HC Deb 29 May 1905 vol 147 cc81-2
MR. SCHWANN (Manchester, N.)

I beg to ask the Secretary to the Board of Trade whether, in view of the fact that in some districts women are occupied in trades and their names figure in the registers of existing labour bureaux, which may be taken over by central and other bodies mentioned in his Unemployed Workmen's Bill, the terms workmen and unemployed persons will be held to include women workers.

MR. GERALD BALFOUR

Having regard to the provision in Section 1 of the Interpretation Act, 1889, to the effect that, unless the contrary intention appears, words importing the masculine gender shall include females, the terms ''workman" and "unemployed person" as used in the Bill would include women.