WOMEN IN BUSINESS

Shannon News, 4 September 1928, Page 1

WOMEN IN BUSINESS

QUESTION OP EFFICIENCY. COMPETITION WITH MEN. American efficiency" experts have recently shown considerable interest in the mental attributes of the average woman in business. At what age,,it is asked, does she reach her maximum efficiency? The army of;women workers offering keen competition to men, in both office and ..factory is increasing steadily. This state of affairs, it is stated, has given rise to an interesting question and employers are endeavouring to find a solution to the problem whether the relative value of both men and women is uniform during their years of toil in whatever sphere they may be engaged. Women in business are at the present time being subjected to the penetrating glare of the searchlight of commercial inquiry. Many .have < reached positions of importance in the commercial world and are occupying posts involving no small amount of responsibility and calling for/business acumen and level-headedoess. Their rise to positions formerly regarded as open solely to men has prompted investigations into the capacities of the average woman compared with those possessed by members of the opposite sex, who are now being openly challenged for the fruits which commercial life has to offer. The Daily Eoutine. ''Until a woman reaches the age of 30 she cannot be said in the majority of cases to have reached her maximum efficiency' as far as business work is concerned," remarked the-manager of one of Auckland's largest department stores, when asked for an opinion on the question. "We usually find that although some girls will settle down fairly well to their work and display a certain interest in it, there are many, who will not concentrate fully on the daily routine. This, ; of course, applies almost equally 'to young men, among whom there are to be? found those of the 'flapper' class as surely as among the women. "In spite of the fact that girls are entering business in increasing* num*' bers, we find they really do not intend to make it their life's work. There is the ever-present search for 'the man* and business life as a rule is regarded as something offenng a living in the meantime only. '' The power of greater concentration which is believed to be possessed by young men is generally, from our experience, much over-stated. The averago young woman of 25 possesses as much power of application as the average young man of the same age. As is the case with every large establishment, there is always some cause to speak to employees for failure to apply themselves to their Work, but we find that the male employees, are as .great offenders in this respect as are the young women. The Incentive of Marriage. "However, whereas a youth fairly soon comes to regard his work in a serious light and to recognise that • must toil hard if he is to secure that advancement which is so essential, if lie is to marry and provide a home, young women will not, as a rule, take anything like such a serious view of their work. For that reason wc have come to realise that until a young woman reaches the age of about 30 she will not settle down. It is then that she may be said to reach her maximum efficiency, and few of the several hundred women in our own establishment who are under the age of 30 are at present occupying positions involving any degree of responsibility.''. The opinion was expressed by another business man that the average woman in business did not attain a standard of efficiency at all with that of "the average man until shehad passed the age of 40. "First of all, the modern young woman, who enters an office, regards her business as a., lark, and then later as a nuisance," he said. "She possesses little or no sense of responsibility and has no in-' tt ntion of saving anything for a rainy day or making provisions for her future if she does not marry. Adventure of Business. . "She seems to think that business j life is rather an adventure. The mar- [ riage question seems to occiipy the greater part of her attention, and perhaps for that reason she refuses to take commercial life seriously for very long. The trouble is we-never know what will happen next with our young women employees. Some women have certainly been with us for many, years. But it is not until they are about 35 or 4.0 that they really roach their maximum efficiency.''" "On entering a business career a, girl, in nearly every case, suffers a* severe handicap against rendering herself capable of holding down a permanent position, first because of the fact that her parents expect her to marry and, secondly, because her employer does likewise," said a woman in professional life in Auckland. "I-have found that the well-educated modern girl is alert and observant, but I do not think that until she reaches the age of 30 or 35 she attains her maximum efficiency. However, I think it will be admitted, that even a man does not attaia the complete develop-

mcnt of his capacities until about that age." Another woman engaged in business said she thought a girl was always handicapped in commercial life because she seldom gave up hope of marrying until she was well over 30. She did. not think any woman was likely to reach her maximum efficiency from her : employer's point of view until she did either marry or turn to a business career as the sole interest in her life.