Women in Chemistry Reported by ALICE KUEBEL

At the recent Detroit meeting of the American Chemical Society, the women chemkts featured a symposium on "Opportunities for women in chemistry now and after the war," as an addition to their regular dinner meeting. The symposium consisted of short talks by prominent women chemists1 and was followed by an active and rather heated discussion on woman's position today in thefield of chemistry and her prospects for future success in the field. The following is a report of this discus- sion which we think may be of interest to our women readers and perhaps to some of the men as well.

w OMEN chemists are frequently faced with a natural feeling against the "invasion" of the

chemical field by their sex, especially their going into jobs formerly thought to belong exclusively to men. Although the feeling may be natural, i t nevertheless implies that many employers have not yet been "educated" to accepting women at the same face value as they accept men-in spite of the fact that the women may sometimes be better qualified in every respect for the jobs in mind. Instances were cited in which women chemists with doctorates and as much as twenty years' experience were receiving only half the salary received by men of the same training and experience and doing the same work. The point was raised that although there may be complete faith in the work of a woman employee, nevertheless, if she is sent outside the laboratory as a "trouble-shooter" there is no assurance that she will be accepted as authority by the men a t the scene of the trouble. Even in her own lab, she is regarded not as a chemist but as a woman chemist. The hope was expressed that eventually she will be accepted on her own merits. Many laboratories already accept them on an equal basis with men, and present employment conditions are doing much to promote this attitude. Most women in chemistry seem to hope that in future generations- if not in this o n e t h e y will be, accepted for positions in industry and in education on a par with men and

'Jane Jordan, Ethyl Corporation; May Whitsitt Hopkins, A.C.S. Women's Service Committee; Mildred Grafflin, Hercules Powder Company; Viola Jalinek. Merck and Company, Inc.; Helen R. Schlichting. Chrysler Corporation; Eunice Flock, Mayo Institute of Medical Research; Catherine F. Higgins. National Bureau of Standards; Mildred Kaucher, Children's Fund of Michigan; Margaret Brewer, Phillips Petroleum Com- pany; Virginra Bartow, University of Illinois; and Catherine Lloyd. Armour and Company.

that the traditional feeling that "women have no place in industry" will be completely erased.

There are, of course, a number of major reasons why men are preferred to women in the chemical field, and these were discussed in considerable detail. Although some of these reasons may appear to be humorous and without foundation, they still remain as definite problems. Probably the greatest opposition against women is a result of the ever-present marriage proh- lem. Men usually approach a job with the idea of making i t their life work and therefore have a serious interest in doing their best. A woman may approach a job with equal seriousness but is frequently side- tracked into mamageperhaps terminating her tech- nical career, perhaps not. This, of course, is deter- mined by her own wish as well as by the attitude of her employer. Some industries have refused to employ married women whereas others are more liberal and consider a woman more valuable if she has a well- balanced life socially. It should also be remembered that if an industrial laboratory is not willing to face the loss of its women employees through marriage, i t should provide for their steady advancement. A woman who is receiving encouragement in her work will be more likely to stay with i t than the woman who feels that she is in a stagnant position with no prospect of future progress.

It must be admitted, however, that in some instances, such as the frequent shift of a husband's location, an industry must think twice before hiring or retaining the wife. Women are sometimes accused of changing jobs more often than men. This may be true or i t may be merely a new way of expressing the old prejudice. Pew men-even those who have received years of valuable training in a laboratory-hesitate to leave

if they see greener pastures elsewhere. When women do likewise, they are often accused of changing their minds ("just like a woman!").

Besides the marriage problem, there are numerous others which affect the employment of women. A few of the accusations cited were: (1) they aren't serious enough about their work; (2) they disregard safety regulations; (3) they never tighten the clamps on their apparatus; (4) men covet their privilege to swear, and on hot summer days they like to work in their undershirts-privileges supposedly impossible when a woman enters their lab; (5) the absence of rest room facilities for women; (6) few women can be regarded as prospects for executive positions; etc.

The sixth reason involves the question of the ability of a woman executive to command the respect and loyalty of men who may be under her direction. A woman who has had four or five years of college chem- istry can easily compete with a man in the initial stages, but her future prospect may be nothing more than that of perfecting herself in her original job. She must be reconciled to seeing the man receive the pro- motions in most cases.

Assume that the attitude of women chemists is one of defeatism? Quite the contrary. Many of them rightfully consider themselves equal to men in intelli- gence and ability. A few men have been known to have the same opinion notwithstanding a remark once said to have been made by a prominent officer of the Society. At one of the conventions when someone asked him how many women chemists were there, he retorted: "Women chemists! You might as well ask how many red-beads there are."

That there is a changing attitude on the part of some employers is shown by a recent statement of one of them: "Our girls are doing a remarkable job and we are proud of them."

The symposium included a discussion of the specific types of chemical work to which women are best suited and in which they are employed in the greatest numbers today. I t would be practically impossible to give a complete list of these but a recent article on this topic is suggested for those interested in more detai1s.l

There are, very roughly, four levels of training: the first, that of the high-school graduates who can be -

* WOODFORD, "Opportunities for women in chemistry," J. Cnesa. EDWC., 19, 536 (1942).

trained for routine work but have very little, if any, background in chemistry. The second group consists of girls with two or more years of college training includ- ing a t least basic courses in chemistry. This group receives more attention than the first because it has a greater initial value. Frequently the desire of the women themselves to get ahead prompts them to continue studying in night schools (if such at? avail- able) until they have earned their bachelor's degrees. The third group consists of women with four or five years of collegiate training. They are frequently employed as research assistants. Their progress, again, is dependent upon individual qualifications. The fourth group, women who have doctorates, needs no comment because their high standard of training is presumably attested by their graduate degrees; and as a result, they are called upon to fill positions in teaching, research, etc.

Salaries for women in chemistry are admittedly fickle. One speaker, a Ph.D., said that after many years of hard work, she finally reached the salary level now expected by recent B.Sc. graduates. Whether or not women are paid on the same basis as men depends upon the individual company and upon the personal qualifications of the employees.

Various opinions were expressed on the probable position of women in the post-war chemical field. Some felt that if women are to be given equal con- sideration with men, they should be allowed to keep their jobs, Others felt that men are still the chief "bread-winners" and should receive first consider+tiun. .is the chemical horizon widcns. the future of the woman in chemistry becomes more promising. Her success may depend upon her attitude in the war period and the quality of her work now will undoubtedly be a factor in determining whether or not she can hold her own in the post-war world.

In all cases, the success of a woman in chemistry depends upon her qualiications and her attitude. If a woman is absolutely sincere, there is no reason why she cannot succeed. If her employer shows symptoms of prejudice, she may help to overcome this attitude by doing just a little more than is expected of her. She can go just as far as she wants to, as long as she puts everything she has into the job. And as one of the top men in a "big ten" plant said: "There is always a place in industry for a smart woman."