Women earn less than Men

[drfuzzy]

We also need to remember the recent (American) history of "women in the workforce".  In the 1920's, only unmarried women were allowed to work outside the home, (in most states) and the choice of professions were limited: schoolteacher, florist, maid . . .    It was WWII that brought women into the American work force.  This list from 1943 is accurate - my Mother and Aunt, who were single women working in the late 1950's, confirmed that they were given personal work guidelines that described their mode of dress, weight that they must maintain, dating rules, and that they would be fired when they became pregnant.

 "1943 Guide to Hiring Women."

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The following is an excerpt from the July 1943 issue of Transportation Magazine. This was serious and written for male supervisors of women in the workforce during World War II - a mere 56 years ago! 

Eleven Tips on Getting More Efficiency Out of Women Employees: 
There's no longer any question whether transit companies should hire women for jobs formerly held by men. The draft and manpower shortage has settled  that point. The important things now are to select the most efficient women available and how to use them to the best advantage.

Here are eleven  helpful tips on the subject from Western Properties:

1.  Pick young married women. They usually have more of a sense of responsibility than their unmarried sisters, they're less likely to be flirtatious, they need the work or they wouldn't be doing it, they  still have the pep and interest to work hard and to deal with the public efficiently.

2.  When you have to use older women, try to get ones who have worked outside the home at sometime in their life. Older women who have never contacted the public have a hard time adapting themselves and are inclined to be cantankerous and fussy. It's always well to impress upon older women the importance of friendliness and courtesy.

3.  General experience indicates that "husky" girls -those who are just a little on the heavy side  are more even-tempered and efficient than their underweight sisters.

4.  Retain a physician to give each woman you hire a special physical examination - one covering female conditions. This step not only  protects the property against the possibilities of lawsuit, but also reveals whether the employee-to-be has any female weaknesses which would make her mentally or physically unfit for the job.

5.  Stress at the outset the importance of time, the fact that a minute or two lost here and there makes serious inroads on schedules.  Until this point is gotten across, service is likely to be slowed up.

6.  Give the female employee a definite day-long schedule of duties so that they'll keep busy without bothering the management for Instructions every few minutes. Numerous properties say that women make excellent workers  when they have their jobs cut out for them, but that they lack initiative in finding work themselves.

7.  Whenever possible, let the inside employee change from one job to another at some time during the day. Women are inclined to be less nervous and happier with change.

8.  Give every girl an adequate number of rest periods during the day. You have to make some allowances for feminine psychology. A girl has more confidence and is more efficient if she can keep her hair tidied, apply fresh lipstick and wash her hands several times a day.

9.  Be tactful when issuing instructions or in making criticisms.  Women are often sensitive; they can't shrug off harsh words the way men do. Never ridicule a woman - it breaks her spirit and cuts off her efficiency.

10. Be reasonably considerate about using strong language around women. Even though a girl's husband or father may swear vociferously, she'll grow to dislike a place of business where she hears too much of this.

11. Get enough size variety in operator's uniforms so that each girl can have a proper fit. This point can't be stressed too much in keeping women happy.

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It was Kennedy's Commission on the Status of Women produced a report in 1963 that revealed, among other things, that women earned 59 cents for every dollar that men earned and were kept out of the more lucrative professional positions.  And yes, at this time, it was very deliberate: women were simply worth less than men - everyone knew that the man was supposed to be the breadwinner.

So it's not at all surprising that we are still dealing with the remnants of old attitudes and perceptions.