CLOSING GENDER GAP IN EDUCATION OR ELIMINATION OF MALE DOMINATION? OCCUPATIONAL GENDER SEGREGATION IN NORTH CYPRUS

Abstract

This study examines if the low rate of labour force participation of women is the result of demand constraint which creates gender based occupational segregation in north Cyprus labour market between years 2004-2014. Standardized D-index is used to calculate the level of segregation and to decompose and identify the effect of the changes in the occupational structure of the labour force and the effect of the changes in the gender composition within the occupations on segregation index by employing the data collected from (ISCO-88 one-digit) Household Labour Force Surveys (HLFS) (2004-2014) for nine broad occupational categories. The purpose is to expand the body of research on the extent, trends and sources of occupational gender segregation in the north Cyprus. The results indicate that over the investigated period occupational gender segregation is salient and persistent. It is found that the main source of the changes in segregation index is the shifts in gender composition within occupations. For the investigation of the source of the segregation index the explanations of human capital and feminist theories and the ongoing processes, in particular economic and social, that might have influences on gender segregation are employed. As a result it is confirmed that demand constraint in north Cyprus leads to low labour force participation of women through gender based occupational segregation.