WOMEN BARRED

Greymouth Evening Star, 18 June 1936, Page 12

WOMEN BARRED

DIPLOMATS AND CONSULS. LONDON, May 1. • British piplomatic and Consular services * are to remain closed to women. The Government announced this decision in a statement accompanying the report of the inter-departmental committee set- up to advise on the matter. The Government declares that u fully recognises the services rendered by women in tho Civil Service m this country, and the advantages which have accrued to the Service by the admission of women. It is, however, convinced that the time has not yet arrived when women could be employed either in the Consular Service or in. the Diplomatic Service with advantage to the State or with profit to women. Different reasons are given by the Government for the two services. Of the Consular Service it is stated that: Officers in a large majority of posts have to deal with a number of matters which it would be difficult for the average woman to handle. 'Women in practice would find themselves hampered and restricted as compared with men it they attempted to carry out Consular duties abroad. •

Admission of women as an experiment is ruled out by the Government as impracticable. It is stated: To throw' the Service open to women without any restriction appears to the Government to be, at present at anj r rate, undesirable. Strong opinion has been expressed that, in view of the habits and customs of many countries, the employment of women in diplomatic work wquld not prove successful. _ “Admittedly, there’ can be no proof of this until the experiment is tried, but if the experiment were attempted and proved unsuccessful, the Government considers that not only would it be difficult to close an avenue once opened to women, but considerable injustice might be caused to the individual women who had entered the Service.

“With very few exceptions the experiment has not been made by other countries, and the Government is satisfied that in a large number of countries the innovation would not be welcomed.

“The Government considers that it would not be justified in risking the efficiency of the Service as a whole in order to give an opportunity to the relatively small number of women who would be likely to find a career in the Diplomatic Service.

PROBLEM OF MARRIAGE. “Marriage also presents a problem of great difficulty. At present a very large proportion of the members of the Service marry, and it is universally admitted that the wives of members of the Service contribute very greatly to the success of their husbands’ careers.

“It would hardly be defensible to treat women members of the Diplomatic Service differently in respect of marriage from women in the higher grades of the Civil Service generally, but if women were retained in the, Diplomatic Service after marriage, the Government feels that insuperable difficulties would ensue.

“Finally, the Government does not consider that any injustice is being done to women by their continued exclusion from the Diplomatic Service. It is, to say the least, doubtful whether women are suited to this Service owing to the conditions prevailing; it is equally doubtful whether the admission of women would contribute any special advantage to the State; lastly, the size of the Service is so small that the general question of the employment of women is in an>' event hardly affected.” y Sir Claud Schuster, Permanent Secretary to the Lord Chancellor, was chairman of the committee.