THE UNRECRUITED WOMAN SIR,—The writer of the leading article in
your issuc of November 14th headed "The Unrecruited Women" expresses surprise that the women Members of Parliament have not taken a more active part in calling attention to the valuable points he raises. My colleagues and I are even more surprised that anyone purporting to write an informed article should be so obviously ignorant of the real facts. Even a cursory examination of parliamentary and contemporary records would disclose the unremitting and united effort which has been made by all women back bench members to direct the attention of the Government to the need for the proper organisation of women power. To mention but a few of our activities we had a special parliamentary debate on woman power, thus creating a precedent. For eighteen months we have worked together, ably assisted by re- presentative lay women on a self-constituted Woman Power Com- mittee which was responsible for ziersuading the Government to appoint the Women's Consultative Committee specially charged with advising Mr. Bevin.' We have organised deputations, preparei)
memoranda, made speeches, asked parliamentary questions, and taken every possible step to inform ourselves on all aspects of women's work. That effective progress has been slow is no fault of ours, though we recognise with regret that had our advice been accepted from time to time when offered much greater progress would have been made in the organisation of woman power Criticism to be constructive should be informed, and we regret that a valuable ally to supporting the need for the proper planning of women's effort should have taken so little trouble tc obtain the neces- sary accurate knowledge on which to base the case.—Yours, &c., IRENE WARD.
House of Commons, Westminster, London, S.W. r [We did not say that wornen M.P.s had not been active in directing attention to the need of organising woman powei But we did say, and we repeat that women M.P.s have not been as active as they might have been in dealing with those specific aspects of the question to which we called attention, and more especially in regard to the intolerably long hours of work.—En., The Spectator.]
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