Women in the New Zealand labour force, with particular reference to the period since 1936

Abstract

This thesis attempts to survey women's part in the Labour force in New Zealand concentrating mainly on the period since 1936. In order to obtain a better basis of comparison the census figures of 1926 have also been included, and where necessary, reference has been made to even earlier developments. The first Chapter is a general picture of women in the labour force showing the numbers of women in employment and the work they are doing, taking into account both the variety of occupations and the scope offered by them for initiative and responsibility. The following three Chapters then consider various aspects of women's employment and factors likely to affect their contribution to the labour force. The first of these Chapters is concerned with factors which may affect women's employment opportunities, with more particular reference to those emanating from the side of demand. The second deals with various factors relating to the supply of women's labour, while women's wages form the subject of the third Chapter. In view of the breadth of the subject and the necessary brevity of the thesis, it did not seem possible to trace the development of women's work in detail from the earliest pioneering days so that a more modern period was chosen. 1936 has been chosen for the main point of departure for several reasons. It was a fairly normal year in regard to employment, as the worst of the depression was passed and there was, as yet, no sign of a labour shortage. That year, too, brought into power a Labour Government which wrought, in the following years, many changes in New Zealand's industrial and commercial life and also in her social legislation, which all had their repercussions on employment, including that of women. The emergence of a labour shortage after 1936 as a result of Government policy and war, accelerated the development of women's employment and threw into sharper relief the various characteristics and problems of women's employment, which makes it, therefore, a useful period to study.