Woman in the New World

This article was written especially for The Woman's Voice by the American woman of letters Janet Shaps.

The subject of "the American woman" has been, and remains, year after year, a favorite subject in the United States: Has the American woman ventured far into man's practical and professional world? Does she neglect her children? Have the modern age and its means of labor granted her a great deal of leisure? Does she have a great deal of money to spend? Does she take a conscious interest in public questions, and does she use her frankness wisely?

Defining woman's position in American society lies, of course, beyond the scope of debate, if only for one reason: it is almost impossible to know what kind of life the American woman leads. Her circumstances differ greatly according to the communities in which she lives: in the great cities, the small, or the middle-sized; in the towns, the villages, or the hamlets; on small farms or on large ones. The only definition of the American woman's life that enjoys any measure of precision is this: unlike other women in civilizations of ancient standing, she belongs to no type of life, whether exceptional or traditional.

If we set aside the minority groups of women on the economic scale, we face two classes of women:
First: the mothers and rearers of children.
Second: those women, married or unmarried, who work outside the home. For the woman rearing children on an isolated farm is not the same as the one who lives in the city.
Everyone acknowledges that women are indispensable as workers, as nurses, as typists, in offices, and in the work of social relief. Specialist observers have noted that woman is better suited than man to certain tasks that call for manual skill and precision, while in certain other fields of work women compete with man.

Besides the American woman's need to earn her livelihood, she wants to work. The idea of marriage and the raising of children is more general today than at any time past, and many working women hope to find the man of their life during their work and where they work.

In the public schools these days, and in the universities and colleges, culture is available to women and men alike.

It is natural that learning should awaken in woman the very inclinations and desires it awakens in man. It has likewise become accepted in most regions of the United States that a girl should go to work as soon as she finishes her studies, no matter whether her family is rich or poor.

Most women may give up the work they have been doing when they marry, but there is a large group — especially those women who desire the professions that demand long study and training — who wish to continue their studies after marriage.

"Women's associations" open a field of work to women who have a little spare time. The number of these associations, their variety, and the scope of their work in the United States have no parallel in the other countries of the world. Two principal ones deserve mention:

"The General Union of Women's Associations," which comprises 17,000 local associations, and "the Women's League," which has branches in 35 of the 48 states. Nearly all these institutions are run by women volunteers elected by the local associations. These two institutions have no partisan or sectarian character; their aim is to bring woman into the questions of local and general government.

The very breadth of these women's institutions is clear proof of the extent of woman's interest in public questions and of her sacrifice in their cause.