Pink-collar workers: Their value and importance in the workforce
You may have heard of white and blue-collar workers, but have you heard of pink-collar workers? Pink-collar workers play a key role in our economy, but their efforts are often overlooked. From caregiving to secretarial work or teaching, pink-collar workers fill necessary and important roles in the workforce.
The term pink-collar workers has a rich history throughout the 20th century, and pink-collar employees are still highly impactful in today’s workforce. Find out who pink-collar workers are and how you can best support them at work.
What are pink-collar workers?
Pink-collar workers are employees working in jobs that have traditionally been considered women’s jobs. People typically regard workers in women-dominated fields like teaching and nursing as pink-collar employees.
It’s worth noting that in the present day, a fair number of men and nonbinary employees work in traditionally female-dominated industries, so anyone can be a pink-collar worker. The term refers to the role or field historically associated with women rather than an individual employee being a woman. Tons of women also work in male-dominated fields or roles not strongly associated with either gender who would not qualify as pink-collar workers.
The history of pink-collar workers
The term Pink-collar originated in the 1940s when American women entered the workforce en masse due to World War II. With men being shipped off to serve in the war, the women back home in America stepped in to fill all of those recently vacated jobs. After the war ended and the soldiers returned home, employers continued to employ women in many roles, including nursing, telephone operating, and secretary work.
However, the term pink-collar was widely popularized in the 1970s when author Louise Kapp Howe wrote her book Pink-Collar Workers: Inside the World of Women’s Work. The book explored the lives and experiences of women in the labor force over three years.
Traditional views of a woman’s role have greatly shaped the work associated with pink-collar workers. When we explore common job titles held by pink-collar workers below, you’ll notice that people typically associate pink-collar work with traits traditionally associated with women, such as nurturing, caregiving, or working with children.
While women no longer dominate some pink-collar roles and industries, they still hold many primarily. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes Women in the Labor Force reports that provide information on the occupations and industries in which women mainly work today. You will notice that many fields, such as nursing and secretary work that women assumed during and after WWI, still have high female employment rates.
Typical jobs associated with pink-collar workers
Explore some of the top industries for pink-collar workers and the examples of pink-collar job titles.
Healthcare providers and support Staff
Many pink-collar workers work in the healthcare field in patient care and support roles. Some common job titles for pink-collar workers in healthcare include:
- Registered Nurse
- Medical Assistant
- Medical Secretary
- Dental Assistant
- Dental Hygienist
- Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)
- Clinical Social Worker
- Mental Health Counselor
- Midwife
- Lactation Consultant
Education and childcare providers
Historically, women were the primary caregivers for children, so many view childcare and education jobs as pink-collar work. People often consider most teachers, from kindergarten to high school teachers, to be pink-collar workers. However, college professors are often not regarded as pink-collar employees. Here are a few common roles in education held by pink-collar employees:
- Teacher
- Teaching Assistant
- Paraprofessional
- Day Care Attendant
- School Librarian
- Cafeteria Workers (often casually referred to as lunch ladies)
Beauty professionals
People have historically considered the beauty industry a sector primarily for women as customers and professionals. However, men have been entering the industry at a higher rate in recent years. The below beauty roles are typically considered pink-collar employees:
- Hair Stylist
- Esthetician
- Nail Technician
- Makeup Artist
Office workers
While men dominate many office jobs and white-collar roles, or men and women share these roles more equally, many consider employees in office support roles as pink-collar workers. Some also regard office departments, like human resources, as pink-collar work. Here are some job titles you may see for office-based pink-collar employees
- Secretary
- Receptionist
- Office Assistant
- Paralegal
- Administrative Assistant
- Bookkeeper
- Human Resources Manager
- HR Assistant
Like other pink-collar jobs, many of the above roles support other higher-level employees or are more customer-oriented. Employees like receptionists create a welcoming and friendly environment, and people often view that kind of hosting or friendliness as a feminine trait.
Other common roles for pink-collar workers
Pink-collar workers aren’t limited to the categories above. Here are some other job titles commonly considered pink-collar employees:
- Housekeeper
- Florist
- Interior Designer
- Flight Attendant
- Nanny
- Waitress
The importance of pink-collar workers
While society often overlooks or minimizes the value of workers in care-oriented and service-oriented fields, these workers play an important role in our economy and society. Pink-collar workers usually care for others through health care, education, beauty, and social services. Pink-collar jobs are predominantly service-oriented roles focused on helping others and providing necessary services for society. After all, where would we be as a society without school teachers and nurses? As such, pink-collar workers play an essential role in keeping our society functioning.
As you may have noticed from the lists above, pink-collar workers hold many of the roles that people highly praised throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. People celebrated nurses as healthcare heroes, while parents gained a new appreciation for teachers during the remote learning period. These workers do tough jobs that we as a community need, but they often don’t receive that respect and celebration continuously. Whether it be a world war or a global pandemic, pink-collar workers have stepped up for our country.
Issues impacting pink-collar workers today
Pink-collar work initially played a crucial role in providing financial independence for women and making them more prominent in the workforce. However, pink-collar workers continue to face gender-related biases and challenges even today. Here are some top issues impacting pink-collar employees in today’s workforce.
Lower pay
Pink-collar workers are often underpaid compared to workers in other sectors. Jobs historically associated with male employees, such as blue-collar jobs, often receive fairly competitive pay even in fields with minimal educational requirements. Employers often pay them lower wages, even in fields like social work or teaching that have fairly extensive requirements around education and licensing.
Gender bias and discrimination
Gender bias and discrimination still permeate the workforce, often leading to the harassment and disrespect of pink-collar workers. Women in pink-collar roles often face sexual harassment, particularly in service or care-oriented roles. Male pink-collar workers may encounter bias because they are employed in a role historically seen as women’s work. Harmful gender stereotypes and ideas about what constitutes “masculine” or appropriate work for men still abound.
Barriers to career advancement
Another common area of bias encountered by pink-collar workers is the glass ceiling. Women in pink-collar roles may excel in their careers, but they top out prematurely and are denied promotional opportunities.
In many pink-collar fields, female pink-collar workers primarily make up the employee population, but men still hold most higher-level management roles. Of course, hiring decisions shouldn’t be based on gender, but this discrepancy could indicate that bias is impacting hiring and promotional decisions. To help combat this issue, organizations should encourage internal promotions and growth from within for pink-collar roles.
Best practices for supporting pink-collar workers and promoting gender equality at work
If you’re an employer who wants to do more to support the pink-collar workers in your organization, try these three strategies.
Use gender-neutral language in job postings
Remember that pink-collar workers don’t need to be women, and blue-collar workers don’t need to be men. They need to be able to do a good job in their role. As such, you should use gender-neutral language throughout the job descriptions. Using gendered language may discourage applicants of other genders from applying.
Many pink-collar roles traditionally had more gendered job titles, such as stewardess, hostess, cleaning lady, etc. When hiring for those roles now, it’s best to use a more gender-neutral term, such as flight attendant, host, or housekeeper.
Analyze pay data regularly
It’s a good practice in all industries to regularly conduct salary benchmarking to understand whether you’re paying staff competitive rates in line with local industry standards. In addition, it’s a good idea to break your salary down by gender and other demographics to look for pay disparities between groups of employees.
Encourage internal mobility
Employers often overlook pink-collar workers for promotional opportunities that are less associated with pink-collar work, leading them to hit glass ceilings. For example, secretaries are pink-collar workers who have transferable skills that could apply to many white-collar jobs. When looking to fill an open role, consider internal talent, including those in pink-collar roles.
Comprehensive performance management practices encourage managers and employees to have regular discussions about upward mobility and the training or steps required to reach higher-level roles. If your organization only has annual performance reviews and does not make performance management an ongoing process throughout the year, consider expanding that area of your HR approach to better support all employees, particularly those in care-oriented and service-oriented fields.
More Resources:
Act your wage: How young workers are responding to stagnant pay
Digital age workplace: Why soft skills matter more than ever
Leadership development goals: Your roadmap to success
