Here we see that the number of women gainfully employed has grown from 3,914,571 in 1890 to 5,319,397 in 1900. It has increased more rapidly than the population which increased from 62,622,250 persons in 1890 to 76,303,387 in 1900; only by 21 per cent. In the same inexorable way the number of employed men is decreasing, since they are being displaced by women. Now for 100 persons gainfully employed there are 18.8 women, while in 1880 there were not more than 14.7 per cent. Of 312 occupations there are only 9 in which no women are employed. According to the census of 1900, we even find among them 5 pilots, 45 engineers and firemen, 185 blacksmiths, 508 machinists, 11 well-borers, 8 boilermakers. “Of course these figures are not of great sociological importance, but they show that there are very few occupations from which women are absolutely excluded, either by their natural capacity or by law.”[132] Women are especially numerous in the following occupations: Servants and waitresses, 1,213,828; dressmaking, 338,144; farm labor, 497,886; laundresses, 332,665; teachers, 327,905; independent farmers, 307,788; textile workers, 231,458; housekeepers, 147,103; salesladies, 146,265; seamstresses, 138,724; nurses and midwives, 108,691; unqualified trades, 106,916. In these 12 occupations 3,583,333 = 74.1 per cent. of all bread-earning women have been counted. Besides there are 85,086 stenographers; 82,936 milliners; 81,000 clerks; 72,896 bookkeepers, etc., together 19 occupations, comprising over 50,000 women = 88.8 per cent. of all women breadwinners. Women predominate in the following trades:
| For every 100 persons employed. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacture of underwear | Women | 99.4 | Men | 0.6 |
| Millinery | “ | 98.0 | “ | 2.0 |
| Dressmaking | “ | 96.8 | “ | 3.2 |
| Manufacture of collars | “ | 77.6 | “ | 22.4 |
| Weaving | “ | 72.8 | “ | 27.2 |
| Manufacture of gloves | “ | 62.6 | “ | 37.4 |
| Bookbinding | “ | 50.5 | “ | 49.5 |
| Textile trades | “ | 50.0 | “ | 50.0 |
| Housekeeping | “ | 94.7 | “ | 5.3 |
| Nursing | “ | 89.9 | “ | 10.1 |
| Laundry work | “ | 86.8 | “ | 13.2 |
| Domestic service | “ | 81.9 | “ | 18.1 |
| Boarding | “ | 83.4 | “ | 16.6 |
| Stenographers | “ | 76.7 | “ | 23.3 |
| Teachers | “ | 73.4 | “ | 26.6 |
| Music teachers | “ | 56.9 | “ | 43.1 |
Of 4,833,630 women employed in gainful occupations aged 16 years and more, 3,143,712 were single, 769,477 were married, 857,005 were widowed, 63,436 were divorced. The American report says: “The increase in the percentage of persons gainfully employed was greatest for the married women, since it was by one-fourth greater in 1900 than in 1890. In 1890 there was only one married working woman among 22; in 1900 there was one among 18.” The number of widowed and divorced women is very great, both relatively and actually. In 1900 among 2,721,438 widowed women 857,005 = 31.5 were earning their living, and among divorced women the percentage was still greater. Of 114,935, these 49 per cent. were earning their own living in 1890 and 55.3 per cent. in 1900. Thus more women became self-supporting each year. Among the 303 occupations in which women are employed there are:
| 79 | with | less | than | 100 | women |
| 59 | “ | “ | “ | 100 to 500 | “ |
| 31 | “ | “ | “ | 500 to 1000 | “ |
| 125 | “ | more | “ | 1000 | “ |
| 63 | “ | “ | “ | 5000 | “ |
Among 100 persons from 16 years up we find the following wage-scale:
| Men | Women | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Less than 7 dollars | 18 | Less than 7 dollars | 66.3 |
| 7 to 9 dollars | 15.4 | 7 to 9 dollars | 19.6 |
| 9 to 20 dollars | 60.6 | 9 to 15 dollars | 13.2 |
| 20 to 25 dollars | 4.8 | 15 to 20 dollars | 0.8 |
| More than 25 dollars | 2 | 20 to 25 dollars | 0.1 |
| Average weekly wage | $11.16 | $6.17 | |
We see that 60.6 per cent. of the men earn more than $9, while only 13.2 per cent. of the women earn more than $9, and more than two-thirds (66.3 per cent.) earn less than $7.[133] The average weekly wage for men is $11.16; the average weekly wage for women $6.17, almost half of the man’s wages. Among government employes the difference is equally great. Among 185,874 persons engaged in civil service there were 172,053 men = 92.6 per cent., and 13,821 women—7.4 per cent. In the District of Columbia, the seat of the national administration, the percentage of female labor amounts to 29 per cent. And yet 47.2 per cent. of the women earn less than $720, while only 16.7 per cent. of the men earn less than $720.[134]
In France, according to the census of 1901, the laboring population amounted to 19,715,075 persons, 12,910,565 men and 6,804,510 women. They are distributed among various trades as follows:
| Men. | Per Cent. | Women. | Per Cent. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture | 5,517,617 | 72 | 2,658,952 | 28 |
| Commerce | 1,132,621 | 65 | 689,999 | 35 |
| Dom’tic service | 223,861 | 23 | 791,176 | 77 |
| Learned prof. | 226,561 | 67 | 173,278 | 33 |
| Industry | 3,695,213 | 63.5 | 2,124,642 | 36.5 |