Sex Structure of Occupations and Job Mobility

Abstract

Despite the differences in the mean levels of occupational attainments of men and women over the life cycle, men and employed women attain the same mean level of occupational attainment at mid-life and do so through quite similar processes. Although human capital theory is helpful in understanding differences in mean levels of occupational attainment over the life cycle for men and women, it cannot explain why women's occupational attainments are minimally affected (if at all) by labor force interruptions. To account for the above findings, we develop explanations concerning the effects of labor market structure on occupational achievement, derived from the literature on occupational segregation by sex and dual labor market theory. For this explanation to be useful, two propositions derived from it must be true: (1) female occupations are easier to reenter after labor force interruptions; and (2) female occupations tend not to be stepping stones upward in the occupational structure, at least for women. Using log-linear analysis, we test these propositions utilizing 1970 Census data. Research on occupational attainment has largely neglected the potential effects of characteristics of labor market structure on individual's achievements. Rather, sociologists have been concerned with the effects of individual characteristics and experiences at different points in the life cycle on subsequent occupational attainments. Aspects of labor market structure can potentially explain some inconsistent findings in studies of sex differences in occupational attainment, that cannot be adequately explained by individual characteristics. In this paper, we present the paradoxical