THE DIVINE RIGHT OF THE MALE.

White Ribbon, Volume 32, Issue 369, 18 March 1926, Page 1

THE DIVINE RIGHT OF THE MALE.

Oi«i prejudices die hard, and the a veL iff male human very reluctantly sur renders his "divine i*i|Lflit.** Held blindly lor centuries, deeply in pained in his racial consciousness, is the belief that certain positions and privileges lire li is. not because he is the best qualified to perform the duties ap pertaining thereto, but solely because he is a “man.’' A glaring instance of this occurred at England s old historic University. Keudantly it opened its educational privi *Kes and degrees to women student*, "ut its highest educational awards must *hll go to the male. And so it had to übmit to the disgrace of inscribing in •is records, "Above the Senior Wrangler, Miss hYiwcett.’’ The position she hid rightly won by her brilliance of ntellect he held by "divine" right as a stale. In a smaller degree the same thing is being enacted in our own Da minion. Slowly, and fighting desper ately every step of the way, women have won their right to citizenship. No longer are they classed with criminals aid lunatics, as unable to exercise the Privilege of the Franchise. By sheer Power of intellect nnd force of charae tor, combined with unlimited patienee and perseverance, she has won her wav to the front rank in the educational w orld. But she has trusted too much t° nion’g chivalry, and has allowed them Auonopolise almost every seat on our of Education. And these chivalrous gentlemen, on at least one Eduction Board, are trying to cheat wo■hon teachers of the higher positions Tn certain schools, Education Department have

allowed women the right to be Heads of, this Board advertises these positions as Head Masters wanted. In this way women are debarred from the right of applying. The Women Teachers’ Association very rightly has questioned this proceeding, and the Educational Institute iia.s ealled the Board’s attention to the faet that it is acting ultra vires. The Board is seeking legal advice. This Board is indicting a double in jus tice —Ist, upon its women teachers, who render it such loyal, capable and devoted service; and 2nd, to the children of our schools, who are entitled to the most capable and efficient Head Teacher irrespective of sex. No man has the right to be head of a school just because he is a man, if there is a wo man applicant with better credentials. There should t>e no “divine right of thmale” to any position in our schools or educational bodies. The Education De partment has practically admitted this ,by at long lest appointing a woman ns Inspector of Schools. Still another Education Board is agitating for a change which will indict still further injustice upon the children in the schools, and still further reduce their chance of securing the best teacher available. It is asked that married

women shall not be eligible for appoint ment as teachers in our public schools if their husband’s income is sufficient to maintain them. Now. what has a husband's income to do with a woman s ability as a teacher? Why should good teachers Th> forced out of the profession just when their long experience is fll ting them for wider spheres of usefulness? And mark! this Board does object to them because they are mar-

ried, but because ul the size of tbeT husbands income. Mull) a mail whose income is iarge spends the greater part of it upon his own pleasures, grudg nigly paying necessary household expenses, and grumbling every time hi* wife asks for a penny. Before a bus band's income becomes a factor to hinder his wife from earning, the law must insist that a certain proportion of that income is secured to ins wife. What a tragedy it is to see a tine, cultured woman who, before marring’, earned a good income, forced to become the unpaid servant of the home, olteii with not a penny she can call her own. Stnange that no effort is made to hinder a married woman from earning so long as she is content to slave at the wash tub, the scrubbing brush, or the sewing machine. Whenever positions in our schools are advertised, they shoul t go to the most capable applicant, either male or female, and irrespective of whether they are married or single. No other course is fair to the children in our schools. So much for Education Boards and their vagaries. But male jurors are also trying to close avenues of service to women. A woman driving a service car was unfortunate enough to meet with an accident. nnd the jury added a rider to The verdict that licenses to drive service cars should not be granted to women. But lately many male drivers have Met with accidents, some of them serious ones. Tn some cases carelessness. in some cases intemperance, has been proved against the driver. licenses have been cancelled for longer or shorter periods, but no jury has asked that licenses to drive .serviee cars bo

not granted to men. Should we not aim to eliminate the reckless, the intemperate driver of either sex, and not make a sweeping charge against a whole sex. Very many women drive cars, but accidents to them are comparatively rare. In matters of this kind the ability and carefulness of the driver are of far more importance than their sex.