Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-02-02
WIVES MUST WORK,
REPORT DECLARES
"FriIIs and LaCeS" Desire
Theory Is Exploded by
Statistics.

Why do married women work? For
Ellis and laces, radios and what-not?
Or from dire necessity?
Necessity" replies Miss Mary An
derson of the Women's Bureau of the
Department of Labor, and produces an
interesting array of statistics to back
UP her statement, the result of report
on the most recent study of the subject
made by her bureau.
Approximately nine-tenths of the
women who work outside their homes
do SO because they need to, if close
up study of a small group of Denver
women, made by Miss Emily c. Brown
Of the Womens Bureau. can be taken
as typical croSs-section of the prob
lens of married woman workers" says
Miss Anderson commenting upon the
report
Miss Browns report, just issued, was
collected in two studies and covers a
total of about $50 women who were
or had been married and who applied
for jobs during the Spring and Sum-
mer months of 1928 to the Young
Women'S Christian Association and
department store in Denver, Miss An
derson explains. 1T deals staggering
blow to public opinion which vocifer-
ously claims that women with husbands
to support them are taking jobs right
and left from single women in need of
work
Miss Browns report shows, on the
contrary, that discrimination against
married women on this score may be
wholly unjust and work hardship to the
majority of married women seeking
jobs, since two-thirdS of the women in
cluded in her investigation stated that
they were without husbands support.
In such cases the husband was re-
ported as dea6, i'll, physically incapaci-
tated, unemployed and, IN four in
stances, in prison, or the wife was sepa-
rated, divorced or deserted"
The married women constituted ass
per cent of the women reporting on
marital status; the separated, deserted
and divorced % per cent, and the
widowed 265 per cent.
"Of the women whose husbands con-
tributed to their support almost three
fourths stated that they were applying
for work from economic necessity, a
number stating that the husbands
earnings were irregular or inadequate
for the family needs. A few of these
were seeking work in order to help
their husbands in financial emergencies
and one worked to help support her |
parents.
More than two-fifths of the women
whose source of income was aScer- |
tanned had none except their own earn
ings. In some cases contributions from
sons and daughters, house or room rent,
alimony and insurance were given as
other sources of income.
THE presence of children gave added
responsibility to many of these women.
OF the matrons who applied at the
Y. w. G. A. 299 reported on the hus-
bands support. One-half of the 221
women who were without such support
had children under 16 years of age,
nearly fifth having two or more chill
dren. Less than 40 per cent of the
widows, but over so per cent of the
women whose husbands were divorced,
separated, deserving, i'll, unemployed or
In prison had children under 16. In
the case of those who received some
support from their husbands As per
cent had young children"
Married women were not in the ma
jority of the total number seeking en-
Dloyment, however, Miss Anderson's re-
port on Miss Browns survey concludes.
"Of the total number of woman ap-
pl1cants those who were or had been
married constituted about 1914 per cent.
Jobs were obtained by So per cent of
the matrons applying. How the rest
OF the married, widowed. separated,
divorced women in need of wages met
the economic problems which drove
lem to ask for work was unanswerable
from the agencies records"
This study, in Miss Browns opinion,
is an Illustration of the type of in
vestigation that can be made with profit !
by similar agencies in a community
often with comparatively little change |
in the kind of record ordinarily kept /
for handling their own business.
I'm these times, in which the num- |
bers Of married women who are en- !
ployed outside their homes have in |
creased so strikingly, each bit of evil !
dence on the forces behind this phe-
nomenon Is valuable" said Miss Brown
in submitting her report. when such
data have been obtained by agencies
in many communities a valuable con-
tribution will be made toward building
up body of knowledge upon the rea-
sons why married women seek employ
ment and toward the answering of this
social question in a manner beyond the
realm Of speculation"