550 TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION P. 



employment of women in the electrical trade of nearly 18 per cent. Part of 

 this increase is due to a temporary increase of production in branches of the 

 trade in which women were previously employed, but as the enlistment of men 

 from this trade has been on a considerable scale, it is reasonably clear that 

 women are to some extent taking their place during the emergency. In most 

 cases readjustment to meet the introduction of women has been simple, or no 

 alterations at all have been necessary, as they have only been put on to the 

 lighter machine work. One firm has actually made the machines more mechanical 

 and employs an extra mechanic as supervisor. 



The introduction of women into new processes often necessitates the pro- 

 vision of another workshop, as in the majority of cases it is not considered 

 desirable for men and women to work together. 



The main objections to the employment of women are : 



1. Want of technical skill and general experience. 



2. Want of physical strength, making it impossible to employ women on 



the heavier processes. 

 3. The strong objection on the part of many employers to have men .and 

 women working side by side in this trade. 

 4. In some cases the men's objection to the introduction of women. 



In regard to the question of physical strength, one firm employing women in 

 lathe making found the women's output slightly less than that of men, owing 

 mainly to exhaustion during the last hour of work. Nevertheless it is clear 

 that as a general rule women's output is considerably less than that of men, since 

 both on time and piece rates their wages are generally 50 per cent, below those 

 ef men. 



The main advantages are : — 



1. Their greater dexterity in certain processes where small fingers are an 



advantage. This has been a considerable factor in the employment of 

 women in such processes as assembly work in the electric lamp trade. 



2. Cheapness of their labour. 



3. The larger supply of unskilled workers to draw upon. 



The Future of the Trade. — In those processes which are suitable to women, 

 the possibilities of extending their employment are great. In the more skilled 

 processes, however, where a longer training is necessary, it depends how far 

 women choose to utilise the present opportunity of becoming highly efficient 

 workers. Hitherto women have been employed almost entirely in unskilled 

 processes, and the trade has been essentially one for young persons, the majority 

 of the girls leaving the trade soon after the age of 19. It is difficult to foretell 

 the state of trade after the War, but in view of the accumulation of private 

 work which cannot be done at present, employers rely on its being good for at 

 least a year or two, and they therefore expect to absorb the men returning from 

 the Front as well as the new women that have been taken on. Two firms stated 

 that after the War it was much more likely to be a case of taking on new men 

 in addition than of dismissing the new women. 



On the whole, there is little definite evidence up to the present of the actual 

 displacement of men by women owing to the War, and the increase in the 

 number of women is mainly due to a temporary increase of production. The 

 trade unions, however, state that of recent years there has been an increasing 

 tendency to bring women into the trade, and in view of the fact that the women 

 are unorganised, they are pessimistic with regard to the future, fearing that 

 the increase of female labour will lead to a fall in the standard of wages, and to 

 male unemployment after the War. Much will depend upon the attitude of the 

 women themselves. 



The Metal Trades less immediatdy affected by the demand for Munitions. 



Although those firms which are still mainly engaged in the manufacture of 

 metal goods other than munitions are for the most part employing a smaller 

 number of workpeople than before the War, they are only in a few exceptional 

 instances suffering from a restricted demand. For the most part the main 

 difficulty is the shortage of labour, and this is greatly aggravated in those 



