in the survey in New Jersey. A particularly important aspect of the reduction of hours for women was emphasized by figures showing that the hours for men also were shortened in 21 out of the 24 plants which shortened hours in Massachusetts and in 6 out of the 8 plants which shortened the hours in New Jersey. A very general increase in rates took place at the same time as the reduction in hours, and although an extensive study of production under the different hours could not be made, what material on this subject was collected showed that production increased or was maintained when hours were shortened in 13 out of 16 establishments in New Jersey and in 9 out of 21 in Massachusetts. THE RESPONSIBILITY OF WAGE-EARNING WOMEN FOR THE SUPPORT OF OTHERS. The need for careful consideration of any law or regulation which might hamper the employment of women or result in a reduced wage for them becomes particularly important when the many families or other dependents who have looked to these women for either entire or partial support are taken into account. Wage-earning women have long suffered from a discrimination in the rate of their wages as compared with the rate paid to men in spite of the fact that many investigations are continually showing that a very large proportion of women are responsible for the support of dependents, and that this wage discrimination is a very serious handicap to the women who are the chief breadwinners in many families. No general authoritative figures have ever been collected, however, to show to what extent this condition exists. Realizing the importance of such information the Women's Bureau, in the fall of 1919, invited the State departments of labor to cooperate in making a survey of certain factories in each State to find out what percentage of the women employed in those factories were supporting dependents. This plan was greeted with commendation, but in many cases the States regretted that insufficient funds and workers prevented participation in the work. Other States sent in their reports to the Women's Bureau for compilation. The State of New Hampshire was unable to collect the desired information, but offered to cooperate with the Women's Bureau in conducting such a study in the State. Manchester was selected as the most important industrial center in the State and an investigation was started there by the Women's Bureau in April, 1920. The field work in this investigation has been completed and the report is now being prepared. The information gathered included the wage received and amount contributed to the support of others for all the employees, both men and women, in certain factories. An intensive study of a limited number of families was also made showing the yearly and weekly wage of each wage earner and the amount of his or her contribution to the family budget. This material, when combined with the nation-wide material from the cost of living schedules which have been made available by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for this study, will be of great significance in determining the justice of the woman's demand for a wage rate based on the cost of living for dependents and not merely for the individual. GENERAL INDUSTRIAL CONDITIONS FOR WOMEN IN THE STATES. In all investigations made in the States the Women's Bureau has worked in conjunction with and many times at the request of the State departments of labor. The work done by the Women's Bureau under these circumstances has been in no way a duplication or usurpation of the work of a State department. The primary function of a State department of labor is law enforcement, and this must be its first and most important task. Charged with the duty of administering and enforcing the labor law of the State, and frequently hampered by funds inadequate for the satisfactory accomplishment of this one function, the average State department of labor has neither the time nor the equipment for intensive investigations. The Women's Bureau can and has furnished the State departments with a consulting service based on a knowledge of conditions in more than one locality. In their investigations in the States the agents of the Women's Bureau have supplemented the lawenforcement work of the State inspectors by furnishing special reports on many plants. At the same time the State inspectors have frequently joined with the representatives of the Women's Bureau by making intensive investigations of the plants they would normally have inspected only for the infringement of the labor law. In October, 1919, at the request of the governor of Virginia, the Women's Bureau started a survey of the hours and conditions of work for women in industry in that State. This survey covered the entire State, including 144 plants, employing 18,000 women, and a report, with specific recommendations for the improvement of hours and working conditions, was made to the governor in January, 1920. The title of this report is " Hours and Conditions of Work for Women in Industry in Virginia." A similar but more intensive investigation is now being made in Kansas at the request of the industrial commission of that State. This investigation, the field work for which is still going on, will include wages as well as hours and working conditions for women, and the material gathered will be used by the industrial commission in making its rulings for the different industries of the State. In Atlanta, Ga., an investigation was started in May, 1920, at the request of certain prominent citizens interested in industrial conditions for women in that city. Thirty-two establishments, employing nearly 3,000 women, were included in this survey, and information was gathered as to wages, hours, and working conditions. The report is now being prepared. At the request of the Minimum Wage Commission of the District of Columbia, members of the staff of the Women's Bureau have been detailed to assist that body in gathering information on the cost of living and housing which could be used in determining the rates of pay which were being established for the various industries. employing women in the District. DEMAND FOR INFORMATION CONCERNING WOMEN IN INDUSTRY IN THE UNITED STATES. An important part of the work of the Women's Bureau during the past year has been to arrange and supply information on special matters for the use of the various national and international con ferences which met in Washington. For the International Labor Conference special bulletins were prepared on the daily hour laws. and prohibition of night work for women in Federal and State legislation and on the legal regulation of the employment of women in hazardous occupations in the United States. Summaries of State laws regulating hours of work and minimum wages for women and mothers' pensions were prepared in chart form and were made available for general use at the conferences and elsewhere. The standards for the employment of women in industry which were formulated and published by the Women's Bureau in October, 1918, have been in constant demand during the past year, 90,000 copies having been distributed, on request from individuals only, since their first circulation. PARTICIPATION IN NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL INDUSTRIAL CONFERENCES. The simultaneous meeting in Washington of two international congresses for the consideration of standards and policies to be established for industries throughout the world was an epochmaking event which aroused great enthusiasm in the heart of everyone interested in the important questions of industry. Although the Women's Bureau had no official connection with the International Labor Conference, much information was supplied in response to inquiries from participants in that conference, and representatives from each country were interviewed by members of the staff of the bureau and a very valuable mailing list was obtained of persons in foreign countries who would like to give or get information about special subjects relating to women. The First International Congress of Working Women was even more intimately in touch with the Women's Bureau. A very definite and constructive program was undertaken by this congress of women, whose delegates from 19 countries had met partly in protest against their lack of representation in the International Labor Conference established under the League of Nations, but mainly that they might inaugurate an international program and join forces for the improvement of all conditions throughout industry. For the two industrial conferences called by the President which were held in Washington the Women's Bureau furnished material on standards recommended for the employment of women, and the director of the bureau was one of those who testified before the second conference. RELATION TO STATE DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR. The information which the Women's Bureau has compiled regarding standards and the status of legislation for women in the various States has been of especial value in the bureau's relation to the State departments of labor. Their relationship has been a cordial and mutually helpful one. In preparation for the annual convention of the Association of Governmental Labor Officials, held July 12, 1920, the Women's Bureau worked in cooperation with this association in outlining the program for questions touching women in industry, and for a preliminary conference called by the women members of this association representatives of the Women's Bureau were asked to participate in outlining the program of work. EDUCATIONAL MATERIAL. In addition to the reports of investigations and the charts and pamphlets on labor laws for women which have been printed and furnished on request to organizations and persons desiring them, the Women's Bureau has had a limited amount of educational material to lend for use at meetings and other gatherings considering industrial standards. This material consists of a 16-panel exhibit showing good and bad standards of working conditions for women, stereopticon slides illustrating the same subject, and colored maps showing the status of the different States in their legal regulations of hours and conditions of work for women. The panel exhibit has received the widest circulation and has been used all over the country by State departments of labor, women's clubs, universities, chambers of commerce, consumers' leagues, and other such organizations. The demand for this exhibit has been so constant as to keep the few existing sets of it almost permanently on the road, while many requests for its use had to be refused. Such material, however, quickly becomes out of date, and when in the spring of 1920 a questionnaire was sent to all those who had used the exhibit and to others who might wish to use it, asking what sort of educational material would be of the greatest assistance, the reply almost universally was a request for a motion picture showing standards for the employment of women in industry. Therefore a two-reel film has been arranged for and will be ready for distribution in the fall. A collection of photographs of women working on different processes has been added to during the past year and many photographs have been furnished to magazines and newspapers wishing to illustrate different phases of women's work. In addition to the educational material loaned on request, members of the staff of the Women's Bureau have participated in many conferences and meetings at which the standards were discussed and explained to interested groups. In the course of several investigations made in different States there was found to be a very frequent desire for information as to special types of factory equipment and arrangement. A short study was made, therefore, of the different articles of factory equipment, such as lockers, chairs, cafeteria furnishings, and washroom facilities, and, although the material gathered will not be issued in the form of a report, it will be available for those who come to the bureau or its representatives wishing to know the best type of such equipment. Respectfully submitted. Hon. W. B. WILSON, MARY ANDERSON, Director Women's Bureau. Secretary of Labor. |