What is a "pink collar job?"

English translation: see this

20:48 Feb 15, 2006
English language (monolingual) [Non-PRO]
Social Sciences - Slang
English term or phrase: What is a "pink collar job?"
Name a few pink collar jobs.
Harinder Dhillon
Local time: 13:28
Selected answer:see this
Explanation:
Pink-collar job is one term used to describe low-status, low-paying, female-dominated occupations like secretaries, salesclerks, and food servers. For many women the choice of this work is determined more by economic necessity than career choices. This kind of work also more easily allows them to leave the workforce for a time while they are having children and return when their children are older.


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Note added at 4 hrs (2006-02-16 01:25:42 GMT) Post-grading
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I also found this definition on google - it took me less than half a minute to find it.
Selected response from:

Csaba Ban
Hungary
Local time: 20:28
Grading comment
thanks
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4 +5see this
Csaba Ban
4definition
Joanna Borowska


Discussion entries: 4





  

Answers


6 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
what is a
definition


Explanation:
A pink-collar worker is a woman who works for a living in a clean, safe environment, in a job that is considered traditionally female (these "traditions" generally harking back to the first half of the 20th century). The term is formed by analogy to blue collar and white collar.

The term originally arose to distinguish these jobs from white collar jobs, and to distinguish women in these roles from other white-collar workers, because their work did not require as much professional training, nor did it carry equal pay or prestige.

In most industries and careers, and in most cultures, women in the workforce have traditionally been shunned and given lesser pay and limited career opportunities. This was true when women entered the blue-collar factory workforce during the Industrial Revolution; in hospitals, where they were traditionally relegated to, at best, the role of nurses; and in the teaching profession where they were relegated to the teaching of children. This pattern was repeated when significant numbers of women began to enter the office workforce in the early 20th century.

Several factors played into the rise of the pink collar sector. Most importantly, women in industrialized nations began to actively seek their own income rather than relying on men to support them. Often kept out of traditional blue and white collar jobs by physical requirements and prejudice, many women found ways to take their domestic skills into the world of paid work.

Pink collar positions have spread rapidly as more and more women enter the workforce. Greater wealth in industrialized nations also means that more money is spent on the services provided by pink collar positions.

During the 20th century, with some ups and downs and with different degrees of change in different countries, there began to be less separation between men's and women's jobs. One of the great victories of second-wave feminism was the breakdown of much of the remaining formal institutionalization of these gender roles in the workplace. For example, in 1972, the New York Times stopped running separate "Help Wanted - Male" and "Help Wanted - Female" advertisements. Increasingly, women have opportunities in traditionally male white-collar jobs; also, during this period, pay for pink-collar jobs has generally improved, as have the prospects of moving up the promotion ladder. Still, certain jobs remain overwhelmingly female, and are still generally considered "pink collar".

Pink collar occupations include:

* Florist
* Interior designer
* Librarian
* Nurse
* Secretary
* Teacher

http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Pink-collar worker

Joanna Borowska
Poland
Local time: 20:28
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Polish
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2 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +5
what is a
see this


Explanation:
Pink-collar job is one term used to describe low-status, low-paying, female-dominated occupations like secretaries, salesclerks, and food servers. For many women the choice of this work is determined more by economic necessity than career choices. This kind of work also more easily allows them to leave the workforce for a time while they are having children and return when their children are older.


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Note added at 4 hrs (2006-02-16 01:25:42 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

I also found this definition on google - it took me less than half a minute to find it.

Csaba Ban
Hungary
Local time: 20:28
Native speaker of: Native in HungarianHungarian
Grading comment
thanks

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  swisstell: also jobs considered traditionally to be female oriented, such as nurses, librarians
1 min

agree  marybro
2 mins

agree  RHELLER: I saw this on google but I admit that I had never heard the expression
17 mins

agree  Alison Jenner
2 hrs

agree  Alexandra Tussing
4 hrs
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