SURPLUS WOMEN

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 142, 20 June 1927, Page 17

SURPLUS WOMEN

AN ENGLISH PROBLEM

VIEWS OF PROMINENT WOMEN ' Wliat.is to becbiiie of the surplus women •■who; as shown in the report o£ the 1921 Census of England and vWales, are increasing and ; number nearly 2,000,0.00? This question was being discussed recently by prominent then and 'Women who tarri concerned by the growing preponderance of ...■ffomei over men, states the "Daily Mail."' 'Every' year'this' dißerencc i6-t)e-cdming . cmphaßisea,-■ and the chances r.f marriage, for a number .of ,women are becoming more remote. Without any prospect of marriage; jnore ;and-more, wbinen are being compelled to seek careers to keep themselves, and in many professions in which they played only a.minor part a few years ago they are rapidly becoming a dominant force. A striking example of this . "feminisation" .of a profession in which men had held.the most, important position is in ieachng; where' women are gaining executive powers.' Women doctors, are so numerous that many are barely able to itiaK<s a living. ■_-It is generally agreed that in consequence of the disproportion, bfltwefeti the sexes the struggle for employment in England will become more intense, and that women will assail every position now held by men. Many responsible authorities declare that if the problem is to be dealt with a comprehensive scheme of migration to the Dominions must ba organised, so that the women who are denied a chance of marriage and home life will have an opportunity to fulfil their ambition. Among the opinions expressed to a "Daily Mail" reporter recently were: Lady Askwith: The problem is a serious one, for I believe we are now getting back to the old Victorian ideal of home life. The reaction following, the war is passing, and the modern young woman wants a husband and a home even if she smokes cigarettes, wears short skirts, and does all the things unknown to her Victorian sisters. The repressed "mothering tendency of our girls is asserting itself^ and it m a great pity that Najture should nave : :made . the '. satisfaction- of these impulses-impojssible-for 80-many-in Great Britain. It seems very'iraftttturiati "that this; state of.afiairs should"; exist ■while ■vast parts,of;ihe Empire are crying out for women. The solution" of thj difficulty seems to lie in a proper redistribution of out Empire population. A sonsible scheme of migration would absorb many women and give them a chance of marriage. In these days of broadcasting the Empire is being linked more closely;; together and'the loneliness which deterred' many(i(ifomen from.going to'the Dominion*! •in the ; past is fast disappearing. K-' anF case women will have to turn<to ':j>rodud-: tive occupations rather than the' sedentary jobs they are now doing,l but thu&till not make the number of available 'men co round. Miss Sybil Thorndike (Mrs. Lewis Casson), the actress: I think it is all the better that there should be a surplus of women. There are always large numbers who are unsuitable for marriage, and who ore anxious to make their own careers. In Victorian days the only career open to them was marriage, and a terrible mess some of them make of it Now a woman has to get on with a job, and she does it very well. There is no reason why she should not make jt a life career, while thoso who really want to marry will be able to do so.LadyTranees Balfour: There always has been a surplus of women and there always will be. -Women are solving the situation for -themselves. ■

Miss Josephine Knowles, the novelistI do not think theHwb million surplus women are young. At Kichmoud Park during the holidays every girl I saw had a boy iriend. Young girls certainly do not Buffer from the shortage of men. The surplus evidently belongs to the elderly and imddle-aged-the widows of men killed in the war, and there have always been the confirmed spinsters.