Women make up 61 percent of essential workers and 47 percent of employed workers overall. But some not-so-loved federal agencies can't even muster 10 percent on the essential meter. The Environmental Protection Agency, often a whipping post for Republicans in Congress, has only 6 percent of its workers listed as essential. Workers in frontline industries are disproportionately women. Workers deemed "essential" are also more likely to live below the federal poverty line or hover just above it. In general, about 60 percent of the 2.1 million-person federal workforce is working during the shutdown. While many workers have been teleworking and others have lost their jobs, some have been deemed “essential” by states, continuing to show up to work during the shutdowns. Employees that fall under these categories are referred to as "Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers" and are generally required to deliver services around the clock. Beyond congressional hearings on protecting workers and consumers, s imilar proposals are under consideration in the New York City Council. (In New York alone, people of color make up 75 percent of essential workers). “Essential” Workers Are Dying America’s underclass is becoming more visible in the coronavirus crisis. A remarkable 70 percent of the undocumented labor force consists of essential workers. Women are particularly overrepresented in the frontline industries of Health Care (76.8 percent of workers) and Child Care and Social Services (85.2 percent). The “essential work” letters that many now carry are not a free pass from immigration authorities, who could still deport Ms. Silva and other undocumented field workers at any time. Posted: (2 days ago) In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, states have temporarily suspended parts of their economies to slow the spread of the disease. These workers are also almost three times as likely not to have health insurance. The study, based on 2019 Census Bureau data, also said that 69 percent of undocumented immigrant workers have jobs deemed "essential" to Covid fight. Eleven percent of essential workers support their families on low-incomes, with a family income of less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level. Thousands of workers in the Dayton area who provide essential services during this crisis are low paid and vulnerable, like food prep workers, who make poverty-level wages, Shields said. Some examples of essential businesses and workers are obvious, like hospitals, pharmacies, police and firefighters. Figure 9 shows the percent of workers in California employed in front-line essential jobs broken down by gender. Some, however, may not be so obvious. Rhode Island has the second-highest proportion of essential workers in the nation, with a share of essential workers exceeding the national average by 53 percent. They also account for more than 20 percent of essential workers in Texas (24 percent), Hawaii (24 percent), Massachusetts (23 percent), and Maryland (21 percent). About one-half of all workers are women, but nearly two-thirds (64.4 percent) of frontline workers are women. 2 for the percentage of essential workers in its labor force, right behind the District of Columbia area, according to a study put together by the Massachusetts has a very low rate of workers without health insurance (3.3 percent) but, even in Massachusetts, almost 10 percent of workers in Building Cleaning Services are uninsured … The state of play: Nearly 52% of all essential workers are women, the N.Y. Times reports.That includes 77% of health care workers, 78% of social workers and more than 2/3 of grocery store and fast-food employees. Claim: if this virus is so deadly why aren't we seeing essential workers dying at an alarming rate In aggregate, women and men do not differ substantially here. 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