The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1941-03-07
DEFENSE WORK seen
AS POSSIBILITY FOR
WOMEN in INDUSTRY

Washington, D. C. (ILNS).-While
the defense program has not as yet
resulted in any marked development
of job opportunities for women, de-
mand for their services is likely to in
crease in coming months, Miss Mary
Anderson, director of the Women s
Bureau, U. S. Department of Labor,
said in talk over the Columbia Broad
casting System. She spoke on the LA
Dor News Review" program of WJSV,
conducted by Albert N. Dennis.
Miss Anderson said that women
need and want defense jobs. She con-
tinued: "In the country today are not
far from two million women in need
of regular, permanent employment.
Since the launching of the gigantic de-
fense program last May, the Women's
Bureau has received a stream of let
tiers from women asking how to get
defense jobs.
Women Must Work
"From our surveys of women in the
labor force of the nation, we know
that women, like men, must work to
support themselves and their depend
ents. We know that women like men
should be given every chance to fit
themselves for jobs and to secure
available and suitable types of work.
at seems likely that in the coming
months many factories making ar
ticles needed for men in the Army and
Navy - factories usually employing
large numbers of women will employ
a great many more women because of
increased production. Think of all the
millions of yards of cloth that will be
necessary for uniforms - all the mil
lions of service shoes = all the tents
and other camp equipment = cleo
trical appliances, canned goods, office
supplies, cigarettes, and so on.
"But, you ask, will women also help
to produce such war materials as
tanks, airplanes, ammunition, gas
masks ?. Again, we give an affirmative
answer based on a survey made by
the Women's Bureau of 40 plants hav-
ing defense contracts.
Excel Men in Some Work
"All but few of these factories had
at least some women employees, and
most of the firms indicated willing
ness, in case of shortage of male
labor, to use women in place of men.
Many examples could be cited of
women performing, and taking an OBJ
vious pride, in their skilled labor.
"For instance in the factory of sew
eral nationally known manufacturers
of shells, cartridges, firearms, are sew
eral thousand women-about one en-
ployee in every three woman. Or
here is an airplane engine factory with
about 200 women, most of them check
ing and inspecting. They realize this
is vitally important work for the fail
ure of a single piston may mean a
forced landing for the airplane.
"For certain types of work women
are even better than men. For ex-
ample, women have great finger sensi-
tivity and can detect variations as
slight as -thousandth of an inch.
Women excel in jobs requiring care
and constant alertness, and in jobs
calling for dexterity and speed where
women can control the tempo. They
excel in jobs requiring good eyesight,
use of light instruments, and so on"
"Our whole defense program is just
means to an end" Miss Anderson
said in conclusion ''Its aim is the
preservation of our democracy, to
guarantee equality, opportunity, and
security for our fellow citizens
women as we'll as men,"