Women of color now make up almost 15 percent of the U.S.A.'s private-sector work force, but they are concentrated in low-level positions as sales workers, clericals, and service workers in the nursing and residential care facilities industry, crop production, gasoline stations, and apparel manufacturing, says a new U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) study, "Women of Color: Their Employment in the Private Sector," published in July 2003 (http://www.eeoc.gov/womenofcolor.html).
At 7.6 percent of the total work force, Black women represent the largest group of U.S. workers among women of color, the report says, but they have made the smallest gains in the group since 1990 with regard to total employment and attainment of higher-level positions — far below Hispanic and Asian-American women.
Also, according to the report, nursing and residential care facilities remains the industry employing the largest percentage of women overall and the largest percentage of Black women, who exceed their work force representation as sales workers, clericals, and service workers.
Hispanic women, too, exceed their total representation as sales workers, clericals, and service workers, and as laborers as well, according to the report, but at 4.7 percent of the total work force, they showed the most dramatic improvement in overall employment. Their rate of growth exceeded 100 percent over a 10-year period.
Over the same period, Asian-American women made the most progress in attaining higher positions, the report says. The number of female Asian-American officials and managers more than doubled, with a rate of change of 135 percent. Asian-American women are more likely to be employed as professionals, technicians, and clericals, says the report, with the largest numbers employed in the computer and electronic product manufacturing industry, as well as in some retail industries.
The number of female Native American officials and managers nearly doubled over the 10-year period, although employment within the group increased only slightly, from 0.2 percent to 0.3 percent of the total work force. Native American women are most frequently employed in the gasoline station and apparel manufacturing industry sectors.
