WOMEN AND THE CIVIL SERVICE
SIR,—The tribute to the influence exercised by women through the vote, in your as usual excellent " News of the Week " columns in February 5th issue of The Spectator, will, I am sure, be appreciated by those who, like the members of this Association, are concerned that women shall have the opportunity of making the fullest possible contribution to the welfare of our country and in the international sphere. It is to be regretted that the qualities of mind and powers of constructive thought to be found amongst the womanhood of the country are not more widely utilised, especially in the Civil Service, where the influence of women on policy might well have far-reaching results. Still more is it to be regretted that in the otherwise excellent White Paper on the Reform of the Foreign Service it is proposed that the role of women shall for the present continue to be confined to the subordinate branches of the Service. There seems to be no good reason for waiting until after the war to set up the suggested committee to examine the question of the admission of women to the administrative branch of the Foreign Office and to the Diplomatic, Commercial Diplomatic and Consular Services ; on the contrary, there is an urgent need to find the very best candidates for this important and exacting work. To restrict the field of selection by precluding possible candidates with the requisite qualities of " per- sonality and character " and " intellectual capacity " merely on grounds of sex at this juncture in our history denotes, to say the least of it, a most unfortunate timidity. It is to be hoped that the Secretary of State will be prevailed upon to set up the committee to consider this question
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