y in which the
Government is sometimes responsible for encouraging women's "black
leg" labour. Dr Leslie Mackenzie in his evidence given recently before
the Civil Service Commission said that the Treasury refused to allow
the Scottish Local Government Board to have a woman medical inspector
at a medical inspector's salary, but permitted them to engage a woman
with medical qualifications at a woman inspector's salary, which was,
of course, much less. Sad to relate a woman was found to accept this
post.

These examples have been given because it is necessary that a woman
intending to adopt the profession of medicine should know the sort
of work, quite apart from the treatment of her cases, which a medical
woman, worth her salt, has to do. It may be asked how it is, if these
difficulties are still constantly arising, that our pioneers were so
successful? For several reasons: first, because they were in the best
sense women of the world: they understood when to be firm and when
to give way. They understood mankind. Secondly, they had an assured
position. This is probably the most essential condition of all for
success. Before decent terms and conditions of work can be demanded,
the worker must be in such a position financially that she can, if
necessary, refuse the work in question, and if possible the employer
must be aware of this fact. So often women enter the labour market
only when driven by stark necessity, that it is unfortunately the
easiest thing in the world to exploit them. People of either sex faced
by starvation for themselves or those dependent on them must take the
first thing that offers if the conditions be in any way bearable. In
my opinion, next to the parliamentary vote, the most powerful lever
in raising the condition of women will be the entrance into the labour
market of a considerable number of women so trained in Economics that
they will always "play the game," and at the same time sufficiently
remote from want to be able to resist the sweating employer.

Some people discourage women of independent means from entering the
labour market through the mistaken idea that if such women work they
are taking away the chance of some other women who are in need. In
case any reader may be in doubt on this question, I should like
to point out that it is the groups of workers among whom no such
economically independent individuals are to be found, that are always
exploited by the unscrupulous employer; they ar