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"The following is an excerpt from the July
1943 issue of Transportation
Magazine. It was a guide for hiring women. This
was serious and written for
male supervisors of women in the workforce
during World War II - a mere 58
years ago. Obviously, the intent was not to be
"funny" but, by today's
standards, this is hilarious!
"Eleven Tips on Getting More Efficiency Out
of Women Employees:
There's no longer any question whether transit
companies should hire women
for jobs formerly held by men. The draft and
manpower shortage has settled
that point. The important things now are to
select the most efficient women
available and how to use them to the best
advantage.
Here are eleven helpful tips on the subject from
Western Properties:
1. Pick young married women. They usually
have more of a sense of
responsibility than their unmarried sisters,
they're less likely to be
flirtatious, they need the work or they wouldn't
be doing it, they still
have the pep and interest to work hard and to
deal with the public
efficiently.
2. When you have to use older women, try
to get ones who have worked
outside the home at some time in their lives.
Older women who have never
contacted the public have a hard time adapting
themselves and are inclined
to be cantankerous and fussy. It's always well
to impress on older women the
importance of friendliness and courtesy.
3. General experience indicates that
"husky" girls -those who are just a
little on the heavy side - are more
even-tempered and efficient than their
underweight sisters.
4. Retain a physician to give each woman
you hire a special physical
examination - one covering female conditions.
This step not only protects
the property against the possibilities of
lawsuit, but also reveals whether
the employee-to-be has any female weaknesses
which would make her mentally
or physically unfit for the job.
5. Stress at the outset the importance of
time, the fact that a minute or
two lost here and there makes serious inroads on
schedules. Until this point
is gotten across, service is likely to be slowed
up.
6. Give the female employee a definite
day-long schedule of duties so that
they'll keep busy without bothering the
management for instructions every
few minutes. Numerous properties say that
women make excellent workers when
they have their jobs cut out for them, but that
they lack initiative in
finding work themselves.
7. Whenever possible, let the inside
employee change from one job to
another at some time during the day. Women are
inclined to be less nervous
and happier with change.
8. Give every girl an adequate number of
rest periods during the day. You
have to make some allowances for feminine
psychology. A girl has more
confidence and is more efficient if she can keep
her hair tidied, apply
fresh lipstick and wash her hands several times
a day.
9. Be tactful when issuing instructions or
in making criticisms. Women are
often sensitive; they can't shrug off harsh
words the way men do. Never
ridicule a woman - it breaks her spirit and cuts
off her efficiency.
10. Be reasonably considerate about using
strong language around women.
Even though a girl's husband or father may swear
vociferously, she'll grow
to dislike a place of business where she hears
too much of this."
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