Women Clerks and Secretaries, said:

"With regard to the sanitary conditions--these as a rule are bad,
especially where there is only one woman. The difficulty has been
shirked by the women themselves in a great many cases.... I do not see
how these can be altered except by improving the status and position
of women, so that they may become strong enough to say they will not
have it if it is too bad."

Who is to dictate what is "too bad"? Surely the only remedy is to
have a proper standard of decency enforced by law. Women as a rule are
fools on this subject, and will endure almost any discomfort, rather
than complain.

In giving evidence before the Royal Commission, in May last year,
concerning the conditions of employment and their effect on the
health of Civil Service female typists and shorthand writers, Miss
Charlesworth, Honorary Secretary of the Civil Service Typists'
Association, said:

"The statistics as regards sickness relating to our class are almost
too small to be of very much use.... I may say from experience that
they are greatly influenced by the conditions under which the work
is done. In my own department (Local Government Board) our average
absence from sickness in the old office, where we were much
overcrowded, varied between ten and fourteen days a year, while in
our new office the average has steadily gone down from twelve to a
fraction over six last year.... It is very striking that there has
been that reduction in the average number of days' absence per year
from sickness, from twelve to six in four years while we have been
working under better conditions ... that means a less number of typing
machines in one room, more light to work by and more air--better rooms
to work in."

This evidence is interesting, as the worst conditions that could
possibly exist in the lofty rooms of a Government office, where
everything is on a big scale and there is a certain standard of
comfort, must be superior to the majority of commercial offices,
especially in London, where space is so expensive. Think of four girls
taking shorthand notes by telephone in a room with thirty typewriting
machines working at once!

There are no figures available with regard to the health of women
clerks generally. The common ailments are neuritis, anaemia, and
nervous breakdown. Typing is also a strain on the eyesight and
hearing. Miss Charlesworth says that in her experience it is the girls
who are not suited for the work