EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 121, 24 May 1932, Page 13

EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN.

At last a member of a representative body of business men —the Wellington Chamber of Commerce—has shown the courage of his convictions by voicing views which are held by all business men who can justly claim to be efficiency engineers. Both Mr. Cuthbcrtson and Mi\ J. Pcarcc Luke are men who do.not make rash statements, but in the course of long business experience are required to pass sound judgments. It is true that the advocacy of preference to male employees is belated, but none the less necessary in commercial and national interests. For the past twenty years I have, through the medium of the Press and by other means, endeavoured to show business men the stupidity of employing females in avocations wliieh should"be held by males. It seems that it is necessary for a severe depression and extensive unemployment to bring business men to «i realisation that the employment of women and girls is contrary to national and commercial welfare—to the national importance of every boy and man being employed; the strength of a nation depends upon the adolescent and adult male population being usefully employed. In case it is thought that I write without experience of female employees, I state that I have, rlurin" the course of very extensive business experience—in all executive capacity —controlled large staffs of girls and women, as well as boys and men. At present I *3Cupy a position of controlling director of' a large and progressive organisation. I state, without hesitation, that women do not compare favourably with men as office workers, and such qualities as logic, tact, executive ability and efficiency are foreign to women. The only reason why the average business man tolerates the lnelliciency of woman is that her labour cos.» about one-fourth of the salary for an efficient man—and yet I have pro\ed that by dispensing with five women and appointing one man and a boy, the woil< was done better, quicker and with les* supervision. There is no justification tor the employment of women a woman s job is at home. The business man who employs women in male avocations call* i for censure from the community, and ! one who employs a married woman (with 'a husband to support her) deserves to be placed before a firing-squad—and t.ns I includes thoise responsible for appouuUeat, i. Ik. Civil S""™ bmECTCK .