WOMEN IN UNFAMILIAR CALLINGS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2409, 3 May 1900, Page 66

WOMEN IN UNFAMILIAR CALLINGS.

GIGANTIC STRIDES MADE BY THE FAIR SEX.»

There is a hoary-headed apology for a joke which says that before the twentieth century is very old wives will go out to business and their husbands remain at home to mind the baby and cook the joint. Feeble as this attempt at humour may be, it is really not so far-fetched as it seems. That men will ever be ousted from their positions as leaders of commerce is about bs likely as our being able at some future time to communicate with the monarchs of Mars ;' but we wonder how many readers realise the gigantic strides that women have made in money-mak-dng circles within recent years. With jhe exception of the law, the navy, and the army, it is scarcely possible to name a single profession which is not represented by at least one member of the fair sex.

Starting with the doctors, the majority of people are under Ji& impression that medical women are few and far between. This is by no means the case. Scattered over England, Scotland, and Ireland are no fewer than 256 fully qualified lady practitioners. In 58 towns in England, in 14 in Scotland, and in 11 in Ireland, there are one or more ladies practising the art of healing ; while London can boast of as many as 91 women doctors. Dentistry is not an eminently suitable profession for women, as it requires, considerable strength; nevertheless, there are women both in London and the provinces who enjoy, not a little repute as teeth-ex-tractors.

Probably not one man in a thousand is aware that there are such persons as lady druggists ; yet, as a matter of fact, several chemists' shops are being run by women. It is claimed lor £harm.aey that it is e/;> #£

the bast occupations for the fair sex, who, so far, have acquitted themselves so creditably in this department that quite a number of physicians are now employing women dispensers in place of men. To become a chemist, it is necessary for a girl to undergo a course of training in a chemist's shop extending over a period of three years. This training costs from a hundred to a hundred and thirty-five pounds; but, heavy as the initial oiitlay may be, it yields a profitable return. If a womai? has not the capital to set up in business &s a druggist for herself, she can obtain a berth as a dispenser in a hospital, which will bring her in"^. salary ranging from a hundred to a hundred and fifty pounds per annum — with board in addition, if she is lucky.

Even our old friend, 'he . commercial traveller, is not free from the competition of women. A sensation will doubtless be caused in many a hotel room sacred to the knights of the road when we state that, according to a recent return, no fewer than 155 ladies are at this moment scouring the country with samples — and doing well, too.

- One of the oddest occupations that women have taken to lately is that of rent-collec-tion. It is commonly supposed ' that to draw money from an impecunious tenant a .strong arm and a ferocious aspect are absolutely essential. Be this as it" may, about a dozen women are living on the.- commissions they make as agents for landlords.

Women factory and sanitary inspectors are no novelty, but it is not generally known that there are female accountants, with offices of their own. A few months ago a lady went so far as to apply for admission to the Institute of Chartered Accountants. The institute, however, is severely masculine, and refuses to allow the charming sex within its fold.

The Royal Institute of Architects, on the other hand, is more hospitable. It has one lady member. The number of lady architects is steadily on the increase.

A highly original profession is that followed by a lady in the Midlands, who teaches girls how to ride on horseback. She boards and lodges in her house a certain number of pupils, who, as soon as they are sufficiently advanced, are escorted to the hunting field and shown how to follow the hounds.

It is, perhaps, in the musical profession that men feel the competition of women most acutely. There are eight or nine professional bands in and out of London which are composed exclusively ol women, who ai3 paid from- two to four pounds a week for their services. " From the "Englishwoman's Year Book" (A. and C. Black; price 2s 6d), from which we gather some of the information contained in this article', it "would appear that the most lucrative opening for female orchestra players "is the " wind " department, which demands sound lungs and a, good lip, but no great strength. The conductors of the women's bands are, of course, women themselves. Women are also making headway as church organists. There are two lady stockbrokers in London, several lady photographers, and, of course, a large army of female compositors. With regard to the last-named, there is a printing company in London which is owned and managed entirely by representatives of the fair sex. As landscape gardeners women are forging ahead so. rapidly that the male gardener is becoming somewhat alarmed. In a small, town not far from London there is a lady who visits three houses twice a week to tend the gardens. Further, a lady landscape gardener is employed by the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association. Formerly the hairdressing trade was a man's monopoly. It is true that there are not many women hairdressers, but there probably will be before long. As hairdressers women can earn from 15s to 30s a week.

There are so many women trying to earn money nowadays that heavy premiums are exacted from them in nearly every v trade in which they seek to make a start. Florists charge as much as 7s 6d for a single lesson in the arrangement of flowers, while £30 is frequently paid by way of premium by apprentices. Dressmakers demand a far higher sum than this — in some cases as much, as £100.

In the more arduous walks of life women are no less in evidence. There is an excellent law which forbids females working underground in mines ; consequently our coal is hewn wholly by men. Yet women have a great deal to do with the supply of black diamonds. Five thousand of them earn a living by working at the pit's mouth, their main' duties consisting in separating the waste rock from the coal and pushing the "waggons to and from the weighing machines.

In the fish-curing trade — which is one of the hardest of occupations — over 20,000 women are engaged. These females are so eager for work that hundreds of them follow the fish round the coast. Those who do this are called " travelling crews." Their railway expenses are paid by their employers, and they are lodged in wooden sheds adjoining the curing yards.

Altogether it would seem that men are not going to have it all their own way in the future. Still, great as has been the advance on the part of women within recent years, they are still the principal victims "of the sweater. Here is a melancholy and scandalous record. Some little time back an inquiry was instituted into the wages that are paid to women who work at home. Three hundred and eightynine cases were investigated, and out of this number 249 females were found to be slaving their lives away for Is 6d a day. We give below the sums that some of these poor souls were in the habit of receiving, together with the nature of their employniont: — Umbrella covering — 9d per dozen. Cap making — 3d per dozen. Stocking making — lOd per dozen pairs.

Paper bags, for sweets — 7d per 2000.

Brush bristling— looo holes for 6d,

Sack sewing — 2d per dozen.

These prices were subject to small dej ductions foi certain materials. Comment -is n,eedle&s, — Qpgeil'g SsfoffdaE i°-* u 'P a - i