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About The Oregon state employee. (Salem, Oregon.) 1944-195? | View Entire Issue (May 1, 1945)
9 en from all sections of the country. Of these women studied 41 % were caring for one or more dependents, 36,% of whom were giving their entire support. Of the married women reporting the number of their dependents, 3'6%> had three or more, and 23% of the single women had three or more to assist. A telescoped view of 23 studies made between 1888 and 1932 among 61,679 women wage-earners reveals that only 9.3"% of these women gave nothing to the support of their families; 53.2% contributed all of their wages; and 37.5% contributed part of their earh- ings. From 1930 censu's statistics, the Women’s Bureau concludes that one- tenth of the employed women in, the United States at that time had the en tire support of families of two or more persons, and in many cases of families much larger. One-tenth of the family heads were women—2,500,000 women — which is a minimum figure because a man in a family is listed as the head even though he may not be the wage- earner. A t that time practically one- sixth of the urban families had only women wage earners, which does not indicate full responsibility as more than one woman in a famify&may be earn- ings< but it does show "the large share women are bearing in the financial economy of the families in the United States.” Recent surveys decisively bear out, with certain additions, the general con clusions of earlier periods. One Women’s Bureau investigation in two widely di verse localities reveals that dependencies have not decreased since 1930, as over one-third of the families of two or more persons were in these sections en tirely supported by women workers. Gladys K. Southard B The Womans Press, organ of the YWCA, finds that an average of surveys among working women indicates "that at feast two thirds of the women now working will need to continue working after the war . . . But as the war nears its end, an ever increasing number of them will find that they are in substantially the same position as men— they need their jobs in: order to live.” Last summer a committee of the American Legion Auxiliary reported on its survey among women war workers in. 16 states. A majority of the married women wish to work only in their homes after the war but at least half of them expect to .find it necessary to continue working. In summarizing the results of this survey, the president of the Auxiliary states that "married women work not for pin money but in order to support/themselves and others dependent , on them. This survey bears out the findings of a study made sev eral years ago by the National Federa tion of Business and Professional Wom en’s Clubs.” I And why is it economically necessary for these women to work? First a single woman must work to support herself; secondly, she must, in many instances, support others, totally or in part. Ap proximately 53M of the working wom en in 1930 were single and less than 30% of them were married. (Remain ing percentages included widows and those divorced Or separated from their husbands.) The percentages of women supporting dependents indicated that, with less7 than 30%-:; of the working women married, large responsibility for dependents rests, upon the wages of single women. The University Women’s survey shows that over three-fourths of the women indicating dependents were single women. Because more sons leave home than daughters, the financial responsibility for parentsand youngers brothers and sisters, Comes to rest often upon the unmarried daughters. Most of the de pendents listed in the University Wom en’s survey were adults ; only' 20% re- (Continued on Page 20)
