762

State Papers and Addresses

BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL WOMEN'S WEEK,

Radio Station WFBR October 14, 1942

Baltimore

Celebration of Business and Professional Women's Week takes on vastly
increased interest in this war-time year, because of the increased scope of
womens' participation in every phase of the National effort. This year would
seem to mark the culmination of all the progress that has been made by women
in the field of business, professional and industrial endeavor. Never before was
the complete assistance of women in these fields so needed, or utilized so thor-
oughly, as is the case today.

In the Proclamation which I was very pleased to issue declaring Business
and Professional Women's Week from the period of October llth to 17th, it
was noted that it was designed to be "a time set apart when deserved recogni-
tion would be given to thousands1 of women for their outstanding achievements
and splendid progress in many fields of endeavor". Furthermore, it was noted
in the Proclamation that "women bring to their office or position in the business
and professional world a true understanding and knowledge of the fundamental
principles of justice, plus a sincerity of purpose, and they are taking their place
side by side with men in war industry plants, thus adding another phase to
their accomplishments. "

Envelopments since Pearl Harbor seem to indicate clearly that the time
when women were limited in their activities in the life of community and
Country is gone, certainly for the emergency and probably forever. Day by
day. the newspapers and magazines impress upon us the growing number of
women now engaged in avocations where they are practically on an equal
economic basis with the men of the Nation. Furthermore, the establishment
here in Baltimore and throughout the Country of a Woman-Power Section of
the Federal War Manpower Commission gives evidence that the increased part
being played by women in the war effort, great as it is, will still be expanded
very materially.

Sometime ago Chairman Paul V. McNutt, of the War Manpower Board,
declared that it will be vital to the war effort to add at least one million more
women to the ranks of industrial workers during the coming year. It doesn't
require a great deal of imagination to picture the effect this will have on life
here in America throughout all the years to come.

Surely it isn't reasonable to expect that, when the emergency facing
America has ended in the final Victory that must be ours, if freedom is to to
survive upon the earth, women will be satisfied to retire to the lesser part in
American life that has been theirs up to very recently. Even though the need
for women in production fields will be greatly lessened by cessation of war
activities, the footing, the VERY SECURE FOOTING, already obtained in