I will not here discuss. I conclude that for adult men the minimum is
reasonably fixed at a figure which would meet the "human needs" of a
family of five, and that for women it should be determined by the value
of their services relatively to that of men.[1]

[Footnote 1: I am assuming that this value is sufficient to cover the
needs of the independent woman worker. If not, these needs must also be
taken into account. As a fact both considerations are present to the
minds of the Trade Boards. A Board would not willingly fix a wage which
would either (_a_) diminish the opportunity of women to obtain
employment, or (_b_) enable them to undercut men, or (_c_) fail to
provide for them if living alone.]

How far have Trade Boards actually succeeded in fixing such a minimum?
Mr. Seebohm Rowntree has put forward two sets of figures based on
pre-war prices, and, of course, requiring adjustment for the changes
that have subsequently taken place. One of these figures was designed
for a subsistence wage, the other for a "human needs" wage. The latter
was a figure which Mr. Rowntree himself did not expect to see reached in
the near future. I have compared these figures with the actual minima
for unskilled workers fixed by the Boards during 1920 and 1921, and I
find that the rates fixed are intermediate between the two. The
subsistence rate is passed, but the higher rate not attained, except for
some classes of skilled workers. The Boards have in general proceeded
with moderation, but the more serious forms of underpayment have been
suppressed so far as inspection has been adequately enforced. The ratio
of the female to the male minimum averages 57.2 per cent., which may
seem unduly low, but it must be remembered that in the case of women's
wages a much greater leeway had to be made good, and there can be little
doubt that the increases secured for female workers considerably