Job Patterns For Minorities And Women In Private Industry, 2008
Introduction

This section presents a brief narrative with graphs and tables as a preliminary analysis of the EEO-1 survey at national level.  The narrative uses the numbers from the 2008 survey that covers employment from July through September of 2008 and contains counts of employees in ten job categories by gender and race/ethnicity from private employers with 100 or more employees and some federal government contractors and subcontractors of the Unites States.  Women, minorities, and their employment patterns in private industry are the focus of this analysis.

Since 2007, the state of Hawaii is included in all geography and industry aggregates since complete data is now collected from employers in that state.  The survey report form includes two additional job categories:

• Executive/Senior Level Officials and Managers and
• First/Mid Level Officials and Managers.

It also includes two additional race groups:

• Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islanders and
• Two or More Races (http://www.eeoc.gov/employers/eeo1/index.cfm).  

Starting in 2008, the EEO-1 data collection and summary reports use the 2007 NAICS codes, a newer revision of the 2002 NAICS codes used in 2007 EEO-1 survey (http://www.census.gov/epcd/naics07).   

Highlights/Summary

In 2008, over 68,300 employers submitted, as appropriate, individual establishment and headquarters reports, an increase of over 500 companies from the 67,800 of the previous year.  Overall, the EEO-1 survey covered approximately 62.2 million private industry workers employed across the country.  Of this total, over 30.2 million or 48.6 percent were women and about 21.3 million or 34.2 percent were minorities (Table 1 and Table 2).1

Gender Differences by Occupation

Of the ten occupational groups measured in the EEO-1 survey, women significantly outnumbered men as Office & Clerical Workers and as Service Workers: nearly four out of five Office & Clerical Workers (78.7 percent) and about 60.0 percent of the Service Workers were females (Figure 3).   

Among the 30.2 million female employees covered by the EEO-1 survey:

• 18.4 percent or 5.6 million were Professionals, and
• 8.6 percent or 2.6 million were Officials and Managers.

Among the 31.9 million male employees covered by the survey, a slightly smaller percentage was Professionals but a considerably larger percentage was Officials and Managers:

• 15.4 percent of the men were Professionals, and
• 13.6 percent were Officials and Managers.

Women occupied more than half of the total Professional positions (53.0 percent, slightly higher than their overall 48.6 participation rate), 27.5 percent of the total Executive/Senior Level Official and Managerial positions, and 39.2 percent of the total First/Mid Level Official and Managerial positions (Figure 3).  

The average ratio of Executive/Senior to First/Mid positions was

• 1 to 8.1 for female Officials and Managers, and
• 1 to 4.8 for male Officials and Managers.  

These ratios indicate that nationwide for each female Senior/Executive Official and Manager there were 8.1 lower level Officials and Managers and for each male Senior/Executive Official and Manager there were 4.8 lower level Officials and Managers in private sector (Table 1 and Table 2).

Gender Differences by Industry

Compared to their male counterparts, women had a higher concentration in the following three industries (Figure 1):

• Health Care and Social Assistance (79.2 percent),
• Educational Services (63.3 percent), and
• Finance and Insurance (60.3 percent).  

Larger shares of women than men were found in Official and Managerial positions in two of these industries: Health Care and Social Assistance and Educational Services (Figure 5):

• 71.5 percent of First/Mid Level and 58.2 percent of Executive/Senior Level  positions in Health Care and Social Assistance;  
• 56.5 percent of First/Mid Level and 45.8 percent of Executive/Senior Level positions in Educational Services.

This data should be interpreted in light of the very high female participation rate in these industries (see Figure 5).  Female Officials and Managers in these two industries, moreover, had an Executive/Senior level to First/Mid level ratio of 1:4.3 (Health Care) and 1:3 (Education), lower than the national overall average ratio of 1:8.1.

Race and Ethnicity in the Private Labor Force

There were approximately 21.3 million minority employees in the private sector in 2008.  Minority groups captured in 2008 survey included Black or African Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans, American Indians, Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islanders and people reported as Two or More Races.  They comprised over 34.4 percent of the total private labor force (Table 1).

• 12.2 percent or about 2.6 million minority employees were Professionals,
• 6.5 percent or about 1.4 million held Official and Managerial positions
• • Over 5.7 percent at the First/Mid Level, and
  • About 0.8 percent at the Executive/Senior Level.  

The corresponding rates for the 40.9 million non-minority employees were 19.4 percent Professionals, 11.5 percent First/Mid Level Officials and Managers, and 2.1 percent Executive/Senior Level Officials and Managers (Table 1).  

Racial and Ethnic Minorities by Industry

Compared to their overall 34.4 percent participation rate in the private sector, minorities, as a group, had a higher concentration in three industries (Figure 2):

• Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting (67.3 percent),
• Waste Management and Remediation Services (50.9 percent), and
• Accommodation and Food Services Preparations (47.8 percent).

Minorities as a group were employed in slightly higher proportions in:

• Other Services (except Public Administration) (38.4 percent),
• Transportation and Warehousing (35.7 percent),  
• Arts Entertainment and Recreation (35.6 percent), and
• Real Estate Rental & Leasing (35.6 percent).

Across all the industries in the nation as a whole, racial and ethnic minorities held 12.0 percent of all Executive/Senior Level Official and Manager positions and 19.8 percent of Firs/Mid Level Official and Manager positions (Table 3 and Table 4).  In industries with above-average minority employment, people of minority race/ethnic groups frequently held a higher percentage of First/Mid Level Official and Managerial positions (Figure 6):

• 28.2 percent in Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting,
• 29.5 percent in Accommodation and Food Services, and  
• 26.0 percent in Waste Management and Remediation Services.  

In Accommodation and Food Services, people of minority race/ethnic groups represented 21.6 percent of the total Executive/Senior Level Official and Managerial positions, about 10 percentage points higher than the national average of 12 percent.  These numbers, again, should be read in consideration of the minority participation rate in specific industries (Figure 6). 

Occupational Distribution of Racial and Ethnic Minorities

Among the ten occupational categories measured in the 2008 EEO-1 survey shown in Figure 4, minorities, as a group, held:

• 15.9 percent of the total Executive/Senior Level Official and Managerial positions,
• 20.6 percent of the total First/Mid Level Official and Managerial positions, and
• 24.5 percent of the total Professional positions.  

These figures were clearly below their overall private industry representation of 34.2 percent.  

Minorities, meanwhile, were employed at a higher rate in three of the ten occupations measured in the EEO-1 survey also shown in Figure 4:

• Laborers at 52.6 percent,
• Service Workers at 49.4 percent, and
• Operatives at about 39.6 percent.

BLACK OR AFRICAN AMERICANS  

Approximately 13.9 percent of the total private labor force reported in the EEO-1 survey was Black or African American (Table 2).  They held

• 3.3 percent of the total Executive/Senior Official and Managerial positions,
• 7.6 percent of First/Mid Level Official and Managerial positions, and
• 7.7 percent of the Professional positions (Figure 7).  

Black/African American workers were overrepresented among the Service Workers, Laborers, and Clerical workers as shown in Figure 8.  They comprised

• 22.6 percent of Service Workers,  
• 17.7 percent of Laborers,
• 16.8 percent of Operatives, and
• 15.9 percent of Clerical Workers.  

While both Black men and women were overrepresented among Service Workers, gender-based employment patterns were apparent as indicated in Table 2.

Black women, 7.7 percent of the total private labor force, were

• 13.8 percent of Service Workers,
• 12.5 percent of Clerical Workers,
• 8.5 percent of Sales Workers, and
• 8.1 percent of Technicians.

Black Men, 6.2 percent of the total private labor force, were

• 12.0 percent of Operatives,
• 11.8 percent of Laborers,
• 8.8 percent of Service Workers, and
• 7.8 percent of Craft Workers.

HISPANICS OR LATINOS

Hispanics made up 13.6 percent of the total private labor force in the overall 2008 EEO-1 survey report (Table 2).  As shown in Figure 7, they held

• 8.1 percent of all the Executive/Senior Level Official and Managerial positions,
• 7.4 percent of the First/Mid Level Official and Managerial positions, and
• 5.2 percent of the Professional positions.  

Hispanics/Latinos were almost one third of all Laborers (29.8 percent) (Figure 4) and were also employed in greater proportions as

• Service Workers, 20.3 percent
• Operatives, 17.6 percent, and
• Craft Workers, 15.6 percent,

Both Hispanic men and women were overrepresented as Service Workers (9.7 and 10.7 percent respectively) and Laborers (20.4 and 9.4 percent respectively).  But in sales and clerical work, only women were employed out of proportion to their representation in total employment as shown in Table 2.  

Hispanic women, 6.0 percent of total employment, were:

• 9.0 percent of Clerical Workers, and
• 7.1 percent of Sales Workers.

Hispanic men, 7.6 percent of total employment, were

• 14.2 percent of Craft Workers, and
• 13.0 percent of Operatives.

ASIAN AMERICANS

Asian Americans accounted for 5.0 percent of the total private industry employment (Table 2).  As shown in Figure 7, they held

• 3.7 percent of the total Executive/Senior Level Official and Managerial positions,
• 4.5 percent of the First/Mid Level Official and Managerial positions, and
• 10.1 percent of the total Professional positions in the EEO-1 survey.   

In 2008, over one third of the 3.1 million Asian Americans in the private sector were Professionals (34.1 percent), a figure that was twice the national average (16.9 percent) for that occupational group (Table 1).  Asian men, 2.6 percent of total employment, held 5.4 of Professional jobs and were 3.5 percent of Technicians and 2.8 percent of First/Mid Level Officials and Managers.  Asian women, 2.4 percent of total employment, held 4.8 percent of Professional jobs, 3.0 percent of Clerical jobs, and 2.7 percent of Technician jobs (Table 2).

On the other minority groups in the private industry of the EEO-1 survey, there were about 361,400 American Indians (0.6 percent of the total private labor force), about 226,600 Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islanders (0.4 percent of the total labor force), and about 477,400 reported as Two or More Races (0.8 percent of the labor force) (Table 1 and Table 2).

1 Aggregates from single and consolidated reports were used in our analysis of population groups as shown in Table 1 (number) and Table 2 (percent).  Aggregates from single and establishment reports were used in our industry group analysis as shown in Table 3 (number) and Table 4 (percent).  Types of report aggregate are specified in the data source citation at the bottom of each chart or table.

List of Tables and Charts

• Table 1. Occupational Employment in Private Sector by Gender and Race/Ethnicity in Numbers (Single and Consolidated Reports of 2008)
• Table 2. Occupational Employment in Private Sector by Gender and Race/Ethnicity in Percentages (Single and Consolidated Reports of 2008)
• Table 3. Occupational Employment in Private Sector by Gender and Race/Ethnicity in Numbers (Single and Establishment Reports of 2008)
• Table 4. Occupational Employment in Private Sector by Sex and Race/Ethnicity in Percentages (Single and establishment Reports of 2008)
• Figure 1. Women Employment in Private Sector by Industry Type (2008)
• Figure 2. Minority Employment in Private Sector by Industry Type (2008)
• Figure 3.  Women in Private Sector by Job Categories (2008)
• Figure 4.  Minorities in Private Sector by Job Categories (2008)
• Figure 5. Female Officials and Managers in Selected Private Sector Industries (2008)
• Figure 6. Minority Officials and Managers in Selected Private Sector Industries (2008)
• Figure 7. Officials, Managers, and Professionals by Minority Groups (2008)
• Figure 8. Operatives, Laborers, and Service Workers by Minority Groups (2008)