FOR WOMEN NO RUSH TO LEAVE

Auckland Star, Volume LXXVI, Issue 201, 25 August 1945, Page 9

FOR WOMEN NO RUSH TO LEAVE

WIVES WITH JOBS

RELAXING MANPOWER RULES

No joyful rush to leave their jobs has been made by women affected by the recent relaxation of manpower regulations—married women and those over 30. Inquiries made among firms and factories in Auckland, as well as , from the Manpower Office, show that only a comparatively few women have taken advantage of the opportunity to "liberate" themselves from manpower restrictions.

Even those who were directed to various kinds of work, not without grumbling, now appear to be quite content to stay where they are, at least for the present. According to those concerned, there are various reasons for this attitude. Undoubtedly one of the most important is the fact that many women are enjoying their independence. It has been recognised for some time that married women all over the world will be loath to give up their jobs entirely on their husbands' return from service, because they have known the satisfaction of earning good salaries and of independence. This may prove to be a weapon in the hands of women, enabling them to gain the "wages for wives" type of allowance, as recompense for going back to the home! In any case, there appears to be a growing likelihood that a large number of married women without young children to bring up, will desire some kind of employment, full or part-time, into which they can put their surplus energy, that energy which was directed into so many useful channels during the war. Part-time workers in various factories and firmS have said that they are happy in their jobs. Discussions among women's groups recently have shown that married women, if they do not continue in ordinary employment, may give their services to the building up of creches and play centres which are so urgently needed in Auckland. If they are not given the opportunity to enjoy "outside interests," or if they fail to create that opportunity for themselves, it is likely that these married women will become what Pearl Buck, the wellknown American writer calls, "gunpowder wives"—that is to say, wives whose untapped energy makes them restless and liable to explode— without having any direction into which to pour that energy.