The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1921-06-10
WOMEN WANT NEW
WAGE STANDARD

filiated with the National Women's
Trade Union League, Miss Ethel M.
Smith, secretary of the legislative
committee of the League, appeared
today before the Senate and House
Committees on Civil Service to ad-
vocate the passage of the Sterling
Lehlbach bills for Reconsideration
of the federal civil service. Her
statement was as follows:
"Women in the Civil Service want
a new order of things. They pro-
test against the present conditions
imposed upon them by Congress and
the department heads. They want a
new order, in which the traditions
that rate women's work at lower
pay than mems because it is done
by women shall be discarded for the
standard that requires equal pay
for corresponding work and equal
opportunity for promotion, irrespec-
tive of sex. We want the bars let
down before women to any and all
positions now open to men and on
equal terms with men. We look
to Congress to correct the existing
determinations by means of the
proposed Reconsideration law-by
which we mean to say the Sterling
Lehlbach bills, because they pro-
vide for classification and compen-
sation by duties and work perform
ed, irrespective of sex.
eve say that Congress in the
making of that law should not be
governed necessarily by the stand
ards of private employers in fixing
women's wages. Congress should
definitely and determinedly depart
at this point from the competitive
principle of wage fixing, and set a
standards new standard-of wages
and salaries for women, on the basis
of work performed. That is the
only consistent step for a Govern
ment that processes to put women
on an equality with men. Most pri-
vate employers pay for labor the
lowest prices at which necessity
forces the workers to sell. Wo-
mems handicapped position in So
ciety has forced women to sell at
lower prices than men. But the
not buy labor at forced sale-last
OF all women LABOR.
At present there are 10000 women
employees in the Departments in
Washington and $4,000 men, that
is, more than half the employees
are women in the District of Co
lumbia. But is the sum of their
salaries anywhere near equal to the
sum of the mems salaries? 1t is
nothing like as great, and the wo-
mems average salary is 5000 less
than the mems. The women are
massed in the lower grades of pay
largely without regard to their
work. During two months during
the war, when this question was
studied, and when women were be-
ing appointed in greater numbers
and at better salaries than ever be-
fore in the world, there were 5000
civil service appointments, of which
1900 went to women and $500 went
to men. But only per cent OF
the women were appointed at more
than $1,000, while as per cent OF
the men were appointed at more
than that figure. There are com.
paratively very few women in the
service receiving more than $500
or in an executive capacity at all
Some department heads fix an &C.
tual dead line for promotions OF
women, usually about $1,000 OF
$500. United States Senators
have told us in so many words that
$4,000 is enough for woman.
And Congress has expressed its
faith in that idea by writing into
law the recommendation of Senator
Smoot and Representative Wood to
require the Labor Department tc
limit the salaries of the women ex-
perts in the Women's Bureau tc
$1,S0O, except three at $4,000, while
the men engaged in comparable
work for the Bureau of Labor Sta
tistics in the same department may
receive $4,000, $2,700 and $500 and
for Is experts in the Bureau of
Efficiency the minimum salary
fixed by Congress is $4,000. A
number of these receive $4,000
There are women employed by the
United States Government at $40 a
week, including the so-called war
bonus" There are large groups
VI NoliSll IStSlNHlS lcSS lOI ShiIlSu
work than men receive for unskilled
labor. There are forewomen in
charge of large and important divis-
ions who are paid less than men
in charge of smaller and less i'm
portant divisions.
"These conditions exist in the
Government custodian service, in the
navy yards and arsenals, in the Bu-
reau of Engraving and Printing,
in the Government Printing Office
and Mail Bag Repair Shop. They
exist either because Congress fixes
the rates for women lower than
for men. or because department
heads administering lump sum ap-
preparations divert the larger pro-
portion of their salary allotments
to the payment of men in preference
to women. When promotions are to
be made, the men are looked after
whether the women are or not.
Economies are affected at the ex-
pense of the women.
Senator Smoot and Represen-
tative Wood, in their Redistribution
bill, not only do not provide for
sex equally, but they begin their
list of salary grades with a reduc-
ton in the pay of charwomen. They
designate this light janitorial work
(charwomen)" not to exceed 80
cents an hour, and on the same
page rate male laborers at a high
er wage. The light janitorial
work in the War Department
buildings, for example, consists of
scrubbing floors after carrying heavy
buckets of water, together with
wringers, mops, etc, up one to four
or five flights of stairs. The char
women are forbidden the use of
the elevators. 1t means working
till midnight and often all night,
and then a part of the day besides,