Supply-Side Explanations for Occupational Gender Segregation: Adolescents' Work Values and Gender-(A)Typical Occupational Aspirations

Abstract

The study examines supply-side mechanisms of occupational gender segregation, analysing work values and their effects on adolescents’ gender-(a)typical occupational aspirations. Supply-side theory assumes that women develop higher preferences for a good work/life balance and for social work content in their youth, whereas men develop higher extrinsic work values. This gender typicality in work values is expected to affect aspirations for gender-typical occupations. Following arguments on intergenerational transmission, parental gender role behaviour is also explored as a determinant for the development of gender-(a)typical occupational aspirations. It is argued that this plays a role mainly when family cohesion is high. Analyses of adolescents in the German Socio-Economic Panel Study show no gender-specific differences between work values of a good work/life balance. Furthermore, those work values do not affect preferences for gender-(a)typical occupations. Additionally, although men have higher extrinsic work values than women, these values affect aspirations for male occupations only for women. The strongest explanatory power is for social work values which are more important for women and increase aspirations for female occupations for both genders, in line with supply-side approaches. Parental gender role behaviour partly explains gender-(a)typical occupational aspirations, primarily for male adolescents with a good family climate.