What is a Pink Collar Job?

A pink collar job is one that has traditionally been reserved for women only. Most of these jobs are performed in a clean environment, without exposure to dangers, and without requiring hard physical work. The division between a pink collar and white collar job is mainly that of gender.

Up until the beginning of the century, women had a hard time entering the workforce, and when they did, it was mostly by taking low-paid jobs that held little prestige. For example, a woman could be a secretary, but the idea of this woman becoming an office manager was unheard of. A pink collar job became the easy way to label all jobs done by primarily by women before the 1970s. While the women's liberation did much to fight those stereotypes, some jobs are still predominantly female, such as teaching, clerical work, childcare, and nursing.

One of the main objections to holding a pink collar job is the typically low pay. Historically, women have always earned less than men, and the fact that many continue to work in fields that are considered mainly "women's only," continues the trend. Women who work in non-traditional jobs usually earn more, perhaps because the competition with men requires them to hold themselves to a higher standard. Twice as many women are now holding CEO positions in the top Fortune 500 companies, compared to not so many years ago, but 70% of these women hold jobs in the pink-collar field, such as food service and cosmetics industry.

Over the last few decades years, the line that separates a pink collar job from the standard office position has blurred, and it is no longer legal to advertise a position requesting female or male workers only. Traditions still prevail, however, and the following are some examples of jobs that are still commonly considered pink collar: babysitter, nanny, receptionist, florist, tutor, cosmetologist, telephone operator, and maid. Most "pink" jobs are in the service industry, and this includes waitressing, traditionally a women-only job, although that has changed much over the past decade. Other examples that are slowly including more men in their ranks include nursing and teaching, especially at the higher levels.