liberty--for
the mother to eke out deficiencies in the father's payment by going out
to work. It has also been thought that a woman is not ordinarily under a
similar obligation to maintain a family, so that her "human needs" would
be met by a wage sufficient to maintain herself as an independent
individual.

These views have been attacked as involving a differentiation unfair in
the first instance to women, but in the second instance to men, because
opening a way to undercutting. The remedy proposed is public provision
for children under the industrial age, and for the mother in return for
her work in looking after them. With this subvention, it is conceived,
the rates for men or women might be equalised on the basis of a
sufficiency for the individual alone. This would certainly simplify the
wages question, but at the cost of a serious financial question. I do
not, myself, think that "human needs" can be fully met without the
common provision of certain essentials for children. One such
essential--education, has been long recognised as too costly to be put
upon the wages of the worker. We may find that we shall have to add to
the list if we are to secure to growing children all that the community
would desire for them. On the other hand, the main responsibility for
directing its own life should be left to each family, and this carries
the consequence, that the adult-man's wage should be based not on
personal but on family requirements.

WOMEN'S WAGES

But the supposed injustice to woman is illusory. Trade Boards will not
knowingly fix women's rates at a point at which they can undercut men.
Nor if women are properly represented on them will they fix their rates
at a point at which women will be discarded in favour of male workers.
In industries where both sexes are employed, if the women workers are of
equal value with the men in the eyes of the employer, they will receive
equal pay; if of less value, then, but only then, proportionately less
pay. It is because women have received not proportionately but quite
disproportionately less pay that they have been undercutting men, and
the Trade Boards are--very gradually, I admit--correcting this error.
For well-known historical reasons women have been at an economic
disadvantage, and their work has secured less than its worth as compared
with the work of men. The tendency of any impartial adjustment of wages
is to correct this disadvantage, because any such system will