Dimensions of Gender Occupational Differentiation in Segregation and Inequality: A Cross-National Analysis

Abstract

The present research: (a) distinguishes between measures of gender occupational segregation and measures of gender occupational inequality, and (b) examines whether occupational segregation and occupational inequality are differentially related to structural characteristics of national labor markets. Analysis of data from 56 nations shows that measures of nominal segregation are not equivalent to measures of hierarchical inequality. Nominal segregation seems to increase with industrialization and in the presence of service industries but decreases as female labor force participation increases. By contrast, occupational inequality seems to decrease with industrialization and in the presence of service industries but to increase as both female labor force participation and level of educational inequality rise. The data further demonstrate that nominal segregation and ordinal status inequality are interrelated. Where nominal segregation is high, women's relative representation in high status occupations tends to rise. We argue that occupational segregation should not be equated with occupational inequality, and that theoretical propositions regarding gender-occupational segregation may not be applicable to issues concerning occupational inequality. We obtain a better understanding of, and insight into the nature of gender-occupational differentiation by simultaneously considering these two dimensions of gender-occupational differentiation.