ABSTRACT
This chapter examines both the past growth and the ongoing structural change and their impact on the employment of black women in the industry. Although the changes discussed affect all workers, particular emphasis will be placed on the employment status of black women in the health occupations. Black women are disproportionately represented in many of the health occupations. Changes in the industry will therefore affect the status and the progress for black women in the industry. In particular, many observers think that the health industry will not grow at the same rate as it has in the past 20 years. The American health-care system has undergone rapid growth and structural change. Efforts to improve the occupational distribution of blacks in general and black women in particular are going to be more difficult in the future because of the dominance of cost containment as the nation's primary health policy goal.
