Chapter 18

The number of Women Inspectors at present employed is not nearly large enough to cope with the work that needs to be done. It must be remembered that the staff enumerated above is responsible for the inspection of factories and workshops in Scotland and Ireland as well as in England, and that the number of women engaged in industrial work has increased during the last five years from about one and a half millions to two millions. The necessity of increasing the number of Women Inspectors has frequently been urged upon the Government in the House of Commons and in the press, and it seems probable that the Government must soon yield to this pressure.

The following extract from the _Women's Trade Union League Quarterly Review_, July 1913, may be of interest in this connection:--

"That the Women Inspectors' staff in particular is far below the numerical strength which would enable it to cope adequately--we do not say completely--with the task presented to it, has long been patent to every one who knows anything of the industrial world and the part taken in it by the woman worker. But in 1912 promotions and resignations left gaps in the already meagre ranks which for some time were not filled even by recruits, with the result that the number of inspections was necessarily reduced in proportion. To those who realise, as we do, the importance of the women inspectors' visits, both in detecting infringements of the law and in making clear its provisions and their value to the employer and worker alike, this decrease, even for a time, of the opportunities which Miss Anderson's staff enjoy of exercising their beneficent and educative influence seems altogether deplorable. The recent promise of the Home Secretary to increase that staff by two is very welcome, but we cannot pretend to think that such an increase will meet the need which these pages reveal."

There is one Woman Inspector of Prisons, a qualified medical woman, who acts also as Assistant Inspector of State and Certified Inebriate Reformatories. Her salary is £300-15-£400, whilst the lowest salary received by Men Inspectors is £600-20-£700.

There is one Woman Assistant Inspector of Reformatories and Industrial Schools in Great Britain. Her salary is £200-10-£300, whilst that of Men Assistant Inspectors is £250-15-£400.

_The Board of Trade_

The first woman to be admitted to the higher branches of the Board of Trade was appointed as a Labour Correspondent in 1893. In 1903 she became the Senior Investigator for Women's Industries, the salary of the post being fixed at £450. A Senior Investigator's Assistant was also appointed at a salary of £120-10-£200, but the salary has now been increased to £200-£300. These posts are open only to University women with high honours.

The Senior Investigator, with the help of her Assistant, undertakes special enquiries into the conditions in women's industries. Perhaps her most important function is to originate investigations concerning women, which will yield information likely to be useful to the Department in the future, when some particular question comes up for discussion or decision. For instance, when the question of bringing laundries within the scope of the Trade Boards Act was under discussion, the investigations previously made by the Women Investigators into wages and conditions proved invaluable.

There are also three Women Investigators appointed in connection with the Trade Boards. Their duty is to assist in the collection of information relating to the scheduled trades, in all of which a large number of women is employed. They may be called upon to help in the preliminary work involved in setting up new Trade Boards. They explain as far as necessary the provisions of the Act to the working women concerned get nominations of workers to sit on those Boards and otherwise assist the Boards in carrying out their functions. They also conduct inspections to see that the law is carried out.

All these appointments are made by the President of the Board of Trade on the recommendation of the Civil Service Commissioners.

_Labour Exchanges_

The establishment of Labour Exchanges under the Board of Trade some years ago gave occasion for the appointment of a considerable number of women to responsible posts. On the organising staff at the Central Office there is a Principal Woman Officer at £400-15-£450, who is responsible for the organisation of the women's work in all the Labour Exchanges. She has an Assistant at £150-£7, 10s.--£200. A woman also acts as Secretary to the large London Juvenile Advisory Committee. She has the acting rank of an Assistant Divisional Officer, although her salary (£300-15-£400) is less than that received by men Assistant Divisional Officers.

There are nine Senior Organising Officers with salaries of £250-10-£350, six of whom are women. The three men holding these appointments deal with Juvenile work only, whereas some of the women are in charge of both Women's and Juvenile work. Of the five Junior Organising Officers at £200--£7, 10s.--£250, three are women. The nine Assistant Organising Officers at £150--£7, 10s.--£200 are all women. All these officers are engaged in organising the work of the Juvenile and Women's Departments all over the country, and inspecting local offices. There are also twenty secretaries to Juvenile Advisory Committees, who may be either men or women. The salary for these posts is £150-5--£200.

In the Divisional Offices there are some staff posts open to women at a salary of £200 to £300. Their work is purely clerical, and is concerned with Unemployment Insurance.

The original appointments in this branch of the Board of Trade were made by a Selection Committee on which the Civil Service Commissioners were represented. Applications were invited by advertisement, and a large number of candidates was interviewed. The more recent appointments have been filled by candidates who have first appeared before a Board, and have then passed a qualifying examination, conducted by the Civil Service Commission.

_Board of Education_

The Board of Education (or the Education Department, as it was then called) was established in consequence of the passing of the Elementary Education Act of 1870. Its jurisdiction was and still is limited to England and Wales.

Notwithstanding that it was responsible to Parliament for regulating the conduct of public elementary education all over the country, and that in those schools there were hundreds of women teachers and thousands of little girl pupils, it seems not to have occurred to the Department to call in the aid of women either as inspectors or administrators until the appointment in 1884 of a Directress of Needlework. A Directress of Cookery was added in 1891, and laundry work was brought under her supervision in 1893. It was only when the passing of the Education Act of 1893 had brought other forms of education--secondary, technical, and scientific--more completely under the supervision of the Department that the need for Women Inspectors began to be felt. In justice to the Department it must be said that having once realised the need, they did not meet it grudgingly. The first Women Inspectors were appointed in 1904, and by the spring of 1905 there were no less than twelve, one of whom was appointed as Chief. Since then the number has been steadily increasing, and there are now 45--a much more satisfactory rate of progress than that of the Women Factory Inspectors.

_Educational Inspectors._--There are now 1 Chief Woman Inspector, at a salary of £650; 45 Inspectors, 8 at £400-10-£500, and 35 at £200-15-£400.

The method of appointment of Women Inspectors' is similar to that of men--_i.e._, by nomination of the President of the Board of Education. The Chief Woman Inspector first interviews candidates, weighs their qualifications, and reports upon them to the Secretary. There is no examination on appointment. Besides academic qualifications, which are the same as those of men, many of the Inspectors have special qualifications, as well as having had practical experience in teaching.

A special class of work is allotted to each Inspector: about 17 of them are occupied in inspecting Girls' and Infants' Public Elementary Schools: 15 are responsible for Domestic Subject Centres in Elementary Schools: 4 for Girls' and Mixed Secondary Schools: 3 for Training Colleges (women's and mixed): and 3 again for Domestic and Trade Courses and Girls' Clubs.

In the case of secondary schools, the Women Inspectors pay special attention to women's subjects, but they also take part in full inspections. They are not in charge of districts, and therefore do not carry on the miscellaneous correspondence with the Local Education Authorities which falls to the lot of a District Inspector. In relation to domestic subjects, however, the Women Inspectors are practically in charge of districts, and deal directly with Local Education Authorities. They inspect the work done by girls, and look into the organisation of the schools with regard to health, suitability of curricula, etc.

In the case of elementary schools, the Women Inspectors are attached to the various districts and are directed by the District Inspectors (men) as occasion requires, to deal with infants' and mixed schools, and to carry out routine inspections of public elementary schools.

_Medical Inspectors._--There are one Senior Medical Officer at £600-£800; one Junior Medical Officer at £400-20-£500; and also three Inspectors of Physical Exercises at £200-15-£400.

The Women Medical Inspectors take part in the work of the medical branch in the same way as men; Physical Exercises come under their jurisdiction.

The Board of Education also employs three women on the permanent staff of the Department of Special Enquiries and Reports. The salaries are £100-£7, 10s-£180, and the posts are pensionable. The duties consist partly of library work and partly of giving assistance in the general intelligence work of the office.

The Right Hon. A.H. Dyke Acland said in his evidence before the Royal Commission on the Civil Service that he did not see why at the Board of Education the same sort of women who become good inspectors and headmistresses should not take part in the administrative work of the office.

_Scotch Education Department_

The first Woman Inspector was appointed by the Scotch Education Department in 1902, and two others were appointed in 1910. Their scale of salary is £200-15-£400. They are strictly specialist inspectors for domestic economy subjects, cookery, laundry, etc., for which they have qualifications including experience in teaching and inspecting such subjects.

Specially qualified women are occasionally employed by the Department to inspect girls' schools, and are paid a fee according to the time occupied.

_National Education Board, Ireland_

Two Women Inspectors are employed by the Irish National Education Board. Their salary is £150-10-£300, the same as that of Men Junior Inspectors; Men Senior Inspectors receive £300-20-£700.

There are two Women Organisers, whose duty it is to organise weak schools.

There are also 14 Organisers of Domestic Economy; their work is similar to that of Inspectors; they travel about and have authority in the schools; they do not inspect general subjects, but confine themselves to cookery, laundry and domestic science.

There are also six Women Organisers of Kindergarten.

_The Board of Agriculture and Fisheries._

This Department has recently employed a few women upon various kinds of scientific work. Three women are appointed as Assistant Naturalists in the Fishery Branch, at a salary of £150 per annum, and two as Junior Assistant Naturalists at £2 per week. They are appointed on the nomination of the President, without examination, but they must possess the necessary scientific qualifications and have taken a recognised course of study. These posts are non-pensionable. The Fishery Branch deals with questions relating to the natural history and diseases of fish, fish-hatcheries and laboratories, the protection of undersized fish, the effect of methods of capture, international investigations, and grants in aid of fishery research. The women are engaged upon the same work as men, except that they do not write technical reports and are not liable to be called upon for sea duty.

In the Herbarium and Library of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew there are two Women Assistants at £150-10-£300 (the Men Assistants' scale is £150-15-£300). Scientific qualifications are required for these posts, and there is an examination by the Civil Service Commission. The Library is maintained for official consultative work, to supply the basis of an accurate nomenclature throughout the establishment and as an aid to research. The Herbarium aims at representing the entire vegetation of the earth with especial regard to that of British possessions. A scheme for preparing a complete series of floras of India and the Colonies was sanctioned by the Government in 1856, and has been steadily prosecuted ever since. The principle work of the staff is the correct identification of the specimens which reach Kew from every part of the world, and their incorporation in the Herbarium. It is visited for the purposes of study and research by botanists from every country.

The scientific work in the various branches of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries would seem to afford some scope for women of scientific attainment. Sir T. Elliott, formerly Permanent Secretary to the Board, in his evidence before the Royal Commission on the Civil Service, said he considered that women could do good work in many directions, and that their help might be especially valuable in entomology.

_The Public Trustee's Office._

The Public Trustee's office was established in 1908, under the Act of 1906. Two Women Inspectors--or more correctly speaking, Visitors--are now employed, one of whom receives a salary of £200 and the other £180.

These Visitors are attached to the special Department set up to take charge of children (1) left by will to the guardianship of the Public Trustee, or (2) who have been awarded damages in the High Court either for injury or for the loss of parents or guardians.

As regards the first-named, the Public Trustee has express powers under his rules to act either as sole guardian or co-trustee. In these cases the Women Visitors assist the Public Trustee in discharging his trust. They visit the children, go thoroughly into the circumstances of each case, consulting with relatives and family solicitors. Schools are chosen, holidays arranged, careers decided upon, apprenticeship or training provided for; medical attendance is secured and even clothing attended to.

In all cases concerning children in which an action for damages has been brought under the Common Law or under Lord Campbell's Act, the money awarded as compensation is paid over to the Public Trustee, unless the judge otherwise directs. A large part of the Women Visitors' work consists of supervising these compensation cases. It is important to see that the money is spent upon the children, and in the manner most likely to promote their future welfare--_e.g._, in providing education or special training. In the case of injured children, proper medical attention is secured and any instruments or artificial limbs which may be necessary.

It is becoming increasingly the practice, when funds are raised locally to help special cases, to place the money collected in the hands of the Public Trustee, instead of appointing local trustees. Where the beneficiaries of such funds are women or children--very often they are widows--it becomes the duty of the Women Visitors to find out on the spot how the money can best be applied, and to advise the Public Trustee accordingly.

In all cases the supervision is continued as long as it is required, but where relatives are found to be competent and willing to take charge of children the responsibility is left to them.

Such work, concerned as it is with the young and the helpless, seems peculiarly suited to women. The Public Trustee in his evidence before the Royal Commission on the Civil Service, stated that the women already appointed had proved themselves "most efficient."

_The National Health Insurance Commissions._

The Inspectors appointed by the National Health Insurance Commissions are so recent an institution that it is not yet possible to say whether the work to be performed by this Department will afford scope for the employment of a large number of educated women.

It is satisfactory to note, however, that the salaries of men and women more nearly approximate to equality than in any previous appointments. The salaries of the Women Commissioners in all four countries are the same as those of the men, viz., £1,000 per annum.

The English Commission has 10, the Scotch 1, and the Irish 1 Woman Inspector at £300-10-£400. Men Inspectors begin at the same salary but rise to £500.

The English Commission has 25, the Welsh 3, the Scotch 5, and the Irish 4 Assistant Women Inspectors at £100-10-£300. Men Assistant Inspectors begin at the same salary, but after two years they rise by £15 to £350.

The English Commission has 19, the Welsh 1, the Scotch 5, and the Irish 5 Women Health Insurance Officers, on a scale of salary £80-5-£110, after two years rising by £7, 10s. to £150. This scale is precisely the same as that of Men Health Insurance Officers.

The duties of Men and Women Inspectors and Officers under the National Health Insurance Commission are identical in character and scope.

The primary function of these officers is to impose upon the whole adult population the new conditions created by the Act--_i.e._, they have to ensure the proper payment of contributions in respect of all persons liable to be insured.

Trades are assigned to Men or Women Inspectors according as a trade employs men or women in greater numbers.

The Insurance Commissioners work through the Inspectors in all matters that are more susceptible to local treatment than to treatment by correspondence. The Inspectors obtain information and make local enquiries as to the facts in cases submitted to the Commissioners for determination under various sections of the Act.

An interesting account of the very varied duties which fall to the lot of these Officers will be found in the first "Report on the Administration of the National Insurance Act," Part I., which has recently been published. The following extract from that Report will give some idea of the work done by the Women Inspectors, and the estimate which has been formed of it.

"Inasmuch as the Insurance Commission is the first Government Department in which a woman staff has been appointed from the outset, special mention may be made of one portion of the work carried out by the women inspectors during the past year. The enquiry held in the autumn by Mr Pope on the objections raised to the inclusion of married women outworkers within the provisions of Part I. of the Act necessitated much careful investigation among employers and outworkers in a large number of trades all over the country, such as tailoring, glove-making, lace manufacture, carding of hooks and eyes, pins and needles, buttons and fish-hooks at Birmingham, net-making at Bridport, chain-making at Cradley Heath, straw hat-making at Luton, chair-making, box-making, and boot, shoe, and hosiery manufacture. This investigation was undertaken by the women staff. The enquiry entailed hundreds of visits, both in the poorest parts of industrial towns and in remote country districts, and in interviews with employers and workers great tact and patience were required. Of the evidence given by the women inspectors, Mr Pope reports that they 'one and all gave evidence with extreme moderation, impartiality and discretion. The conspicuous fairness and the success with which they had collected information were frequently a matter of commendation from employers, who informed me that the enquiry had afforded them information about their own trades which years of work in it had not made known to them.'"

_The General Post Office_

This paper would not be complete without some reference to the large number--now nearly 3,000--of women clerks employed by the General Post Office, all of whom enter the service by open competition, either as girl clerks between sixteen and eighteen years of age or as women clerks between eighteen and twenty. Their duties are necessarily of a clerical nature, and in their earlier years at least they can hardly, perhaps, be included in the "higher grades." Yet the supervisory posts which become necessary wherever large numbers of workers are employed call for considerable administrative ability and are proportionately better remunerated. All women clerks are eligible for these posts, and indeed they are never filled in any other way.

The highest post open to a woman clerk in the General Post Office is that of Superintendent at the _Savings Bank,_ the present holder of which is on a scale of £350-20-£600. There are 4 Deputy Superintendents at £270-15-£330; 13 Assistant Superintendents at £210-10-£260; and 53 Principal Clerks at £150-10-£200. The Savings Bank has the largest group of women clerks--numbering 1,210--of any department, and of these 150 are in the first class.

The next largest group of Women Clerks is in the _Money Order Department;_ in this office the women outnumber the men in the proportion of 5 to 1. They number 592, of whom 67 are in the first class. There is one Superintendent at £350-20-£500; 1 Deputy Superintendent at £270-15-£330; 5 Assistant Superintendents at £210-10-£260; and 24 Principal Clerks at £150-10-£200.

The _Accountant General's Department_ has 1 Superintendent at £280-15-£400; 3 Assistant Superintendents at £210-10-£260; and 3 Principal Clerks at £150-10-£200. The staff of clerks numbers 416, of whom 57 are in the first class.

The _London Telephone Service_ has 1 Assistant Superintendent at £210-10-£260 and 5 Principal Clerks at £150-10-£200, with a staff of 278 clerks, of whom 21 are in the first class.

The _Accountants Offices_ are the only ones in Edinburgh and Dublin which employ women as Clerks. In Dublin there is 1 Superintendent at £210-10-£250 and 2 Assistant Superintendents at £150-10-£170. Of the staff of 61 clerks, 7 are first class. In Edinburgh there is 1 Superintendent at £200-10-£250, and 1 Assistant Superintendent at £150-10-£190. Of the staff of 69, 8 are in the first class.

In consequence of the employment of so large a number of women, the General Post Office found it necessary many years ago to employ a Woman Medical Officer. The present holder of this office receives a salary of £350-20-£500. She has the help of two Assistants, whose salary is £180-15-£300.

A few posts which may properly be deemed "higher" are also open to Women Counter Clerks and Telegraphists. In the London Postal District there are 3 Supervisors at £180-10-£250, 50 Assistant Supervisors (first class) at £140-6-£170 and 61 Assistant Supervisors (second class) at £115-5-£130.

In the _Central Telegraph Office_ the Chief Supervisor of Women Telegraphists receives a salary of £180-10-£300 (not a large salary for supervising a staff numbering nearly 1,000), the 13 Supervisors receive £180-10-£250, and the 35 Assistant Supervisors £140-6-£170.

The _Postal District and Telegraph Offices_ in Dublin and Edinburgh have each one Woman Supervisor of Counter and Telegraph Clerks at £140-6-£875. In Dublin there are 12 and in Edinburgh 6 Assistants at £110-5-£135. There are also a number of Supervisors in the provinces whose rates of pay vary from £149-6-£175 to £115-5-£135, according to the size of the district.