It is essential to collect and disseminate data about women training for and working in high-wage nontraditional employment. Such information will demonstrate the benefits for women choosing NTO career options and illustrate the need for support of activities that increase women's access to and retaining in NTOs.
Work4Women is your gateway to available statistics on women and nontraditional occupations. At this time, however, such data research by public or private entities is limited.
This section includes:
Women and Nontraditional Occupations (NTOs)
Incentives to enter NTOs are high, but change has been slow
Nontraditional jobs for women often pay 20% to 30% more than traditionally female jobs. Despite that fact, between 1988 and 1997, the number of women in nontraditional jobs remained relatively unchanged at around 3% of the total number of women employed.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (June 1998)
Women work in every aspect of the construction industry
Although within the construction industry, women often work predominantly in more traditional jobs (administrative support, etc.); they are involved within every occupational category of the construction industry. In 1997 the 784,000 women in construction were working in the following employment sectors:
|
# of women
|
% of women
working in the
construction sector
|
Technical, Sales and Administrative Support
Managerial and Professional Specialty
Precision, Production and Craft
Operators, Fabricators and Laborers
Service, Farming, Forestry and Fishing
Total
|
395,000
221,000
97,000
58,000
12,000
784,000
|
(50.4%)
(28.2%)
(12.4%)
(7.4%)
1.5%)
100% |
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey (1996 Annual Averages)
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Women and Work in General
Women's presence in the national workforce is increasing.
Women accounted for nearly half of the workforce in the United States in 1997. That number has risen steadily for the last 30 years. In 1970, there were 30 million women in the U.S. workforce. In 1997 that number has grown to 64 million women.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Employment & Earnings" (January 1999)
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Race/Ethnicity and Working Women
For black women, lower-wage and less-secure jobs are still dominant.
The largest number of black women worked in technical, sales, and administrative support occupations-2.7 million in 1996. Unfortunately, many of these jobs do not offer high wages, are sometimes temporary or contingent in nature, and very rarely offer the full range of fringe benefits (health care coverage, paid vacations, and pension plans) associated with managerial, professional, or technical jobs. U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey (1996 Annual Averages)
Source: Excerpted from the DOL, Women's Bureau publication, 20 Facts on Women Working.
)
Changes in representation continue between groups.
In 1998, Black women had a participation rate of 62.8% of Black women in the national workforce. The participation rates of White and Hispanic women were 59.4% and 55.6%, respectively. Hispanic women are gradually narrowing the participation gap between themselves and their white counterparts. U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Employment & Earnings" (January 1999) (
Source: Excerpted from the DOL, Women's Bureau publication, 20 Facts on Women Working.
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Links
For more information about these and other, related topics try these online resources:
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