This is the best book on practical feminism that I've read. Because it is long out of print, I had to get the British Library to pull this book out of the archives for me.
I'm fascinated by the evolution of feminist discourse in 20th Century UK. I read Myself When Young (1938) which is a series of mini-autobiographies of prominent women. One of them was Dame Caroline Haslett - an electrical engineer who led a long and fascinating life. One of her crowning achievements was advocating the use electricity to relieve household drudgery. Technology as a tool of feminist liberation.
As part of her battle for equality, she wrote a book called Problems Have No Sex. Sadly, there are no 2nd hand copies for sale, no scans, and very little written about it. There's one contemporary review and that's about it.
So I made a request to the British Library and, a few days later, sat down in their reading room with the dusty tome.
All books writing from 2020 will be in the shadow of Covid19. This book, published in 1949, is written in the shadow of the atomic bomb. It starts with the terrifying realisation that a woman has the same physical capability as a man when it comes to pressing the button which drops a bomb. While men and women may have different levels of strength, technology is the great leveller.
The influx of women into traditionally male environments allowed for a practical demonstration of feminism. It's all very well theorising that women are as capable as men but, as every engineer knows, you need to be able to prove it.
Sir Robert Watson Watt, the discoverer of radiolocation, speaking of the way in which women without previous experience in science had taken up this vital work, said: "The question I asked myself was, if these girls could reach such heights in the comparatively short period during which they had contact with physics, what would they have done with a decent education in technical, scientific and engineering studies?"
It is evident, however, that in addition to the revision of the school syllabus there will need to be a change in the attitude held up to boys as the correct one to adopt towards girls and their capacities.
There are signs that this is occurring spontaneously. A boy reproached by his father for being beaten in class by a "mere" girl, remarked thoughtfully, "You know, father, I don't think girls are so very mere nowadays."
The book spends a decent amount of space on pregnancy and its effects on women in the workplace. This was written pre-pill but in an era with relatively easy access to contraception. Haslett talks frankly about the realities of menstruation - which surprised me somewhat - and whether reproduction is compatible with employment (spoiler alert; yes).
In amongst some slightly tedious legal matters of the day are some forthright pleas for cheaper electricity so that women can be released from manual labour at home. There's also the realities of what it means to place people in a radically upgraded situation. You can't expect anyone to suddenly know how to operate:
Women must see that the vast amount of talk which there has been about kitchen planning is translated into action and that properly planned kitchens are included in all the new houses built. In addition to the importance of good design and lay-out and the provision of proper equipment as a sine qua non, there is much scope for education of the housewife in planning her housework along labour-saving lines; and in the teaching of the principles of motion study in the home so that the maximum benefit can be gained from the use of the equipment provided.
Haslett is undoubtedly technocratic but, above all, she is realistic. She has an excellent and provable theory of change. This isn't a rant nor a call to arms. She is calm, methodical and ruthlessly determined to set out the problems and solutions.
The sense of having prove herself equal to a male colleague sometimes makes a woman self-assertive and over-aggressive; while the fear of loss of personal prestige or of social or economic insecurity arising from admitting women to full equality makes some men unco-operative and unjust towards women working outside the home. As Miss Hilda Martindale remarks in her book From One Generation to Another: "I found that opposition to working with women on equal terms seldom came from the man who was first class at his work; it was the man who was not sure of himself who objected."
In manual as opposed to professional types of work the fear "If I show her how to do my job, the boss may sack me because he need not pay her so much" is a cogent argument for equal pay.
Equal pay is a battle which is still being fought, unfortunately.
There is also just a hint of radical politics lurking under the sometimes-bland prose. Should tariffs be imposed? Are trade-barriers a good way to promote equality? Should women be more self-assured about entering politics and agitating for change?
There's also an undercurrent of rage directed at the women who helped bring about the war.
The rise of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy was made possible by the individual man delegating his personal responsibility to a Fuehrer or a Duce —and by the individual woman abandoning her responsibility towards mankind in general and devoting herself entirely and unquestioningly to child-bearing, and the routine work of the home. This wholesale shirking of individual responsibility was the one thing which made possible the creation of the Nazi system with its concomitants of the concentration camp, the mass crematorium and the battlefield.
Prophetically, she notes that the next 20 years should be one of the most interesting periods of history to live in. I'd certainly say that the change from 1949 to 1969 was just that!
Unlike some other books, this is realistic about the timeframes involved in wholesale cultural change. She sets out how many years of vigilance will be needed to ensure that schools are equipping their female students with the knowledge, ambition, and advice to help them survive in the future. Similar Government, which is lambasted as being far too slow, is shown as needing to embrace radical change. It should be remembered that Churchill, only recently deposed as Prime Minister, was an ardent anti-feminist. He repeatedly stymied the attempts of women to gain the vote - an attitude which is often conspicuously overlooked in the 21st century. I imagine that left a bitter taste in the mouths of Haslett and her contemporaries.
Women's organisations are also the recipient of Haslett's unsentimental gaze. They need to step up their game, raise more money, and set realistic goals. Similarly, women MPs must make sure not to concern themselves only with women's issues. And, for that matter, women have to stop lollygagging and start using their vote. Finally, she sets out ways in which society has to guard against a backlash to feminism.
There is a whole discussion about the structural ephemera which causes resentment. The slow build up of unjust laws and customs hurts everyone.
Now, obviously, people are the product of their time. The book is strongly focused on the UK and isn't too dodgy on race. There's an occasional mention of the USA and a brief sceptical look at the USSR's claims of feminist equality. She does go a little further. Here's a sample from the chapter "Citizens of the World":
Although in Great Britain and the United States women have achieved not only a considerable measure of “equality” but also a very considerable store of experience in the political, economic, and scientific fields: yet there are still countries where women have no rights at all.
Just as different races have reached different stages of civilization so that the primitive tribes of New Guinea co-exist with the highly civilized European races; so different races have reached different stages in their attitude towards women. This latter difference bears no obvious relation to their general level of technical or cultural development. There may in fact be a much greater equality of contribution towards the common life (which is the fundamental basis of equality between the sexes) among some primitive races than among some very highly civilized ones.
While these differences and inequalities persist, trained women will have a continuing obligation towards those who are striving to become politically articulate or who, by reason of the inferior status conferred upon them by their own community, are in danger of exploitation.
It is necessary also to have a realistic appreciation of the differences that may underlie a superficial equality.
The women of Japan were enfranchised almost simultaneously with the women of France, but the women of Switzerland still remain without voting rights.
Yet to deduce from the equality of political rights conferred on the women of France and Japan alike that the women of these two countries possessed indeed comparable opportunities and status would be fantastic.
The traditional Japanese woman, educated from birth to consider herself of no account and completely subservient to the men of her family, will need many years of education and opportunity before she is capable of political responsibility. To expect her to derive maximum advantage at the present time from her enfranchisement would be as logical as to suppose that a woman from the Middle Ages, could she be miraculously transported through time and placed in a modern labour-saving house, could be expected to know just what would happen if she turned certain knobs and switches; and to understand the part that electrical power plays in the modern community.
The adoption of Western democratic machinery by nations of other cultural traditions implies that we have a continuing obligation to these peoples until education has made plain the fundamental principles underlying our way of life.
Some of the Eastern nations are tackling their problems themselves with considerable energy. China with its great drive to stamp out illiteracy has done much to remove the burden of ignorance which has held that great country in economic thralldom for so long. It may well be that the imitative genius of Japan, which derived so much from the influence of China upon its art and culture in the past, will draw from Chinese sources more readily than from the West a new concept of the status of women in human society. The work of Mme. Chiang Kai Shek and her sisters may be the keystone of women’s emancipation in the East.
In this age we are setting up the pattern for life of succeeding generations. Women must see that the mistakes which our own nations made in their development are not through ignorance or greed perpetuated in other lands.
She is curiously circumspect on the issue of disability. Post-war, I imagine many people wanted to ignore the horrors which rent bodies asunder. The only mention is:
Yet even in Britain a very great number of people lead unnecessarily cramped and limited lives, and the social conscience of the country is awakening to their needs. It is being recognized, for example, that it is not sufficient to give disabled people a weekly pension to keep them from actual hunger or to provide institutions in which they can be housed. The disabled person has as much right to a full and useful life, within the limits of his or her disability, as anyone else.
Ultimately, this book is about what we owe to each other. Women won the war, then they rightly demanded to win the benefits of peace.
"Problems Have No Sex" is far better than many other feminist books I've read simply because of its lack of academic pretentiousness. Other than the occasional Latin phrase, the book is written in plain English - designed to be read and understood as widely as possible. As an engineer, Dame Haslett has an engineer's approach to problem solving - identify the issue, determine the cause, suggest solutions, investigate what works and what doesn't, repeat until fixed.
Every feminist should read this book. I'm annoyed that it has never been reprinted and that there's no eBook available. Under UK copyright, it should enter the public domain in 2028. Hopefully a scan will be released which will allow everyone to read this important work.
From Terence Eden’s Blog via this RSS feed
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I’ve been trying to use the On This Day feature, but it’s just not working for me! 
Every time I input my details, it says I have no posts for today, even though I know I’ve posted stuff! 
Access token fully generated (I triple-checked!) 
Attempted on multiple instances but still nothing! 
Is it supposed to show only specific types of posts?
I’ve made some pretty epic posts before! 
Did I miss something REALLY important?!
Help me figure this out, please!!! 
I need to know if it’s truly my fault or the code’s! 
Thanks for looking into this TRAGIC situation!!! 
I feel so left out!! 
Let’s get this sorted ASAP! 
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016:31 - Tue 30 January 2018
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