Evening star., 1941-01-19
Two Million Women
Seen Ready for Jobs
To Speed Defense
Many Are Skilled
loborers, Miss Anderson
Says After Survey
BY MALVINA STEPHENSON.

Deft feminine touches can be ap-
piled to soothe the national defense
headache in speeding production
without relaxing labor standards.
After completing a Nation wide
survey, Director Mary Anderson of
the Department of Labor Womens
Bureau steps up to offer two million
feminine workers ready to turn the
wheels of industry.
Many of the women are skilled
laborers capable of taking over pre-
cision jobs in heavy industry" Miss
Anderson explains. "Other women
who have been employed in the
sewing rooms would need a little
extra training"
So. Miss Anderson won't listen to
any talk of lengthening hours until
the available supply in the femi-
nine field is tapped And she be-
lleves there will be enough women
to aid in arming America without
shifting labor legislation.
Sees Effort to Relax Laws.
Undoubtedly, an effort will be
made in the name of defense dur
ing the next few months to scrap
some of the gains labor has made"
she observed. During the World
War this took place. 1t was sue
cessful, too, and by 1917 the Gov
ernorS of certain of the industrial
states were empowered to relax
labor law whenever they thought
1t advisable
More recently, Great Britain,
after experimenting during the first
year of the war with heightened
hours of work, returned to regula-
tlons formerly in effect for women
and minors"
Urging the maintenance of labor
standards, Miss Anderson said she
was appealing to the club women
OF America to rally public opinion
behind protective legislation for
feminine workers.
Tracing her bureaus efforts to
open industrial gates to women.
Miss Anderson reviewed the estab-
hShment OF the Labor Advisory
Committee, composed of union
leaders representing thousands of
women in key defense industries
This group has kept us informed
OF day-by-day industrial develop
ments and advised us the best poll
cies to pursue" she explained.
Women Are Playing Past.
Bureau representative visited nu-
n1erouS factories on the Atlantic sea-
board and found that women work.
ers are already playing an important
role in the defense program and are
even better fitted for some Jobs than
men.
In the construction of airplane
bodies, women are doping" and
sewing the fabrics. Aircraft engines
are being inspected by feminine ex-
perts. With their deftness and patti
ence. women are doing the very
precise Jobs in machine tool making,
accurately gauging pieces of steel
down to millionth of an inch.
Manufacturers of shells, cartridges
and firearms have women operating
punch presses, assembling primers
to shells on dial presses and running
machines for shell drawing cups.
Because of their dexteritv and
adaptability to repetitive work, it
was discovered that more women
could be used for numerous rela-
lively light jobs if they had certain
blueprint and mathematics train
ing. This finding provided the
working basis for a Washington con-
ference which thoroughly aired the
possibilities of vocational training
for women in local communities.
Urge Women on Committees.
In the vocational field, education
bureau officials urge the selection of
women representatives on the local
advisory committees assisting in de-
termining the training that shall be
offered locally. A feminine staff
member on the Washington defense
council is keeping an eye on the
training program now available to
women workers.
But this is only the beginning of
our efforts to obtain adequate FEM
inine participation in training plans,
Miss Anderson said.
"Outside of Washington, in the
communities where new factories are
being built or where industrial &C
tivity is reaching a new high, is a
fertile field for our effort" she OBJ
served. 1T should be insisted that
the all-important advisory councils
be created without delay and that
thev include women members"
Released by the North American
nrn