Part 6 (2/2)

The Industrial Condition of Women-Workers.

-- 1. The Number of Women engaged in Industrial Work.--The evils of ”sweating” press more heavily on women workers than on men. It is not merely that women as ”the weaker s.e.x” suffer more under the same burden, but that their industrial burden is absolutely heavier than that of men.

The causes and the meaning of this demand a special treatment.

The census returns for 1901 showed that out of 4,171,751 females engaged in occupations about 40 per cent. were in domestic or other service, 38 per cent. in manufactures, 7 per cent. in commerce, chiefly as shop- a.s.sistants, 4 per cent. in teaching, 3 per cent. in hotels, boarding- houses, etc., and 7 per cent. in other occupations.

The following table gives the groups of occupations in which more females are employed than males:--

Occupational Groups Males Females Sick nurses, midwives, etc. 1,092 67,269 Teaching 61,897 172,873 Domestic service 124,263 1,690,686 Bookbinding: paper and stationery manufactures 42,644 64,210 Textile manufactures 492,175 663,222 Dress manufactures 336,186 689,956 -------------------- 1,058,257 3,348,216 All other occupations 9,098,717 823,535 -------------------- All occupations 10,156,974 4,171,751

The manufactures in which women have been gaining upon men are the textile and clothing trades in almost all branches, tobacco, printing, stationery, brushes, india-rubber, and foods.

-- 2. Women's Wages.--Turning now to women engaged in city industries, let us gauge their industrial condition by the tests of wages, hours of labour, sanitary conditions, regularity of employment

The following is a list of the average wages paid for different kinds of factory work in London.

Artificial flowers 8 to 12 s.h.i.+llings.

Bookbinding 9 ” 11 ”

Boxmaking 8 ” 16 ”

Brushes 8 ” 15 ”

Caps 8 ” 16 ”

Collars 11 ” 15 ”

Confectionery 8 ” 14 ”

Corsets 8 ” 16 ”

Fur-sewing 7 ” 14 ”

Fur-sewing in winter 4 ” 7 ”

Matches 8 ” 13 ”

Rope 8 ” 11 ”

Umbrellas 10 ” 18 ”

These are ordinary wages. Very good or industrious workers are said to get in some cases 20 per cent, more; unskilful or idle workers less.

It must be borne in mind that these sums represent a full week's work.

The importance of this qualification will appear presently.

It is obvious at a glance that these wages are for the most part considerably lower than those paid for any regular form of male labour.

But there is another fact which adds to the significance of this.

Skilled labour among men is much more highly paid than unskilled labour.

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