528 TRANSACTIONS OP SECTION F. 



circulating libraries they enter at the same age, and ' it takes years to 

 produce a good salesman of fabrics.' Obviously adult women arc heavily 

 handicapped under such conditions, 

 (e) Though painstaking, women do not possess initiative in the same degree as 

 men, and often they lack interest in their work. A few employers abso- 

 lutely deny this. 



In spite of these objections women have for some years past been entering 

 these trades in increased numbers, as shown in Table A, and while a majority 

 of employers maintain reasoned objections to women's employment, such as 

 physical disabilities and the probability of their withdrawal from the trade 

 outmarriage, a minority are no doubt largely influenced by the custom of the 

 trade in regard to their employment. When asked ' If you could get men 

 would you employ them in preference to the extra women that you have 

 taken on? ' 50 per cent, of employers stated ' No ' ; 28 per cent, said ' Yes,' and 

 22 per cent, were doubtful. Patriotic as well as economic motives, however, 

 largely influenced these replies. Employers are generally very cautious in 

 taking on women for new work, and in few cases, so far as could be discovered, 

 had experiments proved failures. Trade Union opinion agrees that women's 

 efficiency is lessened by (1) physical strength, (2) marriage, though obviously 

 the former depends very much upon the kind of work done. 



One particular job in a shop generally consists of several processes, some light 

 and some heavy, some skilled and some less skilled. Obviously there is diffi- 

 culty in introducing untrained men or women into such a system unless 

 reorganisation and subdivision of work is effected. This apparently has been 

 very rarely done. 



From the report of one large firm, where great and marked success and 

 enterprise renders the opinion of its manager valuable, it appears that such 

 reorganisation and subdivision of labour is advantageous. He says that, thanks 

 to careful subdivision prior to the War, he has not found it necessary to put 

 in more women to do the work of men ; that the majority of the women with 

 some experience are capable of the same work, and can, therefore, earn the 

 same pay. For example, the women commissionaires and lift attendants were 

 not expected to put up shutters and scrub out lifts ; the delivery men had no 

 cleaning or repairing of their vans to do ; and in the provision department the 

 salesmen whom the women replaced were doing no heavier work than a woman 

 is capable of doing. A considerable subdivision of work is, however, less 

 possible in small shops than in large stores. One employer, who was typical 

 of many, when questioned on this point, replied that ' Such subdivision is more 

 arduous than manipulating the pieces at a game of chess.' The reluctance of 

 some employers to reorganise their business on these methods has made the task 

 of taking on women and releasing men more difficult. 



Tl''fl<7es. 



The question of wages is a difficult one. Only in very exceptional cases 

 can piece-rates be paid. Throughout these trades time-rates are the rule, 

 though commissions are often earned in addition to fixed wages. It is obvious 

 from all reports that, with very few exceptions, women's wages are less than 

 the wages of men. This is due to : — 



(a) A difference in the work done by men and women. Very few women are 



said to be doing exactly the same work as that previously done by the 



men replaced. 

 (6) The smaller output of the women who have replaced men and the probable 



lack of continuity of their work. 

 (c) Social and personal factors. Women ask and are paid less wages. Custom 



also plays a considerable part. 



As women are for the most part untrained and are often doing the work 

 of boys and youths and rarely tlie full work of men it is difficult to prepare 

 any comparative table of wages. One can only give a few examples. 



J 



