Page:The Fun of It.pdf/173

Rh and in the application of gold beater’s skin to them. There are a few one-of-a-kind factory jobs, exist­ing perhaps because of an individual’s unusual abil­ity and because such a worker doesn’t interfere much with men’s employment.

As I have indicated before, the aircraft divisions of rubber, petroleum and instrument companies, to mention only a few of the ramifications of the in­dustry, utilize women in various capacities. Closely allied to aviation as a useful parasite, is the man­ufacturing of parachutes. There women almost exclusively cut and sew the fabric but men pack the finished products into covers.

Aside from factory work, there is clerical help to be considered. As in all industries, much of it is now designated definitely as “women’s work”, and so wherever filing, stenography, and similar tasks are necessary, women are found. The offices where they work are not always in town. Often they are on or adjacent to an airport or testing field where the staff can see something of actual flying activities.

Many people think of aviation as composed al­most entirely of pilots. They overlook the great non-flying group of workers who are necessary to build the planes, and keep them running. With increasing air travel on the part of the public, an army of traffic men, ticket sellers, accountants, and mechanics, all under trained heads, besides pilots, are needed to operate the country’s great network of airlines. In this group as well as in factories and