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WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE
As the proportion of U.S. women in the labor force continues
to increase, so does their representation in various occupational
sectors. In 2001, women made up 46.5 percent of the labor
force. The occupational sectors with the highest representation
of women included sales and office occupations (63.7 percent)
and service occupations (56.7 percent).
Although women may
be making strides in terms of equal employment with men,
only 29.0 percent of those who earned
between $50,000-$99,999
were women, and an even smaller proportion of those who
earned over $100,000 were women (17.1 percent). Furthermore,
women
earned only 76 cents for every dollar that men earned
in 2001.1
With 60.9 million women in the work force, their
health and safety is critical to America's productivity.
In
2000, 555,722
women sustained a non-fatal occupational injury. Women
working in sales/administrative support and service
occupations had
the highest percentages of injuries (23.8 and 32.4
percent respectively). Nearly half (47.5 percent) of all
non-fatal
injuries included sprains, strains, or tears to a muscle,
tendon, ligament, or joint.2 In
addition to physical risks, one study showed that 60
percent of women reported
that
stress was their most significant problem at work.3
 [d]
 [d]
1U.S.
Department of Labor. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Labor
Force Statistics for the Current Population Survey. Median
Weekly Earnings. http://stats.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat37.pdf [Back
to Text]
2U.S. Department
of Labor. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Injuries, Illnesses,
and Fatalities,
Table R43 and R47.
http://stats.bls.gov/iif/oshcdnew.htm#Resource%20Table%20categories%20-%202000 [Back
to Text]
3National Institute
for Occupational Safety and Health, "Women's
Safety and Health Issues at Work.” Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, NIOSH. Cincinnati, OH, 2001. http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/01-123.html. [Back
to Text] |
