Single women are in the large majority of women wage earners and the great bulk of them live at home. This is one of the reasons why the economic significance of women to the family has been so generally underrated. It has been widely assumed that instead of contributing to the family, these women were partially supported by the family. The data secured by the Women's Bureau showed this assumption to be false in the vast majority of cases.

In several of the investigations figures were secured to show to what extent the families were dependent on the earnings of single women. In one investigation over three-fifths of the women were living with their parents and of this number 3 per cent were the sole breadwinners, approximately one-fourth were one of two breadwinners, and slightly over seven-tenths were one of three." Another investigation showed that one-third of all the single women living at home were the only working members of their families.12 In still another the majority of women included were known to be single and 46.4 per cent of them were the chief breadwinners in their families.18

The bulk of married women in the studies in which this information was ascertained were contributing all their earnings to the family. The proportion of this contribution depended on the number, relationship, and earnings of all the contributors in the family. The married woman's contribution was in general small, but her earnings were essential to the family's maintenance. The number of married women at work varied with the locality and type of industry. A highly industrialized community with a large foreign-born population ordinarily meant more wage-earning wives and mothers. In the Manchester study slightly less than oneseventh of the women breadwinners were wives and mothers. In an investigation of the federal government made in 1907-1909 of women and child wage earners and covering some 8,700 families, about one-fifth of the mothers were wage earners.

11 Women's Bureau, study of census material on the family status of wageearning women in Passaic, N. J., 1920-1922, unselected bread winners, 9,769 women included, data secured by home visits and personal interviews.

12 Connecticut Bureau of Labor, study of conditions of wage-earning women and girls in Connecticut, 1915-1916, unselected, employed in various industries, 8,722 women included in the study.

13 Louisiana Council of National Defense, survey of conditions of women's work, 1918-1919, 5,202 women included, data secured by personal interviews. The period during which this study was made, when many men were still in service, probably accounts for the large number of women who were the chief breadwinners in their families.

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In Passaic, New Jersey, a highly industrialized community with a large foreign population, 9,800 women or nearly one-half of the females over fourteen years of age were wage earners. About 50 per cent of this group were or had been married.

In considering the woman in industry, it must be remembered that large numbers of women both married and single have in addition to their outside work, home work as well. In Passaic about three-fourths of the married woman breadwinners had children and over half of these mothers were employed outside the home. Nine hundred, most of them foreign-born, had children under five years of age. A representative group of 522 mothers were the subject of special investigation to determine what care the children received during their mothers' absence. About onefifth of the mothers worked at night. During the day when they were not sleeping, they took care of the children. One-fifth left the children with relatives. The husbands of over one-tenth of the women, "kept an eye on the children.” These husbands were night workers, were unemployed, or worked at home. Over onefifth of the mothers left the children to look out for themselves. The children of school age were in school part of the day. Those under school age had only the care of some older child. Four hundred and nineteen of the 522 mothers not only worked outside the home, but cooked, cleaned, washed, and cared for the children as well.

A study of some 5,000 women workers made in Kansas by the Women's Bureau showed that over four-fifths of the workers were living at home. Personal interviews revealed the fact that the majority of the women were making a service contribution in addition to their money contributions; and their long hours of outside work were increased by responsibilities of housework, care of the sick, care of children, and supplementary work to increase the meager wage earned in factory or store.

Earlier investigations indicate the same general facts. In 1894 a study in Indianapolis of the home responsibilities of wageearning women showed that three-fifths of the women did some sort of home work in addition to their outside work. Of the two-fifths who did no housework, approximately one-third were boarding away from home where they presumably were free of such demands.14

In 1888 an investigation of the United States Bureau of Labor

14 Indiana Department of Statistics, study of home responsibilities of wageearning women in Indianapolis, 1894, unselected and employed in representative occupations, 500 women covered, data secured from personal interviews.

covering working women in large cities showed that of the some 14,900 women living at home over three-fifths helped with the housework.

A study by the Russell Sage Foundation, published in 1914 and comprising 370 mothers, stated clearly the situation in regard to mothers doing outside work under existing conditions: "Why were these women wage earners? How many of them worked because they must and how many for other reasons? There was one inevitable conclusion which resulted from the analysis of economic conditions in their homes. It was that not one of the mothers could afford not to earn. . . . Their children would have suffered seriously had they failed or refused to earn. Small as were the wages of their unskilled occupations, the amount played an important part in a family budget correspondingly small. Moreover, they were found to be doing all their own housework before and after their wage-earning hours, instead of paying others to do it for them. By overworking themselves they had made their earnings clear gain for their families."

Though the recent data on this subject are scarce, the wageearning woman's service contributions are generally recognized. The woman's burden is greater than the man's. In the majority of cases it may be assumed with a fair degree of certainty that wage-earning women give to the family not only of their money but of their services as well and that they have a far greater responsibility in regard to the housekeeping than have the men. Does this greater liability to household burdens mean that women give proportionately less of their income to the home than do men?

There is a dearth of comparative data regarding the family responsibilities of men and women. In a study made in Manchester by the Women's Bureau such material was secured for some 2,200 men and women. As the men's wages were much greater than those of the women, they were able to give more in actual money. Relationship had a far-reaching effect on the proportions of the contributions made. Practically all the husbands and wives or fathers and mothers gave all of their earnings. The single men and women, the majority of whom were sons and daughters, did not contribute so extensively. As the wage-earning fathers far outnumbered the wage-earning mothers, the potential group of males who might be expected to contribute all their earnings was greater than the potential group of females, and this factor raised the contributions of the males. When the

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wages and relationship of the men and women were similar, as they were in a few selected groups, the women were shown to be making greater contributions than the men. When the length of time over which the contributions were made was considered, about three-fifths of the women and one-half of the men had given their entire earnings to the family throughout their working career. Most of the single men and women were sons and daughters living at home. Approximately one-third of the sons and practically three-fifths of the daughters gave all their earnings to the family. The sons with their sex advantage and greater opportunities earned more than the daughters, and their potential value to the family was greater. But the daughters gave a so much greater share of their actual earnings that their economic importance to the family was approximately the same. Their sacrifice was greater than that of the sons, for the latter more often retained for themselves a part of their earnings and with them a wider measure of independence and opportunity for self-advancement.

In the study of women and child wage-earners, the contributions of the women in each of the four industries investigated consisted of a larger portion of their earnings than did those of the men. The women's contributions nearly equaled their earnings, the men's amounted to about four-fifths of theirs.

In a special study of 1,095 Italian women workers in New York City, it was found that 87.2 per cent of the fathers, 85.6 per cent of other male, and 91.3 per cent of female workers over fourteen years of age, not including the mothers, were contributing to the support of their families. Over 54 per cent of the mothers were making a financial contribution to the family.

A survey of the cost of living made by the Bureau of Labor in 1918 and 1919 was a study of selected families. No family in which the children were working was included unless they were giving all their earnings to the family. Over nine-tenths of the sons and over eight-tenths of the daughters were wage earners and were giving all their funds to the family. Less than three-tenths of the family income was derived from the daughters in slightly under seven-tenths of the families and from the sons in six-tenths. Considering the discrepancy in wages received by men and women, it is surprising that this difference was not greater.

WELFARE LAWS FOR WOMEN IN INDUSTRY

Though the evidence given does not form a complete picture of the responsibilities of bread-winning women throughout the United

States, it is sufficient to show that large numbers of women are supporting others besides themselves. It challenges any assumption that women, as a class, have no family responsibilities and can be given wages insufficient for a decent livelihood on the presumption that all they need is pin money. It shows that many women in addition to long hours of work outside the home must labor in the home as well and that the care given the children of such women is ordinarily slight. It raises questions as to the temptations, the hardships, the suffering, which such conditions create. It presents a knotty problem for society to solve. It is a problem which by no means finds solution in state laws limiting hours of work, improving working conditions, or setting a minimum wage admittedly a woman's wage based on the minimum standard of living of a single woman. Such laws are usually made to embrace all women on the theory that by protecting the potential mother the race is benefited. It is significant that this protection is provided only in gainful employments. No effort has yet been made to regulate or safeguard the working conditions and hours of women in the home. Yet as the vast majority of childbearing women are engaged in home work, this constitutes the real need toward which humanitarian efforts should be directed. In industry a limitation of the hours of work for women without a similar limitation for men may constitute a possible handicap to the women. Science has yet to offer conclusive data showing any peculiar sex need for shorter hours or a prohibition of night work for most women in most industries. On the other hand, a reasonable day's work under sanitary, safe conditions in moral surroundings is a necessity for both men and women and should be insured to both, whether in industry, other fields of work, or in the home.

WOMEN IN GOVERNMENT SERVICE

That women should be paid lower wages than men, have limited opportunities, be subjected to sex discriminations in industry can be more easily explained than the limitations they meet in government service. Females form one-half of the population, a half presumably equal in importance to the male half. At least one-fifth of them must or desire to work. A democratic government of the people, by the people, and for the people cannot honestly refuse them equality of opportunity in government service unless they are insufficiently trained or unfit mentally or physically for the positions to be filled. Women, through the ballot, can elect