/ Ico- OPERATIVE SOCIAL RESEARCH BY HIM S COLLEGE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK, | BOSTON GouNch, OF SOCIAL AGENCIES | AND THE WOMEN’S EDUCATIONAL AND INDUSTRIAL UNION. hii NUMBER 1 i 558, 3 y J A al ¥ 5 GAINF UL, EMPLOYMENT FOR HANDICAPPED WOMEN BY LUCILE EAVES ABSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF Economic RESEARCH SIMMONS COLLEGE I niroduction by ROBERT KELSO EXECUTIVE SECRETARY BOSTON COUNCIL OF SOCIAL AGENCIES SEPTEMBER, 1921. arnt Be { " : CO-OPERATIVE SOCIAL RESEARCH BY SIM S COLLEGE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK, BOSTON COUNCIL OF SOCIAL AGENCIES AND | THE WOMEN’S EDUCATIONAL AND INDUSTRIAL UNION Jorony NUMBER 1 GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT F OR BY LUCILE EAVES ABSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH SIMMONS COLLEGE § Introduction by ROBERT KELSO EXECUTIVE SECRETARY BOSTON COUNCIL OF SOCIAL AGENCIES SEPTEMBER, 1921. CO-OPERATIVE SOCIAL RESEARCH BY SIMMONS COLLEGE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK, BOSTON COUNCIL OF SOCIAL AGENCIES AND THE WOMEN’S EDUCATIONAL AND INDUSTRIAL UNION REPORT NUMBER 1 GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT FOR HANDICAPPED WOMEN BY LUCILE EAVES ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH SIMMONS COLLEGE Introduction by ROBERT KELSO EXECUTIVE SECRETARY BOSTON COUNCIL OF SOCIAL AGENCIES SEPTEMBER, 1921 Sle CONTENTS PAGE Introduction, Robert Kelso . . Cia BG Gainful Employment for Hanlespped Wome, Lutte Fares WO Summaries of Students’ Reports: Chorea Patients Treated at the Boston Children’s Hospital, I. H. Dyer and Marion Richert . . . .0129 Record of the Clinic for Syphilis Patients, Boston City Hospital, M.S Buchtel. SL 20.80 Children Cared for by the LY Home Society, R. M. Lawton and E. M. Wilkey Gedy 30 The Lack of Hospital Care or Patients with Clone Diseases, Faith Wiggin . . 31 Recreational Opportunites wr Boston Colored Gils, Ruth Winifred Howard. . . Shor DE a Ga SD 90230 INTRODUCTION Case records hidden away in the files of a social agency are like money on deposit without interest, or like the talent of Scripture which was hidden in the earth. They retain their value, perhaps, but they yield nothing. The case worker is like the pathologist who confines himself to the microscope: he tends always to magnify the detail and to forget that broader field which lies outside the circumference of his lens. For the case worker it is only when the grain of knowledge contained in each case is added to the like grains from other cases that perspective begins to yield propor- tion and the horizon lifts—showing a glimpse of that broader problem of which each case was but an atom. Collective analysis of case records, then, should be a first requisite to efficient social work. And if this be so, how shall it be assured? The individual agency, left to itself, is not likely to overdo such introspection. Experience has thus far shown a marked reluctance to embark upon such collective analyses, chiefly because they appear to yield so little. It is probable that the answer lies in a plan of joint action between agencies yielding records and schools which have student groups desiring to enter professional social service. A working arrangement by which the social organization serves as a laboratory in which the student under careful supervision from the agency itself can carry on case analysis will bring to the society a service for which it is at present unwilling to pay money, at the same time providing the student with a valuable aid in his process of study. More than all else, it will instil the habit of research, without which the social agency becomes an administrative auto- maton, blind to the future. There are hundreds of thousands of case records on file in the offices of Boston social agencies; and nothing worthy even to be called a beginning at analysis has ever been undertaken. The present study of one thousand records of handicapped women placed in industry shows how valuable an analysis of these records would be in estimating the problems of social service and in plan- ning methods of attack. 6 GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT FOR HANDICAPPED WOMEN The Boston Council plans such consistent contact between the school and the social agency as will guarantee a steady crop of such studies. It is hoped that this is but the beginning looking toward fruitful co-operation between the Boston Council and the School of Social Work. The former will suggest subjects about which information is needed and will discover which of its mem- bers are able to supply significant data, and the latter will organize this information. The Council can then serve as a medium for the discussions which will insure sound interpretations and prac- ticable plans for constructive activities. Robert W. Kelso, Executive Secretary, Boston Council of Social Agencies. GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT FOR HANDICAPPED WOMEN! PART 1 Assisting handicapped women to discover and to qualify for productive work is a form of vocational guidance and training which has failed to receive the systematic attention which it deserves. Such activities have both social and personal values: relief agencies frequently find that the discovery and development of the latent productive capacities of women are the best methods of meeting emergency needs of family groups; and the finding of useful occupations, which will make possible partial or entire self- support and will afford opportunities for creative work, is neces- sary to the self-respect and happiness both of the women and of the men who are suffering from physical, mental or social handi- caps. Agencies for the rehabilitation of soldiers are accumulating rapidly a well organized body of information about the occupa- tions and training suited to the needs of incapacitated men. The present report begins the efforts to supply a similar scientific foun- dation for the activities of those who care for handicapped women. The Bureau which supplied the records has been in operation for ten years, and is used by many Boston relief agencies. Cases were examined in the order in which they appeared in the files, but those which failed to furnish 6 of the 7 items selected for tabu- lation, were rejected. Women under 20 years of age and students seeking part-time work with which to defray living expenses also were excluded from the group chosen for study. Thus the thou- sand women discussed in this report were adults who were meeting with exceptional difficulties in finding gainful employment. Conjugal Conditions and Ages This typical sample group of economic misfits reveals the haz- 1This study is based on data furnished by the Bureau for Handicapped Women maintained by the Women’s Educational and Industrial Union. My students in a social inquiry course at the Simmons College School of Social Work analyzed the case records and copied from them certain significant facts. Each student tabulated data for 200 women, and these statistical tables were then combined by my research assistant, Miss C. E. Heermann. Miss G. L. Flet- cher, the director of the Bureau which supplied the records, has assisted me in their interpreta- tion.—Lucile Eaves. 8 GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT FOR HANDICAPPED WOMEN ards of married life, for it shows that over two-thirds! of the appli- cants to the Bureau were women to whom marriage had failed to bring release from the necessity for gainful employment outside of the home. One-fourth (24 per cent) of the women who applied to the Bureau were living with husbands who were unable to sup- port their wives and children. Widows who—usually after many years of economic dependence—were forced to find means of sup- porting themselves and their children, constituted over a third (35.3 per cent) of the applicants to the Bureau. Ten per cent of the thousand women had lost their customary support by separa- tion or divorce. Only 30 per cent of the group were single women who for various reasons were unable to earn necessary incomes. Thus the women who had never married appeared with a frequency ten per cent less than that of their occurrence in the adult female population of Boston. The different conjugal groups varied in their age distributions. (Table 1). The unmarried women sought help from the Bureau most frequently when they were in the early twenties, and a second large group of spinsters was found in the 50-54 age period. Two-thirds of the married women were in the prime of life—be- tween 25 and 45 years of age—while nearly three-fourths of the widows had passed these years. The separated and divorced usu- ally were under 40, although there was a large group also in the later forties. Nearly half of the thousand women were in age periods above 45; there were a hundred women who gave ages in the sixties, and 10 were starting forth bravely in pursuit of jobs after they had passed their seventieth birthdays. The director of the Bureau declares, “My old ladies are the bravest that I have! One of them, for example, who is 72 years old earns her entire support by doing mending.” Forms of Handicaps Some form of personal incapacity was the most common impedi- ment to the marketing of the services of the women. As already suggested, many were suffering from the real or assumed decline of working capacity which accompanies old age. Over a third had various physical defects, such as weakness following sickness, or 1Forty per cent of the adult women of Boston are single and the remaining 60 per cent are married, widowed or divorced. GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT FOR HANDICAPPED WOMEN 9 impairment of earning capacity due to crippled limbs or defective hearing, vision or speech. Defects of character and lack of mental soundness appear less frequently in the records—probably be- cause they are not easily discovered by the agents of such a bureau. The single women showed a higher proportion of personal de- fects than the women who had been married. Thus there were 353 widows and 302 single women, yet the latter greatly outnum- bered the former in all but one of the physical, mental and charac- ter defect groups. (Table 2). Normally endowed single women who must support themselves usually become adjusted to wage earning before reaching adult years. The widowed, married and divorced women had greater personal capacity, but were heavily burdened with the care of dependents. Thus one-fourth of the widows, nearly a third of the married women and half of the divorced had children whom they must support. Many of these women were caring also for other family depend- ents. Even when they were in their physical and mental prime, the lack of familiarity with the requirements and opportunities of the wage-earning world was a serious handicap to these women accustomed only to family cares. Since the women sent to the Bureau were those who were handi- capped in unusual ways, the ordinary difficulties of the economic world did not make an important showing in their reports. There were 54 with some gainful employment who found their earnings quite unequal to their needs. Half of these were married women whose earning capacity was unequal to the requirements of their families. Part-time workers who could not leave their dependents for gainful employment during regular business hours, and a small group of women who had been unable to supplement seasonal employment, made up the remainder of the group handicapped by economic conditions. Evidently social prejudices do not play an important part in preventing gainful employment. Forty colored women were in- cluded in the thousand cases studied, but only 3 of them claimed that their lack of employment was due to prejudices against their race. Like the white applicants to the Bureau, they were handi- capped by personal defects, by dependent children and by hus- 10 GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT FOR HANDICAPPED WOMEN bands who were sick or incompetent.! One German woman claimed that her difficulty in finding work was due to war-time prejudices. The other foreign-born women were handicapped by their inability to speak English and lack of familiarity with American conditions. The “sick and convalescent” which was the largest of the groups classified under “personal defects” included 46 women who were described as “nervous.” It may be questioned whether they be- longed in one of the groups classed as defective in character rather than in physique, as irritability due to selfishness and lack of self- control frequently is attributed to exceptional nervousness. Like other women with defects of character, the nervous persons were difficult to place; less than half of them found employment. Positions Found for the Handicapped? The records reported positions found for 773 of the thousand women. More than one occupation was reported for some of them, so that a total of 801 placements were tabulated. Over four-fifths of the women employed undertook various forms of domestic and personal service, and nearly three-fourths (71 per cent) of this service was the less organized work of private homes rather than the more specialized tasks of institutions, hotels and restaurants. It is well known that workers with a minimum of experience and training undertake the tasks usually listed as “domestic and personal service.” The tendency to supply such positions may have been increased by the fact that the institution maintaining the Bureau whose records were studied, had carried on for many years an excellent employment office supplying house- hold help. It is true also that the case records studied dealt with a period of great scarcity of domestic workers. The number placed in lunch room and restaurant positions also was increased because of the unusual opportunities for making use of such services in the institution which maintains the placement bureau. Less than one in five of the gainful positions taken by the handi- capped women could be classed with industrial, mercantile or professional occupations, which require greater skill and intelli- 1The director of the Bureau, in discussing this point said that greater weight should be given to the handicap of color. She feels that all colored women are at a serious disadvantage when seeking employment. 2See Table 3. GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT FOR HANDICAPPED WOMEN 11 gence. Thirteen women did the more highly organized factory sewing and 20 more worked in a great variety of factory positions. There were fifteen saleswomen and 18 general office workers. Among the 35 more highly trained professional women, teachers and musicians were most numerous. The most disagreeable and laborious tasks offered to wage- earning women often were undertaken by the older women who had little training but that gained in the course of their own domes- tic experiences. Thus women with dependent children were em- ployed most frequently as working housekeepers, general domestic servants, cleaners and laundresses working by the day, and over half of these who were more than 50 years old and without de- pendents took places as domestic servants. The lighter tasks of seamstresses and attendants on the sick came next in importance, and 13 did cleaning and laundering. The 3 who served as sales- women in stores were the only women in this older group who found employment in other than domestic and personal service occupations. The largest proportion of women for whom no work was found were in the class of the “mentally defective.” Yet even here chances for gainful employment were djscovered for 3 out of 5 who applied to the Bureau. Character defects disqualify women for the varied household tasks which are offered to the handi- capped: one-third of the applicants who were immoral, alcoholic, eccentric or bad tempered found no positions. Inexperience in wage earning and the necessity of caring for dependents are not serious impediments to gainful employment, as less than ten per cent of the women with these handicaps were unable to find work. Over four-fifths of those having the various physical defects were given employment, and a somewhat higher proportion of the women who could work during only part of the day were assisted so that they found ways of earning money. This record of success in obtaining gainful employment for women who are old, who are mentally and physically defective, or who are inexperienced and heavily burdened with dependents, may not seem remarkable to those who have read of the miracles of rehabilitation accomplished by agencies engaged in the re-educa- 12 GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT FOR HANDICAPPED WOMEN tion of crippled soldiers. Yet we feel sure that case workers who are estimating carefully the ways and means of making ends meet in families hovering on the poverty line, will wish to profit further by the experiences of the Bureau whose records have been studied, and so this report of the results of our statistical study will be followed by a discussion of methods used in the vocational guidance and placement of handicapped women. PART 11 VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE AND PLACEMENT OF HANDI- CAPPED WOMEN Two classes of women must be dealt with in a bureau engaged in the vocational guidance and placement of handicapped women: (1) there are the women who are obviously sub-normal or defec- tive, and (2) assistance is needed by an even greater number of women who have no apparent personal incapacity but who find wage earning difficult because of inexperience or of unusual social burdens. Radical differences will be found between these two classes in the principles regulating guidance and placement and in the capacity for gainful employment which may be developed. In dealing with both classes, the amounts of earnings made neces- sary by the women’s circumstances and the urgency of immediate financial returns are important factors in determining the kinds of assistance which can be given. Policies in Dealing with Personally Defective Women Domestic service is practically the only opportunity for wage earning available for a personally defective woman who must earn her own living without the training which will make her expert in some special field where she can make use of her sound faculties. Whether service is undertaken in a private home or in an institu- tion or hotel, the domestic worker usually is assured board and lodging and a wage which will provide necessary clothing or even make possible savings for emergencies or for the care of dependents. Release from anxiety about the obtaining of bare necessities is desirable for women whose physical or nervous powers have been impaired by disease or approaching senility. They should not be exposed to the strain of the close competition and seasonal un- employment of modern industry. In the records studied, 75 positions were filled by women handi- capped by ill health. Of these, 40 were in private homes and 21 in hotels or institutions. Of the 165 occupations reported for women 14 GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT FOR HANDICAPPED WOMEN who were over 49 years old and had no dependents, 4 were clerical, 3 mercantile, and the remainder were various forms of domestic and personal service. Thus 68 women were doing general house- work, 29 were serving as seamstresses, 22 were attendants or com- panions, 11 found work in restaurants or lunch rooms, and smaller groups served as matrons of institutions, nurse maids, laundresses, cleaners and chambermaids. Lack of space in the crowded cliff dwellings of the city has made the grandmother and maiden aunt a less welcome member of the modern household. The widows and elderly single women who must gain means of self-support find their best opportunities in less crowded suburban homes, where there are varied forms of service needed by over-burdened housewives. Industrial Home Work Suitable for Partial Support Personally defective women whose relatives are able and willing to give them a home, or whose mental and moral defects are such that they are unsuitable companions for children, may be given some of the varied forms of industrial home work. The economic evils connected with such employment are so serious that many social workers wish it prohibited. However, home work seems justifiable when it enables a handicapped member of a household to lighten the burden of her support or when it helps to fill with productive labor the weary, idle hours of a woman whose personal defects make it impossible for her to find gainful employment out- side of the home. | Forms of home work usually available in Boston are the making of clothing and curtains, crocheting the finishings of knit underwear, and coloring of cards on which designs have been printed. Smaller numbers of home workers may find employ- ment in making fishing tackle and various novelties. Factory Work for Women Handicapped by Personal Defects Managers of Boston industries were visited by workers from the King’s Chapel Bureau for the Handicapped,! in order to discover whether they would be willing to employ persons suffering from 1This Bureau has been merged with the Bureau for the Handicapped of the Women’s Educa- tional and Industrial Union, whose records were used in this study. Schedules showing an extensive list of Boston employers who are willing to give work to the bapdiepred, and also studies of types of work suited to persons with various handicaps are on file in the office of the latter organization. GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT FOR HANDICAPPED WOMEN 15 various personal defects. A great variety of industrial work was offered. Several employers expressed decided preferences for such workers, pointing out that deafness is a positive advantage where the noise is disturbing or where there is a disposition to waste time gossiping with fellow-workers; and suggested that the handi- capped workers often are more regular in their habits. | Among the numerous industries reporting jobs suitable for handicapped workers were the following: bookbinding, paper box, cigar, con- fectionery, electrical fixtures, photography, knit goods and various sewing trades. Serious difficulties attend efforts to assist personally defective women to find opportunities for earning a living by industrial work, and it is yet harder for them to earn what is needed for the care of dependents. Usually there is a period of apprenticeship during which regular wages cannot be earned. Compensation for industrial work open to women is adjusted to what will be ac- cepted by single women or even by young persons living at home, and often there are periods of seasonal unemployment. As al- ready pointed out, about half of the handicapped women are over 45 years of age, and older women are not able to do the rapid work necessary if good wages are to be earned with the common, piece- rate payments. In a recent visit to a shoe factory, two women were found sitting together operating the same machines. The piece- rate earnings of the older woman were one-half the sum which went into the pay envelope of her younger companion. However, when ingenuity is exercised in fitting the women into occupations for which their defects do not lessen materially their working capacity, there will be many opportunities for placing younger handicapped women in industries where they will be as successful in earning a living as normal workers. Varied Activities of Handicapped Women with Exceptional Training [and Ability “ More highly trained women who are handicapped by personal defects are able to make adjustments which are impossible for women who are less intelligent and resourceful. Thus a study of the occupations of retired school teachers revealed a great variety of interesting work ranging from gardening and canning fruit to 16 GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT FOR HANDICAPPED WOMEN the filling of regular civil service positions, or to well-remunerated literary and artistic activities. The thousand records of the Bureau for Handicapped Women showed very few trained women, as the Women’s Educational and Industrial Union maintains a separate Bureau for their placement. Handicapped Women Without Apparent Defects Evidently the employment handicaps of women differ radically from those of men, for half of the handicaps which entitled women to the services of this special Bureau would not have been con- sidered reasons for such assistance for men. Yet social habits and conditions may make entry into the wage-earning world as difficult for a normally endowed woman as for a crippled soldier. Thus a woman accustomed to the less exacting demands of the family may find it hard to adjust herself to the requirements of competitive industrial life. Her economic and labor conditions are more difficult to meet than those of the average man with de- pendents. Not only is her wage commonly adjusted on the as- sumption that it must meet the needs of a lone woman, but her circumstances usually make necessary double responsibilities. She goes forth to earn the family income and returns to perform household tasks which normally are discharged by full-time domes- tic workers.. However, the applicants to the Bureau who were inexperienced in wage-earning or handicapped by dependents were not subnormal physically or mentally, so that they would be peculiarly good subjects for special guidance and training which might lessen the difficulties of placement and increase earnings. Training Needed by Women Handicapped by Inexperience and the Care of Dependents Middle-aged or elderly women who are entering the wage- earning world for the first time are in need of mental and emo- tional re-education. They rarely have learned to make effective use of their time and labor powers, and often have fallen into habits of desultory efforts and slovenly work. / They find it hard to adjust themselves to coldly contractual relationships without the emotional stimuli which make monotonous and trying tasks ac- ceptable to wives and mothers. New relationships are necessary, GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT FOR HANDICAPPED WOMEN 17 also, with associates. Personal dislikes must not interfere with the co-operation necessary in common work. At the same time, there can be no waste of business hours in the gossipy, friendly intercourse like that of the social life to which women are accus- tomed. The psychologist who devises a course of training which will promote these necessary mental and emotional readjustments will render an important service to women of mature years who must find employment which will support themselves and their dependents. Since a large majority of the married women with dependents and many of the widows who apply to the Bureau for Handi- capped Women are in the prime of life, it would be worth while to give them training which would assist them to earn the wages of skilled workers. Special classes are needed for this purpose like those of the “Opportunity School” of Denver, since the voca- tional schools attended by the young people of the community rarely are adapted to the needs of these older women. In time a system of fellowships or subsidies might be established in order to meet the urgent financial needs of women who could make good use of special training but who are obliged to have an income during the period of training. In the absence of such training and financial assistance, domes- tic and personal services were the only resources of all but a small number of women who had acquired a trade before or during mar- ried life. Out of 353 widows who applied to the Bureau, only 16 had managed to acquire skill in tasks not ordinarily performed by housewives, and it is questionable whether half of this number could have earned full support in the vocations in which they were engaged. Thus of the 8 saleswomen, 2 were accommodators, of the 4 clericals, 2 were part-time employees, and the 2 social work- ers were engaged in temporary Red Cross work. It is true, how- ever, that some of the widows claimed special skill in sewing, as the records show 7 dressmakers, 1 tailoress, 2 power-machine opera- tors, and a number of women who undertook to supplement their incomes by doing sewing, crocheting or embroidery at home. It is evident that, without unusual ability or special training, a widow must take a domestic service position if it is necessary for her to earn full support for herself, and that there are slight 18 GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT FOR HANDICAPPED WOMEN chances of earning enough by work in other occupations to care for dependents. Conditions were not radically different for the married, sepa- rated and divorced women although usually they were somewhat younger than the widows, and many of them reported previous experiences as wage earners. Only 15 of the 335 found work other than sewing or domestic and personal service. Their occupations were: saleswomen, 6; factory operatives, 4; teachers, 2; cashiers, 2; office attendants, 2; and the remainder scattered through various miscellaneous trades. Twenty-nine were doing sewing. Of these one was an unsuccessful milliner, one worked in a garment factory, one did embroidery, and the remaining 26 were more or less skilled seamstresses. The work undertaken by the married women served frequently as a means of supplementing the family income rather than as full support for the woman or her dependents. It is impossible to believe that, out of 700 women who found it necessary to become wage earners after married experiences, only 30 were capable of earning a comfortable income by activities different from those which they had undertaken in their homes. It is obvious that opportunities for training and assistance in locating suitable work would have enabled many of them to find employment better suited to their tastes than the domestic tasks to which most of them resorted. — An opportunity school for training women handicapped by inex- perience and the care of dependents should not only assist the women to broaden their fields of employment, but also should make possible the hope for advancement in the various domestic services which are so readily adapted to the requirements of women whose previous experiences have been domestic, and who need the greater economic security of employment which relieves them of anxiety about their maintenance. A study of positions listed in the weekly bulletins issued by the Clearing House for Information about Positions for Handicapped Women will give some idea of the varied activities in institutions and in private homes which may be undertaken by women who enter the wage-earning world after some years of home making. The King’s Chapel Committee on Employment for the Handi- capped started this central information service, which has been GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT FOR HANDICAPPED WOMEN 19 more fully developed after activities on behalf of handicapped women were centralized in the Bureau maintained by the Women’s Educational and Industrial Union. At present there are 25 co- operating agencies making use of the Clearing House. Whenever a worker in one of these agencies hears of a position suitable for a handicapped woman, she telephones a description of the work to the Clearing House. All such reports are classified and listed in the weekly bulletins which are mailed to each co-operating agency. Candidates for positions are supplied by all those entitled to the service, and a system of telephone reports and inquiries prevents the sending of applicants after positions have been filled. This Clearing House serves not only as a means of making available promptly all opportunities for the employment of handicapped women, but also is accumulating information which will supply a sound foundation for constructive vocational education adapted to the needs of the large group of women whose faculties are unim- paired, but who are suffering merely from what might be called accidents of social maladjustments. Nearly every bulletin offers home work in coloring picture postals and cards for Christmas, Easter and other special occasions. No doubt many women could be trained to do this work so that they could supplement the meagre allowances granted widows with dependent children. Art students capable of giving the simple instructions in the use of water-color paints might be enlisted to give home instruction to women who are unable to avail themselves of opportunities for training in evening or other part-time classes. Skill in crocheting and knitting would fit women for a variety of home work offered in the bulletins. Simple directions and some practice will enable even the mentally defective to qualify for such gainful employments. The more attractive and better paid domestic and personal serv- ice positions offered in the bulletins, for which comparatively brief courses of training would qualify intelligent women, were as follows: (1) Managing housekeepers of establishments where two or three servants are employed, or of homes where the wives and mothers are sick or absent. (2) Matrons or housekeepers in institutions. 20 GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT FOR HANDICAPPED WOMEN (3) Practical nurses, or attendants on persons with chronic ail- ments. (4) A great variety of hotel and restaurant activities. Our national program for vocational education now recognizes the necessity of training for home making, of preparation for wage-earning vocations, and of re-education of the cripples of war and of industry. This study of efforts to find gainful employment for handicapped women shows that there is another class whose claims are equal to or even greater than those of persons for whose needs provisions have been made. Surely women who, though handicapped by personal defects, by inexperience and by depend- ents, are struggling bravely to gain a foothold in the wage-earning world, are entitled to the same well-planned assistance given to these other groups whose needs for vocational education are being met so generously. GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT FOR HANDICAPPED WOMEN 21 TABLE 1. DISTRIBUTION BY AGES AND CONJUGAL CONDITION OF HANDICAPPED WOMEN Women of Specified Age by Conjugal Condition Total aoEs ——| Single | Married | Widowed Serarysd ibd Number | Per Cent Divorced Total 1000 100.0 302 240 353 95 10 20-24 . 89 8.9 64 13 3 9 —_ 25-29 . 90 9.0 31 32 15 11 1 30-34 . 118 11.8 36 37 28 17 — 35-39 . 148 14.8 30 58 39 18 3 40-44 . 104 10.4 18 31 46 7 2 45-49 | 119 11.9 26 26 51 15 X 50-54 . 143 14.3 48 16 71 7 1 55-59 . 79 7.9 16 12 43 7 1 60-64 . 74 7.4 24 13 33 3 1 65-69 . . 26 2.6 7 2 17 — — 70 and over 10 1.0 2 7 1 — TABLE 2. HANDICAPS OF 1000 WOMEN SEEKING EMPLOYMENT Number of the Specified Handicaps for Women of Given Conjugal Condition Total HANDICAPS a : : Dicoraed No Number | Per Cent Single Maried | Widowed Sorted Dats All handicaps! 1780 100.0 397 373 806 202 2 Personal Defects 674 37. 280 84 245 63 2 Physical 346 19.4 156 43 109 37 1 Crippled . 49 23 6 18 2 — Defective hearing 37 —_ 16 4 14 2 1 Defective vision 33 — 19 5 8 1 —_— Defective speech 6 —_ 5 1 —_— —_— —_ Sick or convalescent 221 rs 93 27 69 32 — Mental . 50 2.8 29 5 12 3 1 Character 65 3.6 25 15 18 7 re Immoral . 11 Re 5 4 1 1 — Bad temper . 2 Kn 2 me — — — Alcoholic 19 — 6 3 8 2 — Drug addict . 3 — — — 3 —_ —_ Eccentric 29 Re 12 8 6 3 — Not specified 1 — —_ —_ — 1 oe Old Age 213 12.0 70 21 106 16 Kd 1Since many women had more than one handicap, the totals are larger than those of table 1, aC NAIWOM dHIJdVOIANVH 0d INIAWXOTIWH TAANIVD TABLE 2—Continued Number of the Specified Handicaps for Women of Total Given Conjugal Condition HANDICAPS : : : Divorced No } 4 - = Cen Single Married | Widowed 5 and ’ Data umbper er Len eparate Inexperience in Wage Earning . . . . 577 32.4 34 93 379 71 = Deprived of husband’s irre by so 479 26.9 me 68 353 58 —_— Times. . ; a 11 _ —_— 11 — mo — Death, «=u 353 —_ —_— — 353 —_— — Desertion . . ae 56 — —_ me —_ 56 _— Army or Navy service. , . . 6 — —_— 6 —_ _ — Jallsentence = =... = 7 _ -_ 7 —_ —_— — His incompetence . . Satya 46 — —_ 44 — 2 — Failure of customary support oui 29 1.6 7 15 2 5 — Inodequatetraining -. =. = 69 3.9 27 10 24 8 — Social. Belotions,. . . . ~~. . 410 23.0 41 153 153 63 — Dependents: =... 398 22.4 35 150 150 63 — Childten®,-- = =~ = 248 13.9 14 81 104 49 — Husband. =~. 40 —_ —_ 40 —_ —_ — Paves =. =. 20 —_— 10 4 6 RE — Other relatives . . . ga 14 — 8 1 4 1 —_ Family cares not specified . a 76 — 3 24 36 13 — Maladjustment of foreigners . . . . 9 s 4 2 3 — —_— Social prejudice against colored . . . 32 — 2 1 ps — — Economic Conditions... . . -. . 119 6.7 42 43 29 5 .- Inadequate earnings . . . . . 54 — 16 24 11 3 == Seasonalwork =. «> 7 7 = 9 — 6 — 3 me pm Pavt-tmework ~~. =... 54 — 19 19 14 2 — Not otherwise specified . . . . . 2 — 1 — 1 — —_ 2It is probable that all of the 40 colored women found their opportunities for employment lessened by social prejudices, but only 3 stated specifically that their color was a serious handicap. NHWOM dHIdVOIANVH Y04d INTWXOTINE TAIANIVO 24 GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT FOR HANDICAPPED WOMEN TABLE 3. GAINFUL OCCUPATIONS OF THE HANDICAPPED WOMEN Women Engaged in Specified Occupations OCCUPATIONS Number Per Cent All occupations . . di 801 100.00 Domestic or Personal Service. Slay 663 82.77 In the Home . . Ls 472 58.93 General housework CE 174 21.72 Seamstress 0, 0 0 Ln aL 91 11.36 Housekeeper: .' . . . . |. 46 5.74 Yaundress oui gaia 39 4.87 Cleaner . . TLRS AT a 33 4:12 Care of children LEH 30 3.75 Attendant ongick ... . -. 0. 24 3.00 Cook ti do dasatl es 27 2.62 Companion... . .. . ..'. 8 1.00 Keeping boarders . . . . . 3 .38 Waitress o/c 0000 bani 1 12 Shampooist '. ', . . 1 12 Padyvismaid. 0. S00 toe 1 12 Qutside the Home SR 191 23.84 Walfreas 0 Lo 0 48 5.99 Dishwasher... 0 . 0. 37 4.62 Cleaner . . RR 36 4.49 Lunch-room work? Aa 16 2.00 Worker in institution . . . . 12 1.50 Matron of institution . . . . 12 1.50 Domestiework .. . '. . . 11 1.87 Chambermaid 4 .50 Cook . 3 .38 Seamstress 3 .38 Attendant wa 2 .25 Lodging-house Kecher ook ie 2 .25 Laundress haa, 1 12 Manicurist 1 12 Usher x 2 Elevator girl 1 12 Not specified . 1 12 Manufacturing and M echintcal Trdue tries. i gn aa 37 4.62 Factory Workers Sa 20 2.49 Forewoman or inspector . . . 3 .38 Polisher: vi ihe ad 1 12 Operators io. 00 ii oy, 1 12 GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT FOR HANDICAPPED WOMEN 25 TABLE 3. GAINFUL OCCUPATIONS OF THE HANDICAPPED WOMEN—Continued OCCUPATIONS ‘Women Engaged in Specified Occupations Number Per Cent - Manufacturing and Mechanical Indus- tries, Continued Fibre worker 1 212 Jewelry worker . 1 12 Leather worker . 1 12 Razor factory 1 12 Not specified 11 1.37 Sewing Trades . 13 1.62 Dressmaker . 5 .62 Seamstress 5 .62 Power stitcher 2 .25 Milliner . . : 1 .12 Printing and Publishing \ 3 .38 Bookbinder . 1 12 Linotype operator 1 .12 Proofreader . 1 12 Bakeshop 1 12 Professional Service 35 4.37 Teacher 9 1.12 Musician ; 8 1.00 Social worker! . : 5 .62 Doctor’s or dentist’s asalstant 5 .62 Nurse 3 .38 Artist 2 25 Statistician . 1 12 Librarian : 1 a2 Photographer’s assistant . 1 12 Clerical Work . 27 3.37 General office work : 18 2.25 Cashier . 7 .87 Stenographer 1 A2 Errand girl . 1 12 Trade and Lronsportation 22 2.75 Saleswomen ; 15 1.87 Canvasser A 4 .50 Telephone operator 2 .25 Storekeeper 1 2 Agriculture. 3 .38 Raising flowers 1 12 Raising vegetables 1 12 Farming . 1 12 Miscellaneous, not ollentin specie 14 1.75 1Four of these were untrained. SUMMARIES OF STUDENTS’ REPORTS CHOREA PATIENTS TREATED AT THE BOSTON CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL, 1917-1920 I. H. Dyer AND MARION RICHERT The medical records of 213 children under 12 years of age who were treated for chorea, were examined in order to discover dis- eased conditions which preceded or followed the attacks. About one-fourth (58) of the patients were found to have had abscessed teeth, or histories of sore throats, and four of this number had both abscessed teeth and sore throats. There were 28 cases of sore throats and 34 of abscessed teeth. Chorea had followed tonsil- lectomy in 30 cases, but abscessed teeth were found in 6 of these, and in a few instances the tonsillectomy had not been well done. A total of 63 patients developed endocarditis; in nearly all (61) of these the disease was present when the children were first examined or appeared immediately thereafter. Forty-five of the total num- ber of patients were seen only once. Ten of this number had endocarditis. It is probable that, if all of these children had been examined again a few weeks later, the disease would have been dis- covered in a larger proportion. However, of those who were under observation for 1 to 3 months, 21, or about the same proportion, had endocarditis. This may be explained by the fact that the 1 to 3 months group were carrying out treatments designed to prevent the development of the disease. RECORD OF THE CLINIC FOR SYPHILIS PATIENTS, BOSTON CITY HOSPITAL, OCTOBER 1920-MARCH, 1921 M. S. BucHTEL One thousand one hundred and sixty-four patients made 3112 visits to the clinic during six months covered by the investigation. About 20 per cent (205) of those receiving treatment were new cases, but of these only 3 per cent (46) were reportable. Six out of every 10 patients or visitors were men and 4 were women. Fluctua- tions in attendance coincide with those of unemployment: the smallest number of visits was made in December, a busy month, 30 SUMMARIES OF STUDENTS’ REPORTS and the largest in March, when there was much unemployment. A tabulation of the conjugal conditions of a small group (87) of patients indicates that less than half of the men and about four- fifths of the women were married. CHILDREN CARED FOR BY THE CHURCH HOME SOCIETY 1908-(JUNE) 1921 R. M. Lawton axp E. M. WIiLKEY The greater flexibility of the placing-out system of providing for dependent and neglected children is illustrated forcibly by the results of the investigation. The Church Home Society adopted this method of care in 1913. Six hundred and fifty-three of the records tabulated were those of children admitted after this date, and 41 dealt with those who had been received in the home main- tained by the Society before its change of policy. It would have been impossible to provide institutional care for the rapidly ex- panding group of children who received the protection of the Society during the period of the war. The number increased from 38 in 1912 to 105 in 1913, and culminated with 238 in 1917. Admissions of new children ranged from 16 in 1912, to 70 in 1913 and 97 in 1916. Greater variations in the ages of the children re- ceived and in the periods of supervision are evidence of the increas- ing tendency to give the individual care which is characteristic of the best work with children. Before 1913 no children under 3 years of age and only four over fifteen were received, but after this date the ages of those admitted ranged from a few weeks to 27 years. In other words, it was possible to assume guardianship whenever a need was discovered, and to continue it until the wel- fare of the ward was assured. However, the tabulations of the ages of admission and of the periods of supervision show a lowering in the average age of the children admitted and a lessening of the period of care. Thus the percentage of the children under 10 years of age was 56 before and 61 after the introduction of the placing out system. The most common period of supervision was one to two years. The persistent attention given to children who could not be restored promptly to normal social relations is illustrated by 14 children who were wards of the Society for 8 or 9 years and 5 whose period of care lasted for 10 or 11 years. SUMMARIES OF STUDENTS’ REPORTS 31 THE LACK OF HOSPITAL CARE FOR PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC DISEASES, 1920 Farra WicGein Of 292 patients with chronic diseases referred on discharge to the Social Service Department of the Massachusetts General Hospital, about half (147) were suffering from tumors, one-fifth (61) from diseases of the circulatory system, and one-tenth (32) from nervous and mental troubles. The remainder scattered through various groups of which gastro-intestinal and nutritional diseases (20), tuberculosis €19), and diseases of the bones, joints and muscles (20) were most important. The sexes were distri- buted about equally both in the main and in the different disease groups. Three-fourths of the patients were over forty years old and only 13 were under twenty. Hospital care was found for nearly two out of five (111) of the discharged patients, but there remained 181 who were returned to their homes. Of this number the doctors considered hospital care necessary for 58, but no satis- factory arrangements could be made for them, because 41 were without resources, but were unwilling to go to the state or city infirmaries, 8 refused to leave their homes although places were found for them, 7 could receive no care except in excessively expensive institutions, and no places were available for 2 who were able to pay for the treatment which they needed. RECREATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR BOSTON COLORED GIRLS, 1921 Rura WiniFrep HowARD Three hundred colored girls located through churches, clubs and settlement houses wrote answers to the following questions: (1) How many times during the past month did you go to each of these? Church, Club, Night School, Y. W. C. A., Shows, Dances. (2) What else did you do in spare time to have some fun? (3) What would you like to do in spare time to have some fun next summer? A total of 3279 attendances which afforded opportunities for social contacts were reported. Of these 1496 were supplied by the 32 SUMMARIES OF STUDENTS’ REPORTS popular churches for negroes. Only 11 girls confessed to no church attendance, 145 went 4 times during the month, and 18 went as often as 10 times. Over half of the girls (165) reported one or more visits to settlement or other social clubs. The total attend- ance on clubs for the month was 558; the weekly meetings reported by 66 girls were most common, but 26 had been at clubs 5 to 10 times during the month of the report. The more passive recrea- tions found in ‘shows’ supplied 21 per cent of the social contacts listed. One or two shows a month were most common, 35 had gone once a week, and only 39 with greater frequency. Fear of church discipline led to some unwillingness to tell the number of dances attended. It is probable that the 275 reported falls short of the facts, as dancing is the chief feature of many parties or entertainments held in private homes, and some of the clubs are dancing classes. Fifty-five girls admitted going to dances once a month, but 164 claimed that they did not dance. Twenty girls out of the 300 said they had gone to Y. W. C. A. buildings, and only 16 reported attendance on night schools. The answers to the first question show that in one month the girls averaged 10 oppor- tunities for meeting with their friends, that 93 enjoyed over 12, and that only 8 had less than 4 such social contacts, but the method of obtaining the schedules may have resulted in the selec- tion of girls whose use of opportunities for social life was above the average. A great variety of recreational activities was revealed by the answers to the second question. The most important with the numbers reporting them were as follows: reading, 89; athletics, 56; play (kind not specified), 53; music, 34; “hiking” or walking, 32; visiting, 25; parties, 21. The third question called forth an almost unanimous demand for some form of outdoor life during the summer. Nearly two- fifths (116) wanted to go camping, and no doubt those who ex- pressed a desire for picnics, trips to the beach, mountains or coun- try, for swimming, fishing, boating, hiking or athletics were prompted by the same longing to escape from the city and live a more natural life. RETURN TO: CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT 198 Main Stacks LOAN PERIOD 1 Home Use ALL BOOKS MAY BE RECALLED AFTER 7 DAYS. Renewals and Recharges may be made 4 days prior to the due date. Books may be renewed by calling 642-3405, DUE AS STAMPED BELOW. COSI Fn ee] FORM NO. DD UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY 50M 6-00 Berkeley, California 94720-6000