Evening star., 1943-08-10
Women at War
BY Joan Gardner

Gdrdner
I more, for example, when it became
apparent that the labor needed to
keep up the production schedule had
to come from the reservoir of wom-
anpower in the city, the women
| themselves initiated a campaign on
the radio and through personal calls
| to get women to understand the need
and to break down the prejudices
with which they excused themselves.
| Among the questions which women
| asked of these leaders were why
| should I work?" Should I take a
war job?" will all women in the
United States have to work." How
do get war job?"
Answering these questions, which
they recognized were natural to
women, loath to give up a pleasant
peacetlme pattern of living, the
women recruiting explained that it
was impossible to bring in outside
workers and find places for them to
live. Therefore, it was up to them
the women of the community-to
man the machines of industry and
to keep necessary civilian services
from breaking down. Furthermore,
while not every community in the
| country is required to draw upon its
Womanpower reservoir because the
need for women workers is localized,
it is essential in communities where
labor shortages exist that every
able-bodied women 18 years of age
or over particularly those without
children under IA apply for war
job at the local United States EN-
ployment Office, which is set up to
channel those suitable for war in
dustries to the plants, and to refer
the overflow to necessary civilian
services.
other cities throughout the country,
the women responded to this appeal
of civic need. However, there are
still many thousands of women
needed in industry, and as the draft
of men continues, the need will
grow. This does not mean that
every woman must go into factory.
1t Is estimated that at the end of
the year two out of three women
working will be employed in civilian
jobs. Needed before the end of the
year are 100000 women for war
industry and essential business
America needs $4,000 teachers, 108,-
900 graduate nurses for civilian
posts, $1,000 student nurses and lit
orally thousands of women in trans
portation.
Here are few of the reasons
women hold back, and the answers |
to their objections as given by the |
War Manpower Commission.
Cd "If I take a war job, my hus- |
band will be drafted sooner"
The Manpower Commission points !
out that the fact that a woman |
takes job does not affect the draft |
status of her husband in any way.
co 1--WE never worked in a fac
tory. I know nothing about ma
chimes"
Government courses in training
are available without cost, and !
many factories pay workers while
learning.
90 MY husband says if I take q
job people will think he can't sup
port me-"
A foolish notion in wartime. More |
and more people know that the chief |
purpose of working in wartime is to
win the war, not to make money.
"a What will neighbors think?" |
A completely invalid objection. |
Neighbors today look up to the wom-
an who works. It Is the woman who |
Is not working who should worry |
about what the neighbors think"
90 What shall I do with the
children?"
The woman with young children |
will find child-care centers available |
in most communities, or she will per-
suade a competent relative or friend |
to care for her child while she works |
1t is essential that children be prop
erly provided for before a mother |
goes to work, and If her children are |
very young, she will apply only for
work in the hours in which she can
easily arrange to be free without i'm
posing a penalty on her family.
The War Manpower Commission
is at present working on local re-
cruiting and educational plans, |
which will be available through area |
manpower directors to community |
leaders who want to help themselves
to solve the problem of labor short
ages in their community. The plans
are based on the experience of cities
like Baltimore, New Britain and |
others who have found the way to |
get women interested in working to |
shorten the war. This is the big |
nhiectiYe