Disparities in Job Characteristics by Race and Sex in a Southern Aluminum Smelting Facility

Details

• Personal Author:
  Cullen, Mark R. ; Marshall, Stephen W. ; McClure, Elizabeth S. ; Noth, Elizabeth ; Richardson, David B. ; Robinson, Whitney R. ; Vasudevan, Pavithra
• Description:
  Background: Former workers at a Southern aluminum smelting facility raised concerns that the most hazardous jobs were assigned to Black workers, but the role of workplace segregation had not been quantified or examined in the company town. Prior studies discuss race and gender disparities in working conditions, but few have documented them in the aluminum industry. Methods: We obtained workers' company records for 1985-2007 and characterized four job metrics: prestige (sociologic rankings), worker-defined danger (worker assessments), annual wage (1985 dollars), and estimated total particulate matter (TPM) exposure (job exposure matrix). Characteristics of job at hire and trajectories were compared by race and sex using linear binomial models. Results: Non-White males had the highest percentage of workers in low prestige and high danger jobs at hire and up to 20 years after. After 20 years tenure, 100% of White workers were in higher prestige and lower danger jobs. Most female workers, regardless of race, entered and remained in low-wage jobs, while 50% of all male workers maintained their initial higher-wage jobs. Non-White females had the highest prevalence of workers in low-wage jobs at hire and after 20 years-increasing from 63% (95% CI: 59-67) to 100% (95% CI: 78-100). All female workers were less likely to be in high TPM exposure jobs. Non-White males were most likely to be hired into high TPM exposure jobs, and this exposure prevalence increased as time accrued, while staying constant for other race-sex groups. Conclusions: There is evidence of job segregation by race and sex in this cohort of aluminum smelting workers. Documentation of disparities in occupational hazards is important for informing health interventions and research. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Metals Metal Workers Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Particulate Matter Race Factors Safety Sex Characteristics
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Aluminum Employee Exposure Gender Factors Health Disparities Occupational Cohort Occupational Hazards Occupational Health Disparities Occupations Particulates Racial Factors Smelting Structural Racism Work Analysis Work Organization

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• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; North Carolina ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 6 ; OSHA Region 9 ; Texas
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  13 pdf pages
• Volume:
  66
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20067051
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 2023 Apr; 66(4):307-319
• Contact Point Address:
  Elizabeth S. McClure, MS, 2101C McGavran-Greenberg Hall, CB #7435, Chapel Hill, NC27599, USA
• Email:
  emcclure@unc.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2023
• Performing Organization:
  University of California Los Angeles
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• End Date:
  20270630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:69e99910b620c49dacfbce92ef2cc22c50b8d9d3fc110c4013b74cef6ebdfe963d36f361de224b60eb53fe0a2397e734396ea46216714ed13bdd839c74025a61
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/230742/cdc_230742_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 771.33 KB ]