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(Careers f^or lAJc
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Are There Opportunities
For the Centler Sex?
by WALTER DUCKAT
Ask any unmarried woman which
career she would prefer most. If
she is candid she’ll probably reply
“housewife.” This is probably espe
cially true of the Jewish woman
because Jewish tradition has con
sistently laid emphasis upon the
importance of marriage for self ful
fillment.
Today, however, for a variety of
reasons, a formidable percentage of
our women remain unwed. And
even among those who eventually
find a mate, many either by choice
or of necessity continue working
after marriage. Studies of the U. S.
Department of Labor reveal that
62 per cent of all employed women
are married, widowed or divorced.
What is the outlook of the Jewish
woman bent on a professional ca
reer? More and more of our Jewish
women are attending college and
preparing themselves for profes
sional and allied careers. Although
there are no exact statistics on
Jewish female college students, re
cent figures compiled by the B’nai
B’rith Vocational Service bureau
spoke of approximately 200,000
Jewish collegians. If the Jewish
ration of sexes attending college
parallel that of the general popula
tion where approximately a third
of all college students are female,
then the number of Jewish “coeds”
would be about 70,000.
Jewish women like their male
coreligionists often find opportuni
ties in certain fields restricted. Sec
ondly, there are grave signs that in
the near future many professions
may become overcrowded because
our colleges are overflowing and
many persons are crowding into a
relatively few professions.
For example, many young women
aspire toward careers in psycholo
gy. While the need for psycholo
gists is steadily rising, the require
ments are likewise growing stiffer,
so that increasingly the Ph.D. de
gree is becoming a prerequisite for
better paying jobs. Moreover,
there is a shortage of facilities for
the training of clinical psycholo
gists. In addition, although many
communities need psychologists in
their schools and social agencies,
they either can not or do not wish
to pay for this service.
Another profession where the
outlook for Jewish women is bleak
is personnel work. In general, the
field is badly overcrowded. While
many women are employed in per
sonnel departments, they are hired
chiefly for clerical and secretarial
jobs. Contrary to popular belief,
most personnel work is not dealing
directly with people as it is keeping
records and making studies and
other paper work. Supply in this
field is much greater than demand.
Nor does it seem that the picture
will change in the forseeable fu
ture. Moreover, other than civil
service, qualified Jews are reported
to have found it extremely difficult
to find jobs in personnel work.
Many young women cast longing
eyes upon such glamor fields as
journalism, publishing, radio and
television, writing and advertising.
Annually thousands of hopefuls
with their college diplomas scarcely
dry, descend upon broadcasting
companies, advertising agencies,
publishers and other fields related
to writing. The dreary fact is the
number of jobs in these fields are
relatively few in comparison with
the number of applicants. This
leads to fierce competition for jobs.
Consequently unless a person has
exceptional ability, plus contacts,
she is likely to be sorely disap
pointed. Probably the most fre
quent entree into these fields is via
a secretarial job. Employees dem
onstrating ability are often up
graded to more responsible and lu
crative positions.
It may be helpful to indicate
some of the professional fields
where opportunities are attractive
and racial limitations undiscernible.
The country’s largest profession,
teaching, has long attracted many
Jewish women. Thanks to pleasant
hours, generous vacations and in
some communities fairly good sala
ries and pensions, it has been pos
sible for many school “marms” to
combine marriage with their ca
reers.
Despite, however, the much
bruited shortage of teachers, this
must be noted. The shortages are
greatest in those communities
where salaries and other standards
are lowest. In large cities or com
munities where salaries are good,
shortages save for a few specialty
subjects such as math, sciences and
vocational subjects have either
been met or will be shortly.
In many areas there is still con-
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