A. A. Brooke

General characteristics—Classification—Literature: Fiction—Journalism—Teaching: Recent changes—Day v. Resident Posts—High Schools—Advantages and Disadvantages—Hours and Salaries—Report of Committee of Enquiry—Fees—Elementary Schools—Table of Salaries—London School Board—Voluntary v. Secondary Schools—Domestic Economy—Demand for teachers—New openings—Higher teaching posts—Religion and Philanthropy: Increased employment of women—Women preachers—Law: Present position of affairs—Conveyancing—Medicine: Progress made—Prospects—Recent appointments—India—Pharmacy—Dentistry—Midwifery—Nursing: Inadequate arrangements—Remuneration—Art: Music, Painting, Sculpture—Obstacles to progress—Remuneration—The Stage: Prospects—The Ballet and its remuneration—Handicrafts: Artistic crafts—Pottery—Jewellery—Lithography—Engraving—General Conclusions: Social hindrances.

In dealing with the more cultured branches of women’s work we have to do with a department which, except in one or two directions, is as yet incomplete, being still in process of growth and development. Women are but slowly working their way into the arts and the learned professions, and their place cannot yet be definitely estimated. Progress has been so rapid of late that what is true one year has ceased to hold good in the next. A writer who attempts to deal with matter that is thus in a state of flux can only hope to give a tolerably faithful picture of the moment, acknowledging frankly that present conditions may soon give place to something very different. A counterbalancing advantage, however, lies in the fact that in literary and professional work women are independent units, and their labour is not, as in manufacture and manual occupations, so mixed up with that of men that it is almost impossible to treat of it apart. In the occupations with which this chapter is concerned each woman as a rule is economically independent of other workers, and is free to make her individual talent and idiosyncrasy fully felt. There is a satisfaction in noting what women are able to do when their hands are free, though a careful examination of the conditions under which their work is carried on may lead to the conclusion that circumstances are not yet as favourable to the production of good work as they will eventually become. It should be premised that work of any kind, literary or other, is here regarded from a purely industrial point of view, and that the aim of the writer is not to criticise, but simply to record.

For practical purposes the occupations here treated of may be classified thus:

(1) Literary work, including journalism.

(2) Teaching.

(3) Other professional work, including medicine and nursing.

(4) Art, including such handicrafts as are practised by women; music, and the drama.

Various occupations not coming precisely under any of these heads are followed by a few scattered individuals, but these will receive merely a passing notice. They are interesting in themselves, but are so largely experimental that it would be useless to consider them at any length, since they may disappear at any moment.

Literature.—It is only recently that women have entered the field of literature in any numbers. Until the last thirty years or so it may almost be said that only a few exceptional women, able to make their mark as poets or novelists, were occupied to any serious extent in literary work. Nor when we remember that the pursuit of literature was considered to “unsex” a woman, and that Mrs. Somerville had to keep a supply of plain sewing ready to cover her books and papers if a visitor should call, is the deficiency very difficult to account for. Only natures in which genius is a compelling force can burst such iron bonds. Fanny Burney, Jane Austen, Miss Mitford, Mrs. Somerville, Charlotte BrontÉ, and Mrs. Browning—to name a few of the pioneers—first broke down the barriers. Then other quiet workers crept in, magazines became more numerous, and offered a ready outlet for literary work; biography, history, and science began to be handled by women. Harriet Martineau perhaps more than any other woman typified the modern phase of literary activity, fulfilling in her single person functions any one of which would content most literary women, being novelist, essay writer, historian, and journalist in one. She was the first of her sex to enter upon the routine every-day work of literature, which has been freely trodden since, and her writings embody much of the tone of thought and feeling which is characteristic of the “women’s movement” of to-day.

Fiction.—The branch of literature in which women are most successful at present is undoubtedly fiction. Besides the few novelists whose names are widely known, there are a multitude of scribblers of lesser fame who yet make a good living by their profession. There are grades in these things, and writers whose works are seldom found on the shelves of the fastidious are yet in good demand at the libraries, and have a circulation and a public of their own. An immense amount of second class fiction is written by women, who seem to have a special gift for producing tales that are readable and brightly written without ever rising above the level of mediocrity. There is a still lower literary grade, in which poverty of invention keeps company with a wretched literary style. Yet books of this class are not always unsuccessful.

The writing of fiction is usually supposed to be a highly remunerative occupation, and so indeed it often is. But it does not follow that the writing of three volume novels pays. The phenomenal success, pecuniary and literary, of one or two recent novels must not be taken as a sample of what a writer may expect.[1] Though a good price is generally paid for a novel if the author has once hit the public taste, only moderate terms can be secured by less known writers, and beginners must be content to part with their works for a very small sum. A well-known novelist may receive £400, £500, or even more for a novel, but a writer of fair reputation does not as a rule receive more than £100 for a novel that may have taken many months to write. If the novelist is wise, however, she will make a varied use of her material. Good prices, say from £100 to £250, are given for serial stories by publishing syndicates, who issue the tale simultaneously in half-a-dozen newspapers; and the regular publishers do not as a rule give any less for novels which have already appeared in the serial form. Probably they regard the earlier issue as a good advertisement. Short tales also pay well to those who can write them, and by the contribution of occasional miscellaneous papers to magazines and reviews the strain of prolonged composition may be avoided and the income proportionately improved. A lady novelist and miscellaneous writer in London has been making from £600 to £700 a year for some time, and has lately made as much as £900. Just at present the acknowledged author has an advantage even in journalism, for there is a great demand for articles in newspapers signed by writers of repute. As much as £10 a column is sometimes received for articles not in themselves of an important character by writers whose names are well known in other fields. It is an expensive fancy, and whether it will last cannot yet be predicted; but if one paper indulges in it, the rest are obliged to follow suit. Outside fiction, a good deal of miscellaneous literary work is done by women, of which it is impossible to give any detailed account. Each writer works in her own fashion, and for lack of meeting-places there has hitherto been little interchange of thought or experience among literary women. The foundation of the Writers’ Club in London may perhaps be taken as a sign of change in these matters. The formation of this institution is instructive, since it was due to the limitation of the projected “Authors’ Club” to men, on the express ground (endorsed by Mr. Walter Besant) that women writers could not afford to pay the subscription. In support of this opinion a lady engaged in literary work in London estimates that few of the rank and file among her colleagues are earning more than £200 a year. On the other hand, some writers have made a competency for old age, and not a few married women, hard pressed by fate, have contrived to bring up a family upon their literary earnings. Miss Annie S. Swan recently owned to an income of about £1,000 a year, and Miss Yonge made a handsome fortune by her novels. Successful playwrights also make a good deal of money; but it is doubtful whether any woman comes under this category as yet.

[1] George Eliot received £8,000 for Middlemarch, but Mrs. Humphry Ward is said to have received £18,000 for David Grieve.

Journalism.—At the present moment journalism appears to be the fashionable literary pursuit for women, and their contributions to the daily and weekly papers have increased enormously during the last few years. The general lightening of the cargo which has taken place throughout the periodical press has greatly contributed to this result; for women writers have usually a light touch, and an apparently inexhaustible power of turning out bright and readable, though often flimsy, articles upon social subjects. In the department of dress they of course reign supreme, and few newspapers can now afford to despise this erstwhile frivolous subject. The writers who discourse upon fashion, however, have, as a rule, had little literary training; and through their efforts a kind of press jargon has been evolved, wonderful alike in grammar, in phraseology, in similes. But this is the least creditable form of feminine journalism, and we will not linger over it. In many of the papers written for women (and to which, of course, women largely contribute) there is very fair writing upon a great variety of subjects. Women have occasionally been successful in the main walks of journalism, but the position of the lady who represents the Daily News in Paris is probably unique. As a rule women keep to their special department, chronicling the doings of London society, and taking charge of the lighter topics generally, while their confrÈres are dealing with politics and diplomacy.[2] This new development of journalism affords an example of the results which may be expected to follow when women are allowed free play to their activities in other directions. They will not always simply duplicate the work of their male predecessors, but will enlarge the field of operations by striking out a line of their own.

It is impossible to name with any accuracy the income attainable in the profession. Few of the women whose names are known in connection with the press are journalists pure and simple, though some of the younger generation are adopting the profession in all frankness, to sink or swim as their luck allows. Some few who entered the field before there were many competitors have achieved a good position, but their number could easily be counted on the fingers. A woman, however, who has a fair variety of subjects at command, and can combine purely literary work with the day-to-day business of a journalist, may make a very reasonable income from her profession—say £400 a year. But a journalist beginning at the bottom of the ladder would take long to mount so high, and would probably be well content, after some years’ work, to be earning £200 a year. It should be noted that journalism among women is almost confined to London; for though there are women so engaged in the provinces, it seldom forms their regular means of livelihood.

[2] Miss Flora Shaw, who writes upon Colonial subjects in the Times may be mentioned as an exception.

Teaching.—The profession most commonly followed by educated women is of course that of teaching. Until recently it was almost the only occupation open to the class above shop assistants, and even in becoming a teacher a lady was held to have lost caste. The opening of university education to women has given the death blow to such false sentiment, and women are now free to adopt what calling they like without loss of social position.[3] The foundation of public day-schools for girls and the working of the Education Act of 1870 have diverted the channel of women’s activities from private teaching to public schools. Instead of the governess we have the High School mistress; instead of the “Dame” in a cottage the Elementary School teacher. Not that the private governess is in any way abolished, for many parents prefer, or are obliged by reason of residence in the country to have their children taught at home. Both the governess’s status and salary are, however, considerably improved, owing to the rise in the general level of education. Greater acquirements are demanded, and payment is higher in return. A resident governess may earn anything from £20 to £200 a year with board. If not resident she hardly obtains the full equivalent in money, since her board costs her employer but little if she lives in the house, and is generally left out of consideration. But for many reasons resident posts are unattractive to the majority of teachers, and a bribe in the way of higher salary has to be offered if a really competent teacher is desired in a boarding school or a private family. Young women entering the profession generally prefer posts in High Schools, where the work, though fatiguing, is kept within fixed hours, and where time out of school is (nominally at any rate) at the teacher’s own disposal. There is something stimulating in teaching large classes, and those who have grown accustomed to it are seldom content afterwards to devote themselves to one or two children. Payment too is regular, and employment tolerably certain, whereas in private families either means or honesty or both may be defective, and in any case the growth of the children deprives the governess sooner or later of her employment. For these reasons therefore High Schools as a rule attract the ablest teachers, unless delicate health or personal predilection happens to weigh in the other direction. A similar state of things prevails with regard to private schools, which are obliged either to pay high salaries in order to attract good teachers, or to put up with the inefficient ones who cannot easily obtain work in a High School.

[3] The early students of Girton and Newnham, however, were regarded askance. One of them, now in a position of honour, related that when her intention of going to college became known in the country district where she lived, her acquaintance “could not have spoken worse of her if she had committed a forgery.” To another who had gained a scholarship her friends remarked, “You are surely satisfied now, you cannot want to make use of it.”

High Schools.—It is doubtful, however, whether High School work altogether deserves the respect with which it is regarded by aspirants to the teaching profession. A glamour was thrown around it in the beginning by the interest with which the foundation of new schools was regarded, and there is a certain sense of distinction in forming part of an institution whose working always attracts a good deal of local attention. Against these attractions, however, must be set decided disadvantages. In the first place the work is very severe, and it is made harder than it need be by the bad methods of teachers. To impart to large classes the stimulus which is the essence of good teaching is no light task, and the better it is performed the more is taken out of the teacher. But as the actual class hours are usually short (9 to 1, and 2.30 to 4 on three or four afternoons in the week according to arrangement) this alone would not be found injurious; and where the staff is as large as it ought to be, teachers should get an interval during some at least of the mornings. But the worst part of High School work is the correction of homework, which in many cases takes up most of the evenings in the week. Such an expenditure of energy is almost pure waste, and the mistress comes to school in the mornings tired and dull, incapable of exerting the magnetism which makes the lesson a living thing. It is greatly to the discredit of head mistresses that a greater number of them do not set their faces against this practice. Instead of consulting with their assistants as to how corrections can be minimised, they often insist upon a certain amount of homework being set, and seem to consider that the more of it a teacher does the greater is her value. In reality the opposite is the case, for a good teacher will test her class during the lesson, and thus do away to a great extent with the necessity for homework. Homework cannot be altogether abolished, but it might and ought to be much diminished, in the interests of both teachers and taught. Women need to be less rigidly conscientious in these matters, and more truly enlightened.

Salaries.—The salaries to be earned by assistant mistresses in High Schools can hardly be regarded as satisfactory, though they are probably higher than anything that could be gained by teaching, except in a few cases, before the institution of public day schools for girls. A committee of ladies and gentlemen interested in education recently investigated this question with great care, and a summary of their conclusions may be given here. In the first place they estimate that a change from private teaching to a High School is “mostly attended by pecuniary loss,” which confirms the statement made above. After analysing the replies to schedules of questions sent out to schools, the committee come regretfully to the conclusion that, apart from head mistresses’ and a few exceptional posts, “something under £160 per annum is the average reward, after twelve or thirteen years’ experience, of the most expensively educated and successful assistant mistresses.” From my own knowledge of High Schools I can fully endorse this estimate. Few assistants earn more than £150 a year, and there are probably—nay, certainly—not half a dozen who receive £200 a year. As the reward of an expensive education, and, presumably, a fair amount of talent, these figures can hardly be regarded as satisfactory.

Summing up the general results, “We may say,” proceeds the report, “that of the teachers who joined their present school more than two years ago one-fourth are at present receiving an average salary of £82 for an average week’s work (the average including very large variations) of 32 hours; half (25 per cent. of whom possess University degrees) are receiving an average salary of £118 for a week’s work of about 35 hours; and one-fourth (50 per cent. of whom are University women) are earning an average of £160 in exchange for a week’s work of 36 to 37 hours.

“These results do not appear unsatisfactory, but it must be remembered that under the phrase more than two years is covered a length of service extending in one case to as many as seventeen years, and of which the average must be taken as very nearly six. Many also of these teachers have had considerable experience in other schools before entering the one in which they are at present engaged.”

A further question which the Committee were charged to investigate was the decline or otherwise of school salaries. Upon this point they remark, “The schools which have been in existence for some years appear to be paying within a trifle of what they paid in 1885, but among the few returns which the Committee have been able to obtain from teachers in the employment of the recently formed Church schools, are some salaries so low as appreciably to affect the general average.

“The Committee, however, are obliged to note—and they do so with the greatest regret—that whereas between three or four years ago the commonest initial salary of non-graduates was fluctuating between £70 and £80, the preponderance has now been decisively gained by the lower figure.”

This real though slight retrograde movement in salaries is reinforced by another factor, of which intending teachers should take note.

“Until recently,” reports the Committee, “when a new assistant-mistress was engaged in a High School, the agreement then made arranged not only for an initial salary, but also for a scale of annual or biennial increment up to a certain maximum. The Committee learn with regret that in many schools these agreements are no longer being made, and that new mistresses are therefore obliged to trust for the future entirely to the liberality of their councils.”

It will be seen therefore that the position of a High School mistress, though fairly stable and moderately well remunerated as women’s occupations go, does not present a brilliant prospect. Additional risk arises from the recent establishment of schools, some of which belong to the Church Schools Company, others to local companies, with lower fees than those prevailing in the average High School. These tend by their competition for pupils to reduce the profits of the better schools, and therefore to lower teachers’ salaries. The evil is a serious one, and it is much to be regretted that women, by accepting posts in such schools, should countenance a movement fraught with injury to their fellow-workers.

It is exceedingly doubtful whether the public schools for girls which have sprung up all over the country with such rapidity of late years have been formed upon a sound footing as regards payment of fees and salaries.[4] Broadly speaking, the fees are too low to pay salaries which will allow the recipients to live in any but a very careful manner. If unhampered by claims of relations, teachers may secure the necessaries, and, to some extent, the comforts of life; but they can hardly allow themselves such recreation, change of scene, and general liberality of living, in the wide sense of the term, as will enable them to recuperate their stock of health, energy, and intellectual brightness, so as to retain freshness in teaching and keep abreast of the times. The right level of teaching cannot be maintained upon any less terms; and so long as girls’ secondary schools are founded upon a purely commercial basis, the standard which we have a right to demand from those who have charge of the education given therein will seldom, I fear, be reached. The organisation of secondary schools is, however, too large a matter to be discussed here. The whole question, including the claims of secondary schools upon the State for support, is rapidly becoming an affair for national consideration. Legislation cannot be long deferred, and the preliminary stage of discussion and debate has already begun.

[4] The average fee in the Girls’ Public Day School Company’s Schools is £12 12s. 0d. per annum, the same as that charged by the City of London School for Boys, a richly-endowed school, which has no dividends to pay, and is backed by the richest Corporation in the world.

Elementary Schools.—The conditions under which employment can be obtained in the elementary schools may be found in the official publications of the Education Department, and the general character of the work is also too well known to need description here.[5] More women than men are employed in the elementary schools, the number of certificated masters being 18,611, of mistresses 27,746. I append tables of salaries drawn up in 1893, by the National Union of Teachers, classified according to the denominations to which the schools belong. It should be noted that the tables refer to certificated mistresses only.

AVERAGE SALARIES OF CERTIFICATED MISTRESSES.

NUMBER OF CERTIFICATED TEACHERS IN RECEIPT OF SALARIES OF CERTAIN SPECIFIED AMOUNTS.

These tables show a considerable difference between the salaries paid in Board and in Voluntary Schools, the Board School average being £91 3s. 10d. against the highest Voluntary average of £69 14s. 3d. In rural districts also extra duties of an onerous nature, such as teaching in the Sunday-school, playing the organ in church, getting up village concerts, and performing parochial duties generally, are often imposed by the clerical managers of Voluntary Schools. Small School Boards also are not wholly guiltless in the matter. Particulars as to these exactions may be learnt from the publications of the National Union of Teachers, which is making a determined stand against their imposition.

The highest salaries are given by the London School Board. Trained assistants (female) begin at £85 a year, and head mistresses receive from £200 to £300. Higher salaries are given for special work, and in the large provincial centres also it may be said without inaccuracy that the regulation scale is constantly broken in order to secure good teachers of special subjects. In London pupil teachers’ schools the salaries of assistant mistresses begin at £125 a year, rising by annual increments of £5 to £150. Assistant masters in similar posts receive £140 to £170 per annum. Salaries for both sexes are said to be rising gradually throughout the country, and although a contrary movement has recently been initiated in the London School Board, it is hardly likely that it will be carried out to any great extent.

Elementary versus Secondary Schools.—Hitherto elementary schools have not commended themselves as a field of work for the class of women who now form the staff of girls’ secondary schools. The salaries offered outside London have not been high enough to tempt them; holidays are short in comparison with High Schools (six weeks in the year instead of thirteen); and, lastly, the conditions as to training hitherto exacted have been practically prohibitive. Women who have already received an expensive education are not inclined to spend two or three years more in a denominational training college. The relaxation of rules in favour of women who have passed certain recognised examinations, and the opening of day training classes in connection with recognised colleges, such as Owen’s College, Manchester, and several of the local University Colleges, may do much to open the elementary schools to a more cultured class of women. Such women would soon obtain the headship of a school, and would then, under a liberal Board, find a good field for the exercise of talent and organising power. I fear, however, that the shortness of holidays may still prove a serious obstacle.

Domestic Subjects.—Meanwhile a new field of work is being opened by the inclusion of domestic subjects in the school course. A teacher of cookery in elementary schools can earn from £80 to £100 a year in a fairly agreeable manner, and private and visiting teachers often earn more. Dressmaking and laundry work are also in great demand, particularly in evening continuation schools; and if to these subjects is added a knowledge of sick-nursing and elementary hygiene, the combination forms an admirable stock-in-trade for a teacher. In some towns School Boards are training their own teachers, probably with more haste than thoroughness, to fill the posts for which such a sudden demand has arisen. Instruction in domestic subjects is also being carried on under the auspices of the County Councils, for there are few among their number that have not devoted a share of the funds available under the Technical Instruction Act, and in towns by the power of levying a penny rate, to the furtherance of technical education, in which domestic instruction for girls is almost always included. Thus, throughout the length and breadth of the land, teachers of these subjects are eagerly sought; and cookery schools, embryo technical schools for women, and voluntary agencies, such as the National Health Society, are busily employed in training teachers and sending them out to different districts. The Liverpool School of Cookery is particularly active in this direction.

The misfortune is that in these subjects there is no definite standard, and each school trains after its own fashion. The money for technical education was gained by a side wind, and the passing of the Act found the country unprepared, no organised system of instruction or of training for teachers being in existence. As experience is gradually accumulated the different agencies at work will probably make comparison of methods and adopt to some extent a common system and standard. In this connection it should be mentioned that though women have no place upon County Councils, they may be and are appointed upon the local committees for carrying out the Councils’ schemes, and in this way they are able to take an active share in educational work.

It cannot at present be foretold what shape this large enterprise will eventually take, but it seems likely that for some time to come the teaching of domestic subjects will form an important and considerable opening for women. It is fortunate that it is so, since many are thereby enabled to find congenial employment who have no taste for the purely literary side of education. In time permanent institutions for domestic instruction will probably be formed in the large centres of population—indeed such a movement has already begun. The superintendence of work at these centres, which will also embrace outlying districts, must give rise to good appointments, and it is well to bear in mind that these will certainly fall by preference to women who besides technical knowledge have received a good general education, and possess powers of organisation and management. Women so qualified will probably be highly paid. The rank and file may not impossibly find their earnings diminish as their numbers increase; at present their services are at a scarcity value. In view of the certain extension of this branch of teaching work it is worth while for girls or their parents to consider whether (viewed as a wage-earning instrument solely) a course at a school of domestic economy, requiring at most two years, and costing a comparatively small sum (say £15 per annum), is not more advantageous than three or four years at Oxford or Cambridge, costing from £70 to £100 a year. In the ordinary branches of teaching, as I have shown, a woman seldom earns more than £150 a year, and teaching is almost the only breadwinning occupation followed by women graduates. I know teachers of domestic economy who make as much or more in the winter months, and have the summer free for either rest or self-culture.

Higher Teaching Posts.—But few posts of higher teaching or superintendence are open to women. Even those mentioned above are only just beginning to take visible shape. Headships of High Schools are of course important positions, and are often well paid. An initial salary of £250 a year (sometimes, however, only £150) is offered, generally with rooms, but not board; capitation fees, varying from 10s. to 30s. are usually added, but these do not begin until 100 pupils have been entered. Thus in an unprosperous neighbourhood a mistress may have all the trouble of organising and managing a school for £150 or £200 a year; for it is precisely in these districts that the lowest initial salaries are offered. In some few cases the income rises to £700 or £800 a year. The headships of colleges and training colleges available are of course very limited in number, and the same may be said of the college lectureships at Oxford and Cambridge, with rooms in college. These are not well paid, and are chiefly attractive for the pleasant university life they afford. Few women are as yet engaged as University Extension lecturers, though it is hard to see what impediment, beyond the prejudice of sex, stands in the way of their employment.

Religion and Philanthropy.—Religion and Philanthropy have not hitherto been reckoned among the avenues leading to remunerative employment for women; but it is by no means certain that this will be the case in the future. The Catholic Church has always provided careers for women in connection with convents and sisterhoods, and institutions formed upon their pattern are springing up in the Church of England and even in the Dissenting churches. Since, however, the members are merely supplied with board, lodging, and clothing, and are content to find their reward in the satisfaction of their calling, there is little further to be said about these occupations from the industrial point of view. The feminine side of religious and philanthropic work, however, is developing upon much broader lines than heretofore, and though at present it partakes largely of the character of amateur work, it can hardly fail in course of time to create remunerative and (if the term may be allowed) professional occupations for women. To some extent this is the case already. Even in the Established Church the propriety of women preaching appears to be regarded to some extent as an open question, and—with or without formal sanction—the innovation seems destined to spread. Whatever else women preachers may lack they at any rate seldom fail of a congregation, an item which no church can afford to disregard. It can hardly be doubted that in this field also the labourer will eventually be found worthy of her hire. For example, philanthropic societies have usually a paid secretary, besides, in many cases, visitors, lecturers, and propagandists. Most of the religious bodies have now “Settlements” in the London slums, with women’s branches. The resident manager is certainly paid in some instances, and will no doubt soon be in all. Political work may also in time afford occupation to a limited number of women. It is, however, in purely religious work that we may expect to see the next development of women’s activities. In almost all denominations women are already at work preaching and exhorting, and the desirability of giving formal sanction to their proceedings is being actively discussed in Nonconformist churches.

Law.—Of the learned professions only one, that of medicine, is open to women. A combination of law and ancient custom keeps women out of the legal profession, and it is only in certain of its approaches, such as conveyancing and accountants’ work, that they are free to seek a livelihood. A summary of the case by Miss Eliza Orme LL.B., gives a clear idea of the situation. “Women can make wills and simple agreements without qualification. Anything else (i.e. deeds) must be nominally done by a solicitor, and women can only be employed by them as clerks. Women cannot go into court. If they do chamber practice (i.e. settling difficult deeds for solicitors, or giving counsel’s opinion), they can only do it through barristers as ‘devils,’ receiving half fees. If women are to be solicitors the Act will need altering. To be barristers they must be admitted by the benchers of one of the four Inns (Inner and Middle Temple, Benchers’ Inn, and Gray’s Inn), and if a woman applied, probably a joint council of all would sit.

“The Benchers might admit them as certificated conveyancers, which would not allow them to plead in court; but men themselves have not used their certificate for many years.

“The University of London law degree is open to women. It is a thorough practical test, but not a legal qualification to practice.”

From this summary it will be seen that the door of the legal profession is still fast closed. There is no difficulty however in a lady’s practising as a conveyancer, and no reason therefore why more women should not follow the example of Miss Orme in adopting the profession, which is said to offer a fair prospect of remuneration. There is also at least one lady accountant in London, and the audit of societies and public companies, the preparation of balance-sheets and financial statements, may be freely undertaken by women who are willing to train for the work.

It should be added that legal work seems likely to become possible for women in India. Miss Cornelia Sorabji, who recently passed in the law schools at Oxford, is about to take up a Government appointment in her own country, and will be occupied with attending to the legal interests of Hindu women, who are unable to consult lawyers of the opposite sex. It remains to be seen whether her example is capable of being followed by others.

Medicine.—The profession of medicine has at last, after long struggles, been thrown open to both sexes, and women doctors are slowly taking their place in the ranks as recognised practitioners of the healing art. Their presence will tend in an eminent degree to the preservation of health as distinct from the cure of disease, at any rate as far as women patients are concerned; since it is plain that women, and especially girls, can be more readily induced to complain of ailments in the initial and manageable stage if they are able to consult a member of their own sex. This statement is sometimes questioned, but as far as girls, at least, are concerned, I have no doubt whatever of its correctness. And since the seeds of illness are often laid in early life this point is of the very greatest importance. It is not necessary here to recall the history of the struggle for medical education, or to give details as to the places of study open to women.[6] It is more important to enquire what rank medical women are taking in their profession, and what appointments they are able to obtain. Upon the first point it is still too soon to pronounce an opinion. A medical man does not expect to make a reputation within the time that the majority of women have as yet been at work. There are about 170 medical women upon the register, and of these only a dozen qualified before 1880. It is obviously too early, and the ground covered is too small, to expect conspicuous results as yet; and if a number of women are filling public posts in India, or working at private practice in England with adequate success, they and their friends have every reason to be content. In some respects it is said to be easier for women to build up a practice than for men. Dr. Jex-Blake remarks that “in point of fact women are continually doing what men hardly ever attempt—viz., settling down in a strange place with no professional introduction to practice by purchase or otherwise; and if gifted with a moderate degree of patience, tact, and other qualities needful in every successful practitioner, they do manage to succeed in a way that certainly goes far to justify their bold adventure.” It is usually estimated that five years are necessary to put together a practice that will afford a livelihood. Whether the standard of “livelihood” here taken is as high as that of man cannot be exactly known; but it is certain that women who succeed in the medical profession make much larger incomes than in most other callings.

The appointments which have recently become available are a great help to medical women at the beginning of their career. A medical man usually fills minor posts in hospitals, or acts as a locum tenens for a while before attempting to set up for himself; but women have hitherto been obliged to take up practice as soon as their qualification was gained. The New Hospital for Women in Euston Road, officered entirely by women, now affords young doctors the means of gaining experience, and a number of other posts are gradually becoming available. Several medical women hold Government appointments as physicians to the female staff of the Post-office; a lady officiates as assistant resident medical officer in a workhouse hospital, another in the Holloway Sanatorium, others in fever hospitals or as asylum inspectors. A well-known surgeon in the provinces employs a lady as an anÆsthetist, and a country doctor in good practice has for some time been in the habit of employing medical women as assistants. A few middle class girls’ schools have engaged the services of a consulting lady doctor, and it would be well if the example were more widely followed; since, apart from cases of illness, there are many questions of hygiene and school arrangements in which a properly-qualified woman could give valuable advice.

Medical Women in India.—An important field for medical women is to be found in India. The Mahommedan races do not allow the presence of a male physician in the zenana; and the Hindus, who have borrowed from the conquering race many of their ideas and customs, are also opposed to the practice. The Countess of Dufferin’s scheme for supplying medical aid to the women of India—now too well known to require explanation—was instituted in 1885, and has been warmly supported by native princes, some of whom have founded hospitals on their own account. At present thirteen women doctors are working under the Dufferin Fund, besides assistant surgeons, and over 200 pupils are studying in Indian medical schools. The various missionary societies also educate and support a number of medical missionaries in India. It is possible that some day Government may include the medical profession in the Civil Service, but for the present the work has to be done by voluntary effort. Eventually too Indian women will take over the medical care of their own sisters; but for some time to come the field must continue to be largely occupied by Englishwomen. Hindu and Mahommedan girls do not study medicine; the native students in medical schools are drawn from the Parsees, Brahma Somaj (Veda Hindus), and Eurasians. Englishwomen holding appointments in India are allowed private practice as well, but the latter alone would never yield a livelihood, since the natives who make use of the dispensaries do not expect to pay a fee. If they receive medicine they do not object to pay for it, and those who send for a lady doctor to attend them in their houses are also ready to pay for her services; but only the comparatively rich think of asking for a doctor’s visit. Ladies employed by the association engage to work for five years in India, and, besides a free passage out, receive a salary of 300 rupees a month. Scholarships are attached to some of the women’s medical schools, but the amount—£25 or £30 per annum during education—seems very small in relation to the obligations undertaken, which, if not fulfilled, involve the return of the money.

Pharmacy.—One or two ladies have adopted pharmacy as a profession; and as means of training are now accessible, there seems no reason why an occupation which is neither arduous nor disagreeable should not be largely followed by women. Mrs. Clarke Keer has a dispensary in London, and a few other ladies hold posts in connection with hospitals. It has been suggested that the work should be taken up by the daughters of medical men, whose position gives them special opportunities for training.

Dentistry.—Another very suitable profession is dentistry, which is largely followed by women in America, but only by a few in this country. There should be excellent openings in this profession. A dentist once observed to me, that with children a woman dentist would have it all her own way, and would probably beat all the men, for children were troublesome patients, and men did not know how to deal with them.

Midwifery.—Women of education are being trained in increasing numbers as midwives, and there is abundant opening in this direction for useful and remunerative work. But at present the status of midwives is uncertain, owing to the lax regulations respecting their practice and qualifications. The whole profession is undergoing a change, passing from the ranks of untrained, unskilled, and inefficient work to that of a skilled profession. The registration of trained midwives is being urgently demanded, and a Select Committee has reported in favour of the examination and registration of all who practise as midwives. The necessity for stricter regulations will be apparent when it is stated that seven cases of childbirth out of ten in this country take place without the presence of a medical man, and that the women (mostly poor) who employ midwives have no means of ascertaining their fitness for the duty. The Obstetrical Society, London, gives a midwife’s certificate of acknowledged value, which should be obtained by every lady intending to practise in midwifery. For those who wish to undertake benevolent work among the poor, especially in country districts, a knowledge of midwifery is highly desirable. The Midwives’ Institute in Buckingham Street, Strand, looks after the interests of midwives, and arranges for their training.

Nursing.—The profession of nursing continues to attract numbers of educated women into its ranks, and facilities for training are said to be insufficient for the demand. (For details see Englishwoman’s Year Book.) Considering the hardships involved in the profession its continued popularity is surprising. The work of a trained nurse, whether employed in a hospital or in private or district work, is necessarily severe, and it is to be regretted that more careful provision is not made for the comfort of so useful a class of workers. Hours are long and holidays short, and work of the most trying description is expected to be done year after year, with a mere fraction of the rest and recreation which is considered necessary in other and not more arduous professions. In Nursing Institutes and Homes the dietary is often very poor, and in hospitals the state of things is not much better. It is unfortunately impossible to repeat in any detail the complaints made by nurses without indicating the institutions to which they refer; but most persons with acquaintances among hospital nurses know that abundant dissatisfaction exists in the profession. Examples could of course be given of institutions that are well managed in this respect, but they are, it is to be feared, the exception rather than the rule. Boards of Management are under constant pressure to increase their accommodation, and, funds being seldom abundant, they are tempted to work with an insufficient staff. The consequences are felt most severely by the more educated nurses. It seems to be forgotten that the superior tact and skill which make the cultured woman a better nurse than her uneducated colleague are gained to some extent at the expense of toughness of fibre, and that hours and dietary need modification accordingly. I am afraid that a good deal of the mischief arises from mistaken notions as to what the profession of nursing ought to be. Nurses are supposed to take it up in a missionary spirit for the good of the community, without regard to their own comfort or health. Now unfortunately the more “noble” a profession is considered, the greater is the tendency to neglect the material well-being of those concerned in it; and nurses have reason to feel the full force of this misplaced sentiment. The policy followed in their regard is as foolish as it is unjust. The inevitable fatigues of a nurse’s life require to be counteracted by the most careful provisions for her comfort, if full efficiency is to be kept up; and Hospital Boards would do well to remember that more professions are now open to women than there were when nursing first became popular. The supply of capable nurses is already insufficient, as the recent influenza epidemic showed, and may easily become still more inadequate, if neither facilities for training nor conditions of employment undergo any improvement.

Nurses’ Salaries.—Except in institutions to which pensions are attached, the profession of nursing cannot be regarded as a money-making career. At one large London hospital probationers receive £12 with uniform the first year, £20 the second, and the “sisters,” or heads of wards, receive £40 per annum. The Workhouse Training Association (for replacing pauper attendants by trained nurses in workhouse infirmaries) gives no salary the first year, £20 the second, rising to £25. A district nursing association in the provinces gives trained nurses £24 the first year, and salaries rise to £30—board, lodging, and washing being also found. From £25 to £30 therefore generally represents the money payment of a trained nurse. The matron of a hospital may receive anything from £50 to £100 per annum. In the large London hospitals the latter sum is often exceeded, with the addition of house, servant, and handsome fees from probationers. For heads of hospitals therefore the profession is by no means unremunerative; but these posts are few and far between. With the multiplication of cottage hospitals which is certain to take place minor posts with fair salaries and a not too arduous life will become available. Private nursing under a medical man is often well paid, but uncertainty of employment has to be taken into account. Co-operative associations of nurses are also being formed, and it is possible that by their means a larger proportion of the fees paid by patients may find their way into the pockets of those who earn them.

Art. Painting and Music.—And now what must be said of the domain of the arts and of women’s place therein? If women have entered but timidly into this fair kingdom, it has not been for want of fitness, as the rapid success of a few among them clearly shows; the hindrance has lain rather in the prejudices of society and the lack of proper training. Though rapidly disappearing, the former are not yet extinct; means of training are not the same for both sexes, nor have women ceased to suffer from the blasting influence of Puritanism upon art. Anything that damages the social reputation of a profession bars it more or less to women; and anything that makes training difficult or expensive is a more serious hindrance to women than to men, since parents are not so willing to make sacrifices for a girl as for a boy. Astonishment is often expressed at the absence of women composers of merit; but the reason is not really far to seek. Until the foundation of the London schools of music (to which that of Manchester must now be added) musical education has been difficult to obtain by either sex. But the practical part, which involves an acquaintance with orchestral instruments, the methods of opera, the arrangement of church music, the management of chorus parts and a hundred other details, has hitherto been almost unattainable by women. There seems little À priori reason for supposing that music is an affair of sex. Fanny Mendelssohn was scarcely, if at all, less gifted than the brother who so calmly placed her in the background, and was not ashamed to appropriate the credit of her work. Some of the “Lieder ohne Worte,” and “O rest in the Lord”—the latter perhaps the most popular of all Mendelssohn’s melodies—were, as is now generally known, composed by Fanny.

Remuneration.—It is impossible to give any estimate of the value of either music or painting as a means of livelihood. A music teacher, if well qualified, may earn a fair living; and a teacher of an instrument less commonly learnt than the piano—say the violin—may sometimes earn £150 or £200 a year while quite young. Singers, unless of the first rank, generally find it profitable to combine private teaching with public performances. For a concert engagement a beginner may receive £5 with travelling expenses, rising soon, if successful, to £10 or £20. Great performers are of course at a “monopoly value,” as the economists say, and their annual earnings often run into four figures. As for composing, its pecuniary reward is very uncertain. “It does not pay to write symphonies,” a popular composer naively remarked, and the same thing may be said of most of the higher kinds of composition. Incidental music for stage plays is often well paid, and a popular song may yield a small income in itself. The budding composer, however, like the artist or author, must be content to let his first works be sold for almost nothing for the sake of making a reputation, but this once made he can command his own terms. A deadening effect is exercised on musical art in this country by the mischievous system of royalties. Many singers high in the ranks will not look at a modern song unless they are paid a handsome royalty for singing it, and thus a valuable means of advancing the reputation of a young composer is rendered useless.

Painting and sculpture are so purely an affair of the individual that it is more difficult to make general statements with regard to them than with any other artistic profession. Each artist works on his own lines; there is no general or usual rate of remuneration, and no one can predict with any certainty the prospects of the profession even to a painter of talent. Indeed the less the talent, often, the greater the success. All that can be said is that the woman who means to live by her brush or her chisel must be prepared for a hard struggle before she can earn a competence; and very few attain to wealth. The development of illustration in periodicals has however opened a large and fairly-well paid outlet for women’s work, and many a rising painter would be hard put to it but for the aid that comes—only in guineas and half-guineas it may be, but steadily—from black-and-white drawings for the press. Many men, though at present few women, earn a fairly good living entirely by black-and-white work.

The Stage.—The stage is, socially speaking, becoming easier of entry for girls. Those who wish to succeed must begin young, a proviso which forms a serious disadvantage in a profession involving obstacles to be surmounted, or awkward corners to be rounded. It is difficult to obtain entrance to a good London theatre, and novices generally have to go through a course of probation with a touring company, with the prospect of hard work, ill quarters, and uncertain pay. The profession is thus encountered on its roughest side at first, and it is not surprising that the prospect should daunt intending candidates. Yet the stage has a fascination of its own, and those who once tread the boards can seldom find it in their heart to forsake them. If a girl can by luck or perseverance gain a footing in one of the good London companies, the life need present no terrors to herself or her friends, and payment will be fair and regular while it lasts; but outside a comparatively small circle the stage, though perfectly reputable, is at best precarious as a means of livelihood. Engagement is almost always for the run of a single piece only, and there is usually no payment for rehearsals. Thus, after weeks of rehearsal, if the piece is unsuccessful, a girl may only earn a fortnight’s salary. In these matters actors and actresses are not well used, and when they have learnt the value of united effort they will certainly combine for securing juster terms. There is less cause for complaint in the rate of payment, which is generally fair, and often very good; while a successful actress can of course make a very large income. In good theatres a guinea a week is a common wage for a girl who merely “walks on,” but with touring companies she is generally expected to serve an apprenticeship before earning anything. If she obtains a speaking part she may earn £2 or £3 a week; but an actress would do well to reckon her salary at half its nominal amount, as she is likely to be frequently out of work. The institution of regular rates of payment is hindered by stage-struck amateurs, who are willing to pay, in some cases large sums, to appear on the boards, even in the smallest capacity.

There are all ranks and grades in the dramatic profession, and a vast number of actresses never rise above the position of “extra” ladies in pageant plays, or the rank and file of performers in pantomimes. The latter earn from 15s. to 20s. a week, and their employment is intermittent. In the case of impecunious or unscrupulous managers payment also is uncertain. Girls in the humbler ranks of the profession are subject to all sorts of ill-treatment and swindling. For example, a number of girls were recently engaged for an “open-air fÊte” in the country during some weeks of the summer. The weather turned out wet, and a friend who visited them found their dressing-tent only partly covered in, and swimming in water. They had attended thirteen rehearsals and a few performances without payment, and but for the intervention of friendly outsiders it is doubtful whether they would ever have received any payment at all. These girls had left paying employment as dressmakers and milliners for this thankless work, yet they endured their unjust treatment without complaint.

Speaking generally, the difficulty of the dramatic profession is, that while talent is rare, it is overcrowded with candidates of very moderate abilities. On this account it is very difficult for a girl to get an opportunity of showing what she can do, and much patience is necessary to success. If possible, a girl should have some other means of eking out her income during the first months or years of the struggle.

Many girls work at dressmaking in the summer months, taking to the stage regularly when the pantomime season comes on. Then there is the ballet, which in London alone employs thousands of women. An ordinary ballet dancer receives £1 to £1 10s. a week, and has to work hard for her money; the best members of the troupe however may earn as much as 35s. a week. The earnings of “solo” dancers are of course much higher. English principals in pantomimes receive £5 and £9 a week, but the usual custom is to employ foreigners—French or Italians—who are paid as much as £12 a week. Popular performers receive fancy salaries, and a dancer or music-hall singer who has hit the public taste sometimes makes as much as £70 a week. A lady in this branch of the profession was recently invited to visit America at a salary of £250 a week. A “variety artist” sued her manager for £43 6s. 8d. as a week’s salary, and gained all but the odd £3 6s. 8d. Miss Loie Fuller, the “serpentine” dancer, was engaged, as a subsequent lawsuit shewed, by a French manager for three years, at a salary of 102,000 francs, or over £4000 a year. If reward went by talent and artistic culture these figures would be highly satisfactory, but as a rule the reverse is the case. With regard to dancing, however, public taste is improving, and both on the stage and in private houses graceful dancing—dancing worthy of being called an art—is increasingly appreciated. A really good dancer is highly paid, though not upon the extravagant scale quoted above.

Handicrafts.—A word must be said about the position of women in artistic crafts and in designing, though it is to be feared that the account will somewhat resemble the famous chapter on “Reptiles in Ireland.” Pottery is almost the only field in which women are employed as designers, and here, as in isolated examples in other trades, what has happened is rather that an artist has turned trade designer, than that the trade has educated an artist. For example, a lady now carrying on business as a jeweller was educated at an art school, and owing to some accidental circumstance began designing for a jeweller. Eventually she set up in business for herself, and still designs many of the articles manufactured in her workshop. Isolated cases of the same kind might be cited from other trades. Speaking generally, however, women designers have not shaken themselves free from the trammels of the art schools, or gained the practical acquaintance with crafts and manufacture which alone can make their work marketable. It is probably more difficult for women than for men to gain this practical knowledge, and those who mean to succeed must bring both courage and perseverance to the task.

Artistic Crafts.—The artistic crafts proper are hardly followed at all by women. With the decay of domestic industries they lost what skill and knowledge they once possessed, and technical education has not yet restored them to their rightful position as skilled workers. If women are employed as jewellers, potters, or even photographers, it is only in the least skilled, and consequently worst paid portions of the work. Thus in the jewellery manufacture they are employed in unskilled operations, such as stringing pearls; and their earnings do not rise above £1 a week, while the skilled labour of men brings in from £3 to £6 a week. At electrotyping, in Birmingham, their wages are not more than 25s. a week, and the same might be said of those engaged in the electro-plate manufacture in Sheffield.

A few women are employed in chromo-lithography, but not many lithographers are willing to take women as apprentices. Wood engraving employs rather larger numbers, and the work is fairly well paid. In an office in which four women engravers work the wages earned per head during three months were, on an average, £2 18s. 5d. weekly, the highest wage earned being £3 3s. 4d., and the lowest £2 13s. 7d., representing a payment of 1s. 1d. an hour. At another office the average weekly wage is £1 18s. 9d., the highest being £2 3s. 9d., and the lowest £1 7s. 11d., representing an average payment of 10d. an hour. The entrance of women into such crafts has been materially aided by the Society for the Employment of Women, in Berners Street, which endeavours to find both means of training and business openings for its clients. In artistic crafts which require an apprenticeship women have much opposition to encounter; their entrance is generally opposed by the workmen employed, who fear, and not without reason, that the women will undersell them and bring their wages down. If women hope to gain a footing in skilled occupations they must conciliate opposition, by showing that they have no intention of underselling their fellow workmen.

General Conclusions.—It will be seen that in almost all the occupations here considered women have special difficulties to contend with—imperfect training, amateurish habits, social customs or prejudices, and the opposition of those who, sometimes from prejudice and sometimes from a well-grounded fear of injury, oppose the industrial employment of women. Time and good counsels may be trusted to diminish these obstacles, if not to do away with them entirely. Meanwhile it remains to give women the opportunity, by thorough training, of showing the extent of their capacity for different kinds of work. Disquisitions as to what women can do, or cannot do, are irrelevant at the present moment, when facilities for training and employment have not been open long enough to test their powers in any direction. In these matters it is safer to prophesy after the event, and it is certain that competition will eventually drive women out of any calling for which they prove themselves really unfitted.