict that women will not
cheerfully relinquish their jobs when
the war is over. But, after all, this
is a question which must be solved
to some extent by employers. Hence
it is interesting to see what they al
ready have to say about the replace
ment Of men by women.
AS one manufacturer points out:
"A woman is not as strongly built as
man; she is not so tall, her reach
is not so great, she can not stand for
so long, she is not physically adapted
to lifting and carrying heavy weights
and she requires many conveniences
which men do not require
In his shop, this manufacturer
says, he has instituted carrying trays
which are so constructed that nc
woman can obtain load over so
pounds in weight, unless the size OF
an individual piece makes this limit
impossible. Stools and chairs are
provided wherever there is room, and
short rest periods-one in the morn
ing and one in the afternoon-have
been established
The employment of women also
presents certain psychological diff
culties that are not always encoun-
tered in the employment of men. In
the first place, one employer asserts,
experience has taught him to be ex-