On the eve of an important forum on telemarketing regulations, the Direct Marketing Association has released a study to press its contention that proposed restrictions, including a national do-not-call list, will take jobs away from minorities and women.
The DMA's “Face of the Teleservices Industry 2002 Survey,” released yesterday, showed that women make up 60 percent of the teleservices work force and minorities make up 64 percent. The association said it planned to release the full details of the study at the Federal Trade Commission's public workshops on the proposed changes to the Telemarketing Sales Rule, which begin today and run through Friday.
Other findings from the study include:
· Welfare-to-work individuals make up 30 percent of the teleservices work force.
· Students make up 26 percent.
· 60 percent of call centers are in areas with average populations of less than 23,000, outside large urban areas.
The DMA has argued that increased restrictions on telemarketing would hurt those most in need of good-paying jobs and government support.
“Regulators in Washington are not taking into account the human cost of their overly broad and superfluous proposed regulations,” H. Robert Wientzen, the DMA's president/CEO, said in a statement.
The DMA said the teleservices industry generated more than 6 million jobs and $270 billion in sales from outbound telemarketing in 2001.
