Women in the Civil Service The long-standing controversy as to
the rights of women in the Civil Service is brought a stage nearer settlement in the report of the joint committee of oflicial and staff representatives set up to consider the Royal Commission's recommendations. Broadly speaking, the principle to be applied to women who hold appointments is that of " a fair field and no favour." But the crucial question of the retention of women after marriage is dealt with by a compromise which may temporarily appease, though it will not satisfy, feminists. The feminist view is that the married or unmarried status of a woman is her own private concern, and ought not to be taken into consideration by an employer unless it affects her efficiency. The joint committee, following the Royal Commission, does not propose to abolish the general rule, but it empowers the Service to retain a woman after marriage if it desires to do so in view of her special qualifications. (In that case, of course, she will have no claim to that marriage gratuity which many of the lower- paid women look upon as a sort of prospective dowry.) The women have not got rid of all differentiation between the sexes, but they have gained something—how much depends on the spirit in which heads of departments use their discretionary power.
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