Pink collar crimes refer to crimes typically committed by women in the workplace. Some examples of pink collar crimes include embezzlement, wage theft, expense account fraud, andidentity theft. There has been debate over whether pink collar crimes truly exist or if they are just regular white collar crimes committed by women.
What are pink collar crimes?
The term “pink collar crimes” first emerged in the 1940s and 1950s. Criminologist Edwin Sutherland coined the phrase to refer to crimes committed by women in the course of their occupations. Typically, pink collar crimes are committed by women working in positions such as secretaries, bank tellers, bookkeepers, and receptionists.
Some examples of pink collar crimes include:
- Embezzlement – This involves theft of money or assets by someone who has been entrusted with finances or property. For example, a female bookkeeper may slowly siphon off funds from her employer over time.
- Expense account fraud – Employees fraudulently claim reimbursement for personal expenses as business expenses. For example, falsely claiming personal vacations as work trips.
- Payroll fraud – This can include adding fake employees to the payroll or continuing to pay former employees after they’ve left the company.
- Check tampering – Altering payee or amount information on an issued check for personal gain.
- Identity theft – Using someone else’s identity to obtain credit cards or loans. Office workers may have access to sensitive information that facilitates identity theft.
- Petty theft – Stealing office supplies, inventory, or other assets from the workplace.
In general, pink collar crimes use deception and breach of trust to obtain money or other benefits through one’s employment. The crimes tend to be non-violent and involve relatively small dollar amounts, but can accumulate significantly over time.
Do pink collar crimes really exist?
There has been debate over whether pink collar crime is a meaningful category or not. Some key considerations around this issue include:
- Women now commit white collar crimes too – With more women working in all sectors of the economy, some argue women commit “regular” white collar crimes like fraud, embezzlement, and insider trading. Calling them “pink collar” crimes is no longer accurate.
- Small sample bias – Historical data on female criminals is limited. Pink collar crimes may have been overrepresented in early studies due to small sample sizes.
- Changes in opportunity – More employment options for women means less incentive to commit financial crimes in low-level clerical jobs. Opportunities for white collar crime exist across occupations.
- Reporting bias – Gender stereotypes may have led to more reporting focus on women behaving contrary to expected norms. Male white collar crimes may be relatively underreported.
However, others argue that the pink collar category is still relevant:
- Occupational segregation persists – Many studies show women continue to dominate administrative support and clerical roles, providing more opportunity for pink collar crime.
- Financial motives differ – Some research suggests women are motivated by family-centered needs like children’s education costs versus self-gain motivations of male white collar criminals.
- Don’t fit typical white collar criminal profile – Middle-aged women committing small-scale theft don’t fit the common profile of wealthy white men engaged in securities fraud or large-scale embezzlement.
More research is still needed to better understand the scale, motivations, and trends in pink collar crimes.
Are women less likely to commit white collar crimes?
Many early criminology theories posited that women are inherently less likely to commit crimes due to having greater self-control and stronger moral development. However, modern research increasingly recognizes that criminal behavior stems more from contextual and socioeconomic factors versus innate gender differences.
When specifically examining white collar and financial crimes, most research today suggests that women are equally capable, but may have had less opportunity historically. Some key factors related to opportunity include:
- Fewer women in upper management – This provides less access to high-value assets vulnerable to large-scale theft or fraud.
- Lower pay in clerical roles – This could drive petty thefts, but the small amounts involved don’t incentivize more brazen crimes.
- Lack of technical skills training – Women have traditionally been excluded from financial, accounting, IT, and other key business roles that lend themselves to white collar crimes.
- Less social capital in “old boys clubs” – Tight knit male-dominated networks in finance and corporate leadership enable complex white collar schemes.
However, as women gain equal access to education, promotions, compensation, and professional networks, the opportunity dynamics are changing quickly.
White collar crime statistics by gender
Looking at conviction statistics, women still represent a minority of those sentenced for white collar crimes:
| Year | Total Convictions | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 19,613 | 16,174 (82.5%) | 3,439 (17.5%) |
| 2016 | 18,498 | 15,640 (84.6%) | 2,858 (15.4%) |
| 2014 | 16,175 | 13,929 (86.1%) | 2,246 (13.9%) |
| 2012 | 14,185 | 12,291 (86.6%) | 1,894 (13.4%) |
The data shows that while the proportion of white collar convictions accounted for by women has increased slightly in recent years, men still dominate this type of crime by a wide margin.
Notable female white collar criminals
While men account for most major white collar crime cases, there have been some notorious female perpetrators of large-scale fraud and embezzlement schemes over the years:
- Marian Morgan – In the 2000s, this Florida lawyer orchestrated an elaborate Ponzi scheme raising $28 million from investors. She used the money to fund an opulent lifestyle.
- Rita Crundwell – As comptroller of Dixon, Illinois from the 1980s to 2012, Crundwell embezzled over $50 million in city funds to support her Quarter Horse breeding business and luxuries.
- Patricia Miller Wise – Over 15 years as VP of Finance for Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, Wise stole $8 million by depositing institute checks into her own accounts.
- Stephanie Ragusa – This Florida high school teacher committed identity theft and racked up $185,000 on stolen credit cards between 2008 and 2011.
- Mary Lee Capalbo – Known as “The Shooting Star,” this globetrotting con woman posed as an heiress worth over $18 million to fund lavish spending on jewelry, hotels, and sports cars in the 1960s and 70s.
These and other cases demonstrate that women are clearly capable of serious white collar crimes given the right organizational access and lack of oversight. While statistics show men committing disproportionate levels of major corporate fraud to date, opportunity dynamics and motivations may shift with women’s changing roles in the workplace.
Factors that lead to pink collar crimes
Criminology research has identified some key factors and circumstances that appear to be precursors or contributors to pink collar crimes:
- Financial need – This could stem from events like divorce, medical bills, or a family member’s job loss that create urgent money pressures.
- Financial knowledge and opportunity – Working in accounting, bookkeeping, or other financial roles provides know-how and access to funds that enable misappropriation.
- Undervalued and underpaid – Feeling unappreciated and undercompensated in the workplace can motivate unethical behavior in retaliation.
- Low risk of detection – Weak oversight on finances or inventory enables small, incremental thefts to occur unnoticed over an extended period.
- Rationalization – Justifying theft as “borrowing” or “entitled compensation” rather than unethical acts.
- Slippery slope – Small offenses snowball over time into much larger amounts stolen.
Organizational factors also play a role, including lack of audits, absence of a code of conduct, inadequate security procedures, and failure to prosecute detected offenses. An environment where unethical behavior is minimized and consequences enforced helps deter pink collar crimes.
How companies can prevent pink collar crimes
Organizations can take several steps to help guard against pink collar crimes:
- Conduct regular audits and implement separation of duties for financial transactions.
- Perform thorough background checks before hiring employees who will handle cash, accounting, or sensitive information.
- Implement security procedures like numbered invoices, serialized merchandise tags, and inventory tracking systems to flag missing items.
- Enforce strict ethics and anti-fraud policies with obligatory employee training programs.
- Promote a positive and equitable workplace culture where employees feel valued and fairly compensated.
- Have multiple oversight mechanisms related to expenses, reimbursement claims, and access privileges.
- Continually monitor and analyze transactions, inventory, profits for unusual fluctuations.
- Quickly investigate suspected improprieties and involve law enforcement for criminal acts.
Combining strong internal controls, culture, and oversight minimizes opportunities and incentives for pink collar crimes.
Are pink collar crimes increasing?
It’s difficult to conclusively assess historical trends in pink collar crimes given limited data. Early sensational media stories created a perception of increasing waves of female criminality. But more rigorous analysis of crime statistics finds conflicting patterns:
- Arrests of women for embezzlement increased through the 1970s and 80s as more women entered clerical business roles. But the rates leveled off by the 1990s.
- There was an upward trend in identity fraud by women in the 1990s and early 2000s but it has since stabilized.
- Various studies find women still only account for 15-25% of arrests for white collar crimes like forgery, counterfeiting, tax evasion, and bribery.
- Women represent a very small share of those charged with major securities and investment fraud.
In more recent decades, increased workplace diversity, egalitarian policies, ethical business culture, and improved security systems likely act to constrain growth in pink collar crimes.
However, economic pressures in the wake of COVID-19 and rising inflation could provide conditions conducive to increased financial crime. Employers should be vigilant for any upticks in fraudulent activities.
Pink collar vs. white collar crime convictions
| Year | Total White Collar Convictions | Total Embezzlement Convictions | Female Share of Embezzlement Convictions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 19,613 | 1,117 | 69% |
| 2016 | 18,498 | 1,050 | 67% |
| 2014 | 16,175 | 978 | 65% |
| 2012 | 14,185 | 931 | 68% |
Looking specifically at embezzlement cases, women consistently account for 65-70% of convictions. This suggests that the typical “pink collar” crime of siphoning money in accounting or bookkeeping roles continues to be disproportionately committed by women in the modern workplace.
Conclusion
In conclusion, pink collar crime is a meaningful concept for certain common types of financial crimes like embezzlement and expense account fraud disproportionately committed by women in clerical or administrative occupations. While increased opportunity has enabled more female participation in major white collar crimes historically committed by men, small-scale theft fueled by financial need remains concentrated among middle-aged female employees. Companies must continually update ethical policies, security protocols, and oversight mechanisms to detect and prevent pink collar crimes in the evolving workplace.
